ST. LOUIS (July 22, 2016) - The U.S. Soybean Export Council (USSEC) is pleased to announce the long awaited European Union approval of three biotech soy traits for import and processing. The three stacked events are:

"The EU’s approval of these events is welcome news for U.S. soybean farmers," said USSEC chairman Laura Foell, a soybean grower from Schaller, Iowa. “We’re happy that we can supply our European customers with a reliable supply of safe food.”
Europe is one of the largest customers of U.S. soybean farmers with over 165 million bushels of soybeans in exports already this year.
In 1996, U.S. growers began to adopt biotechnology on their farms. Today, twenty years later, growers are expected to plant 94 percent of their soybean acres with biotech soybeans. The technology allows U.S. soybean farmers to produce a healthy, affordable protein source sustainably with increased yields on less land, which helps to feed a growing world population. Biotech seeds allow farmers to limit their impact on the land as they apply fewer pesticides and herbicides, along with employing sustainable practices such as no-till that helps them to achieve a better moisture content in the soil in addition to reducing erosion and cutting carbon dioxide emissions and also helps to reduce energy consumption. Biotech also reduces the amount of crops that are lost due to variables such as insects or drought, which helps keep food prices more affordable.
The U.S. Soybean Export Council aims to maximize the use of U.S. Soy internationally by meeting the needs of global customers that use U.S. Soy in human food and feed for poultry, livestock and fish. The organization uses a global network of stakeholder partnerships, including soybean farmers, exporters, agribusinesses, agricultural organizations, researchers and government agencies, to accomplish that mission. USSEC programs are partially funded by the United Soybean Board (USB).
For more information, contact Lisa Humphreys at (636) 449-6040 or LHumphreys@ussec.org