Report Calls Genetically Modified Crops a “Significant and Growing Contribution”
There have been so many reports over the years regarding biotechnology and genetically modified foods. Some of these reports have condemned the creation of such foods and their usage in today’s society while other reports have touted the benefits of biotech foods and the needs these products can address in feeding individuals in developing nations. That’s why I was interested in reading about a recent public report promoting the contributions that genetically modified foods are making in helping world hunger and poverty (Anti-Poverty Association labels Modified Crops Helpful, CheckBiotech, 1/11/06).
The report was published by the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications, a not-for-profit organization devoted to reducing poverty by boosting farm income and crop productivity. According to the report, genetically modified crops are not a cure-all for poverty and world hunger, but the foods are making a significant and growing contribution in the fight to combat the problem.
Approximately 7.7 million subsistence farmers planted biotech crops in 2005, up from 7.5 million in 2004. Most are cotton growers in China, India, South Africa, and the Philippines. Their incomes have increased 25 to 30 percent with the use of biotech crops, which improve yield and reduce the need to apply costly weed and insect killers, said Clive James, chair of the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Application’s (ISAAA) board and author of the report.
“It’s not a silver bullet. It’s a technology, like any other technology, with strengths and weaknesses,” Mr. James said.
To boost production, farmers need a combination of biotech traits, high-quality seeds and good conventional agronomic practices. According to Mr. James, genetically modified crops are a contribution, not a solution, to the alleviation of poverty.
According to the report, the growth in the use of biotech crops in developing countries is outpacing acreage expansion in industrialized nations that have approved the technology, in part, because the United States already has widely adopted biotech soybeans, corn, cotton, and canola. So, countries that are newer to the technology have more room for rapid expansion.
Yet, biotech crops remain controversial. Friends of the Earth, a nonprofit group that opposes the technology, contends that genetically modified crops could harm the environment, reduce biodiversity, and lead to “super weeds” that could resist even the most widely used herbicide. In a recent report issued by the organization, the group questioned the technology’s benefits. According to the article, Friends of the Earth said genetically modified crops benefit big corporations rather than farmers or consumers. Its report said adoption of the technology is a sign of big corporation’s “objectionable” influence over policymakers in many countries and international bodies.
Over the years, we’ve all heard about the efforts of scientists and researchers to develop new foods using biotechnology. Despite the opposition, there have been countless studies that prove genetically modified foods are safe. In this ever-changing society, biotechnology uses what is found in nature to address the vital needs we face, including helping to alleviate world hunger and poverty.
