Tide could now be turning for transgenic wheat
I found the following article in the Prairie Star today. Europeans are starting to accept the idea of genetically modified foods. The article addresses the need for transgenic wheat and the current development of a drought-tolerant version in Australia.
C.S. Prakash
Tide could now be turning for transgenic wheat
The Prairie Star
July 18, 2008
With world wheat stocks at historic lows, some longtime opponents of transgenic (often called genetically modified organisms) are coming to the realization that, without increased adaptation of transgenics, the world's farmers cannot produce enough safe, wholesome food to feed its people.
According to a non-profit, farmer-founded interest group called Growers for Biotechnology, recent comments by European governments are an indication that public opinion is turning the corner.
A news article posted on the Web site, www.growersforbiotechnology.org, reports that in late June, Great Britain's Environment Minister, Phil Woolas, addressed the world's food price crisis with this comment: “There is a growing question of whether GM crops can help the developing world out of the current food price crisis.
It is a question that we as a nation need to ask ourselves.
The debate is already under way. Many people concerned about poverty in the developing world and the environment are wrestling with this issue.”
Europe's resistance to transgenic crops has been one of the main obstacles to more rapid adoption of the technology around the world.
Developing African nations, even those with mass starvation, have rejected transgenics out of fear that they might lose the opportunity to sell any surplus crops to Europe. Now, with a global food shortage exacerbating hunger around the world, the United Kingdom is beginning to see that Europe's resistance cannot be sustained.
