Test your biotech knowledge!
This week, we’re asking our readers to take CBI’s quiz to see how much you know about ag biotech and to provide feedback on the information you want to see from CBI. All quiz-takers will be eligible to win a copy of the acclaimed book Tomorrow’s Table: Organic Farming, Genetics and the Future of Food! Now, for other exciting ag biotech news…
Biotechnology is essential to African food security
At a roundtable discussion, Ghanaian biosafety and biotechnology expert Prof. Walter Alhassan stressed that agricultural biotechnology is crucial to his country dealing effectively with food security issues and the impact of a changing and less predictable climate. He added that “after 14 years of commercial use of genetic modification (GM) crops, no scientifically proved risk has been confirmed due to GM application.” Ghana’s National Biosafety Committee will soon be considering applications to permit field trials of protein-enhanced sweet potatoes and insect protected cowpea in the country. Learn more.
Recent anti-biotech ruling on GM beet sugar harms farmers and consumers
A recent federal district court ruling that limits the application of genetically modified beet 
sugar will have a negative impact on the price and availability of sugar in America, according to a Forbes article. Genetically modified beet sugar accounts for 95 percent of all sugar grown in the United States. The court ruling, which requires a more intensive environmental impact study by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (the agency that already approved the GM beets in 2005) will result in uncertainty in the sugar marketplace, hurting farmers and consumers. Learn more.
Interesting ag biotech news from around the world this week includes the promotion of biotech crops by a farmer in Italy and improvements in Asian rice that could result in significant yield increases.
An Italian farmer fights for GM crops
Italian farmer Giorgio Fidenato is determined to promote the benefits of biotech crops, going so far as to plant GM corn on his farm, despite Italy’s moratorium on genetically modified seeds that was enacted in March. “Our biggest goal is to show consumers that it is safe to eat,” he says, in an Associated Press article.
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Ag biotech expert Dr. C.S. Prakash talked to Soy Connection about the benefits of ag biotech, while researchers have found evidence that food security could actually be enhanced by planting biofuel crops.
EU approves six varieties of maize for import
Reuters reports that the European Commission on Wednesday approved six genetically modified (GM) maize varieties for import to the EU member countries. This demonstrates its desire to speed up European Union decisions on the technology.
The decision opens the way for fresh imports of the approved GM maize varieties from countries such as the United States, Brazil and Argentina.
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Andrew Revkin, science reporter from the New York Times Dot Earth Blog shared in his blog post “A Menu feeding 9 Billion” that Science Magazine, the premier national academic science journal, removed the pay wall from the report “Food Security: The Challenge of Feeding 9 Billion People.” According to Revkin, the paper discusses the difficulty of feeding a growing population with current agricultural practices, but “expresses optimism that a sustained focus on efficiency, technology and policy innovations can do the trick.”
The authors of the report prepared a chart with examples of possible strategic traits that could be engineered in specific crops, helping farmers produce significant crop yields even in marginal circumstances. Examples of traits include: salinity tolerance and increased nitrogen-use efficiency.
The paper stresses “that technology alone is far from sufficient if policies are not shifted to advance the appropriate use of the right agricultural strategy or tool in the right place.” Therefore, the authors also point to areas such as aquaculture and food waste management as tools that can increase sustainable production limits.
Additionally, Revkin reports that this special February issue of Science about Food Security includes an analysis by Dr. Nina Fedoroff, Science and Technology Advisor at the U.S. Department of State and 14 other authors, including CBI Expert Dr. Pamela Ronald. This analysis, “Radically Rethinking Agriculture for the 21st Century” also underlines the importance of revising our agriculture policies to fit the needs of the 21st century, and focuses on the promise of agricultural technology that can greatly increase crop yields and support a growing population.
The authors of this analysis believe that the complex regulatory structure for GM crops needs to be simplified so more resources are allocated towards GM crop development. They believe that these efforts, along with improved aquaculture practices, will help us improve food security worldwide and combat the effects of a changing climate. The authors of this report conclude by saying, “But if we are to resume progress towards eliminating hunger, we must scale up and further build on the innovative approaches already under development, and we must do so immediately.”
Last week’s climate talks in Copenhagen produced a draft agreement forming an international working group to reduce global warming emissions from the agriculture sector. According to The New York Times Green Inc. blog, the creation of this group reflects the “rising importance of agriculture in the climate change debate.”
The group will aim to mitigate the carbon emissions from crop and livestock cultivation by focusing on technologies, such as agricultural biotechnology, that can strengthen food security in developing nations despite rising temperatures and an increasing population.
You can learn more about the international working group on agriculture here.
Dr. Nina Fedoroff
