Bill Gates recently reviewed “Tomorrow’s Table: Organic Farming, Genetics and the Future of Food” on his blog, The Gates Notes. Gates believes that “this is an important book for anyone who wants to learn about the science of seeds and the challenges faced by farmers.”

He sums up the book nicely, writing:

“Tomorrow’s Table is a real education on the many choices farmers today must make regarding seeds. It’s very good in explaining genetically engineered seed, how it’s used today (mostly to help plants fight off insects and tolerate herbicide) and how it will be used in the future (to increase disease resistance, drought tolerance, vitamin content and crop yields, for example). The book separates out clearly the issues of how to make sure new seeds are safe, how to price them and how to treat them as intellectual property.”

The authors, CBI Expert Dr. Pamela Ronald, and Raoul Adamchak, are a married couple who present two different sides to the organic/biotech debate and how the two systems can complement each other -she is a plant geneticist at UC Davis and he is an organic farmer.

CBI previously blogged about a panel at the World Economic Forum in Davos called “Rethinking How to Feed the World.” The panel featured notable leaders and CEOs including Jakaya M. Kikwete, President of Tanzania; Ellen Kullman, CEO of Dupont USA and Bill Gates, Chairman of Microsoft and co-Chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

The panel’s moderator asked Bill Gates, “Are you for or against genetically modified (GM) food?” Mr. Gates showed his support for the transgenic approach, saying it can “probably do better than any other approach” and called the disease resistance opportunities in GM crops “a real help.” Transgenic organisms, a subset of GMOs, are organisms which have inserted DNA that originated in a different species.

 Given the rising number of people worldwide that are malnourished or undernourished, Bill Gates advises that we look into all available crop production options. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is currently supporting many organizations that are responsible for helping small farmers in the developing world grow more food and funding R&D in agriculture including ag biotech. For example, the Foundation funds HarvestPlus, a nonprofit that supports molecular breeding research (a type of transgenic engineering that modifies a crop for traits such as disease resistance using genes native to the crop) towards improving plant nutrition in Africa and Asia.

You can watch Bill Gates’ response to the question about GM food here.

World leaders and CEOs at the Davos 2010 World Economic Forum participated in a panel called “Rethinking how to feed the world.” The panel discussed the challenges facing global food production and possible solutions that will increase yield and support agricultural producers worldwide.

The panel was moderated by Prannoy Roy, Chairman, New Delhi Television (NDTV), India, and panelists included:

William H. Gates III, Co-Chair, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, USA
Jakaya M. Kikwete, President of Tanzania
Ellen Kullman, Chair of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, DuPont, USA
Nguyen Tan Dung, Prime Minister of Vietnam; Chair, 2010 ASEAN
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Managing Director, World Bank, Washington DC; Global Agenda Council on Corruption
Patricia A. Woertz, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), USA;

According to Tanzania President Kilwete, “…a combination of mechanization, irrigation, high-yielding seeds, getting the fertilizers and imparting skills to farmers” is needed for Tanzanian farmers to improve agricultural practices and food production.

The panelists agreed that science based solutions and better education for farmers will need to play a role in increasing food production. Please comment with your thoughts on this fascinating discussion.

Bill Gates, Microsoft Chairman and head of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, writes about the importance of achieving both agricultural productivity and sustainability. As head of the largest foundation in the world, Mr. Gates has made a $1.4 billion commitment to small farmers for reducing global hunger through approaches that include agricultural technology. 

Mr. Gates writes, “I have seen proof that agricultural science can make people’s lives better” and points to advances like the Swarna-sub1 Rice, a seed variety that can survive underwater for more than two weeks and help farmers in places that are prone to floods. According to Bill Gates, the next “Green Revolution” must help feed a billion people using modern technology in a sustainable manner.

You can read the entire piece by Bill Gates here.

Scientific American reports on Bill Gate’s remarks at the World Food Prize and his call for a second Green Revolution. In his speech, Mr. Gates announced nine new agriculture grants totaling $120 million, and openly supported the use of biotechnology as one of many tools necessary to alleviate world hunger and advance the next Green Revolution.

Mr. Gates described the need to “develop crops that can grow in a drought; that can survive in a flood; that can resist pests and disease” and openly endorsed biotechnology as one solution to helping end world hunger.

The complete article can be read here.