mem from sommerville on Daily Kos did a great job of illustrating the importance of biotechnology in 2009 World Food Prize Laureate Dr. Gebisa Ejeta’s work in developing drought- and weed-resistant sorghum to enhance the food supply in sub-Saharan Africa.
mem writes:
Some people will argue whether or not this means it is technically a “genetically modified organism” or GMO, or Genetic Engineering (GE). However, scientists in this field believe that it is genetic modification. But for this discussion, it doesn’t matter. The point is that the techniques of biotechnology are clearly used to solve these problems.
The post also gives me another opportunity to highlight the remarks of Dr. Daniel Mataruka on the adoption of agricultural biotechnology in Africa.
Panelists at Ag Biotech - Improving Farmers' Lives
Genetically engineered (GE) crops have had one of the fastest adoption rates of any new agricultural technology in history. Why are so many farmers planting biotech seeds in their fields? Wednesday morning’s first panel discussion at BIO addressed this very question, titled Ag Biotech – Improving Farmers Lives. READ MORE »
Terry Wanzek, farmer from North Dakota and presenter on the Agbiotech- Improving Farmers’ Lives panel, says that the Graham Brookes report released on Wednesday at the BIO Convention, “proves beyond any reasonable doubt that biotech crops are good both for the environment and the economy, as well as a vital tool of sustainable agriculture.” READ MORE »
Dr. Wayne Parrott moderated a discussion of diverse views of ag biotech on Thursday. The panel included cotton, corn and peanut farmer Jimmy Webb, Nature Conservancy scientist Dr. Robert McDonald, economist Graham Brookes and Dr. Kater Hake of Cotton Inc. READ MORE »
