Pioneer sees GMOs gaining global market acceptance
Reuters recently published the following article on the benefits of genetically modified crops. The article focuses on the need for GM crops at a time when food prices are rising sharply, with no slow down in sight. Read more about this below and then follow the link to read the full article.
C.S. Prakash
Pioneer sees GMOs gaining global market acceptance
Reuters
February 22, 2008
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Rising food prices will encourage worldwide acceptance of genetically engineered crops as more consumers set aside health concerns for the lower prices that biotech crops may deliver, a leading seed company executive said.
Governments that have been slow to accept biotech crops, or GMOs, will find it increasingly difficult to deny access to the technologies as food costs are poised to continue climbing.
"The only way we're going to meet some of these demand expectations that we have and are going to have in the future is through improved productivity. A lot of that productivity will come through technology," said Paul Shickler, president of Pioneer Hi-Bred International and vice president of DuPont Co (DD.N: Quote, Profile, Research).
U.S. food prices rose by a 17-year high of 4 percent last year and were seen rising by another 3 to 4 percent in 2008. Food inflation was expected to outpace the general inflation rate through 2010, the U.S. Agriculture Department forecast.
Global food prices have risen even faster and will continue to do so, economists said.
