Assessment of the financial impact of producing genetically modified corn in Peru

Abstract

Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) is “any organism (i.e. animal, plant, or microorganism) whose genetic sequence has been altered using modern biotechnology. Genetically modified (GM) crops are created by modifying a specific gene or genes in a plant in order to produce a desirable trait. Biotech GM crops have been grown commercially around the world. The main commercialized crops include soybean, cotton, corn, rice, potato, and many varieties of the fruit products. In this thesis, GM corn was chosen as the research topic for the following reasons: 1) corn is one of the main grains consumed in Peru; 2) corn has major impact in the bilateral trade between the United States and Peru; 3) a high demand for imported GM corn in Peru due to the high demand from the poultry and pork industry in the recent years; 3) the availability of the existing biotechnology of GM corn globally.