Buffet Foundation funds development of GM sorghum for Africa
According to Reuters, the Howard G. Buffet Foundation is providing a $4 million grant to support efforts to develop genetically modified sorghum for Africa that is fortified with vitamins.
“Improving the nutrition of this staple crop has the potential to change the lives of more than 300 million Africans,” said Warren Buffet, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and father of Howard G. Buffet. The Howard G. Buffet Foundation aims to improve the quality of life for the world’s most impoverished populations, often through agricultural productivity. Read more.
CNBC Special Report discusses role of ag tech in world food supply
A CNBC Special Report on Food Economics says agricultural biotechnology is gaining a bigger role in helping to improve global crop yields. The article points out that diseases and insects reduce global crop production by 35 percent. Biotech crops with insect and disease resistance and drought tolerance help farmers produce healthy crops. Read more.
GM Seeds Raise Incomes and Increase Yields in Africa
An article by Voice of America discusses studies showing that genetically modified crops help Africa to overcome poverty and hunger. It points out that in the book, The New Harvest: Agricultural Innovation in Africa, Harvard University Professor Calestous Juma “proposes that biotech seeds could dramatically increase yield and raise incomes.” Juma joins other genetic engineering proponents like Margaret Karembu, Director of the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Application’s AgriCenter (ISAAA) in Nairobi, who finds that biotech agriculture reduces harmful insecticides, increases yields and raises incomes in countries like South Africa and Burkina Faso.
Author Voices Benefits of Biotechnology on Fox News GM Food Debate
In a Fox News interview with John Stossel, Gregory Conko, co-author of The Frankenfood Myth, says that modern biotechnology “allows for much safer food.” Mr. Conko points out that “if you’ve eaten food in, say, over the last ten thousand years, you’ve eaten something that farmers or plant breeders have intentionally modified at the genetic level.” He explains that ag technology makes it possible to be more precise by identifying “the changes that are made in the genetic structure of an organism.”
Former USDA Chief Scientist Recommends GM Crops for President’s Plan
According to Scientific American, former U.S. Department of Agriculture Chief Scientist and Undersecretary for Research, Education and Economics Gale A. Buchanan highly recommends that President Obama incorporate genetically modified crops into his plans to improve global energy productivity and food security. In the article, Buchanan states that “any ‘real, revolutionary’ impact” of the president’s so-called Evergreen Revolution depends on taking advantage of the benefits of GM crops. “The world has got to accept genetically modified plants because not to is to fail to acknowledge one of the most important discoveries of the 21st century,” Buchanan said.
