November 25, 2011
A great commentary in the November 2011 issue of Nature by my most brilliant Twitter friend/colleague Calestous Juma. Good message here, folks!
“Preventing hunger: Biotechnology is key” (article attached)
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Key quotes:
“…without the advances in molecular biology and other scientific fields that occurred in the second half of the twentieth century, African nations would be much worse offthan they are now…[with] crop yields in developing countries … 23.5% lower and prices between 35% and 66% higher in 2000.”
“At present, only a few African countries are allowed to grow genetically modified (GM) crops, partly because of restrictive national biosafety policies that impose excessive regulatory barriers to the adoption of agricultural biotechnology. This must change.”
“…GM critics are wrong to conclude that because biotechnology does not solve all problems, it has no place in helping humanity to address long-term food needs.”
“…excluding technological options that raise productivity will do more harm than good. The international community would be better served by taking a pragmatic approach that accommodates the best available technological options, rather than relying on ideological political positions…”
