Screw Searle, here's an article from the ag front.<gg>
John
UN Group Says Biotech Offers Solution to World Food Shortages
UN Group Says Biotech Offers Solution to World Food Shortages
Rome, Jan. 21 (Bloomberg) -- The development of genetically modified crops must be encouraged if the world is to feed a growing population in the next two decades, since current technology was unlikely to yield adequate supplies, a United Nations body said.
The global population is forecast to rise by 7.5 billion people by 2020, including 6.3 billion in developing countries, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization said in a report. Without new strains of staple crops, there won't be enough food to feed these people, the report said. ''The increase in absolute numbers of people to be fed may be such that the carrying capacity of agricultural lands could soon be reached, given current technology,'' according to the body, which monitors developments in world agriculture with an emphasis on food supplies to the third world.
While the U.S. has embraced biotechnology in agriculture, safety fears among European consumers mean that biotechnology companies are struggling to win approval for their crops in Europe. Such opposition is undermining efforts to develop new technologies.
The FAO warned that ethical and safety concerns must not be overlooked, particularly as genes passed on from crops modified using biotechnology may increase the number of weeds and pests that are resistant to agricultural chemicals.
The report said scientists must also strive to produce low- cost strains, since much of the population growth will occur in poor, emerging nations. For example, plants could be altered to reduce the use of expensive chemicals in farming, making it cheaper for third-world producers to fend for themselves. ''Plants with high tolerance for conditions of salinity or high iron toxicity could help to improve agricultural production in marginal areas,'' the FAO said.
Many European consumer and environmental groups oppose genetically modified plants, saying they could damage health and the environment. Some EU governments operate restrictions on certain modified crops.
Last year, the French government lifted restrictions on U.S. corn after banning it for a year on health concerns. In comparison, U.S. regulators have approved more than 30 genetically modified seeds since 1990, when biotechnology companies saw the potential for boosting yields through new technologies.
About 40 percent of the 28 million hectares of soybeans planted in the U.S. for the 1998 harvest were modified varieties, as well as 20 percent of the corn crop and more than half the cotton crop.
|
