GMO Research aims to prevent spread of banana disease

According to an article in The New Yorker magazine, GMO research aims to prevent the spread of a soil-borne disease, called Tropical Race Four, that threatens to wipe out a widely exported and commonly sold variety of banana called Cavendish. Robert Borsato, a fruit farmer in Australia who, like others, has witnessed the tens of millions of dollars’ worth of damage in lost jobs and revenue caused by Tropical Race Four, said, “The only way to keep going is to breed a disease-resistant variety, one with commercial potential.” A team led by James Dale of Queensland University of Technology in Australia is working on genetically modified Cavendish. Read more. 

Secretary Vilsack proposes co-existence for biotech alfalfa, Reuters reports

USDA Secretary Vilsack addresses farm groups

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack encouraged the largest U.S. farm group to find a way for traditional and genetically modified crops to co-exist, Reuters reports. “Every farmer ought to be able to do what he or she wants to do on their land, so we are going to continue to have that conversation,” Vilsack said at the annual meeting of the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF). His proposed solution addressed the USDA’s deliberation between total deregulation and partial deregulation with isolation standards for biotech alfalfa. The article points out that Secretary Vilsack has acknowledged that the biotech alfalfa is safe. Read more.

Unproven claims against GM products similar to opposition to MMR vaccine, FT says

 A Financial Times article compares previous opposition to the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine (MMR) and current opposition to GM products to show that opponents’ arguments in both cases are unsubstantiated by peer-reviewed scientific research. Falsified information about the health hazards of MMR was later discredited only after causing considerable damage from a measles epidemic. The article points out that while the food debate raises different issues, independent research and food safety authorities in the EU have similarly reviewed opposing arguments to find, “Organic food does no harm. But then neither, it seems, does non-organic food.” Read More.

USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack’s remarks at this year’s Agriculture Outlook Conference discussed the approach of the USDA under his leadership. He is committed to propping up rural America and supporting American farmers so they can grow more crops in a healthy, sustainable manner. Sec. Vilsack, a supporter of ag biotech, also discussed the role agricultural biotechnology should play in our future. Below are some quotes from Sec. Vilsack’s speech about ag biotech.

Sec. Vilsack shares the benefits of agricultural biotechnology and why his agency supports an approach that includes the technology:

“Our new trade strategy also has to focus on biotechnology and developing a way in which we can do a better job of using that science, a better understanding of the environmental benefits that could occur from biotechnology — less pesticides and less chemicals, less damage to the environment, greater productivity at a time when the world’s population continues to expand and the available land for productivity shrinks because cities are expanding.”

Sec. Vilsack also talks about biofuels and agriculture’s potential in leading America towards a better and safer energy future.

“There is an enormous opportunity for this country in the area of energy. I have seen it in my home state of Iowa. It can be replicated across the country, which is why we have put a lot of time and effort into developing the biofuels task force report for the president, a discussion of how we might be able to use agriculture’s power, either in terms of production of crops or production of crop residue, or production of forest and biomass, that can create new opportunities for this country to make us far less dependent than we are today on foreign energy sources. It is time for America to take back its energy destiny. It can do this through the farmers and ranchers and rural communities of this country. Every sector of our nation, every geographic area of our nation, can contribute to this.”

You can read Sec. Vilsack’s full remarks here. You can watch the video of his speech here.

On World Food Day (Oct. 16), Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack hosted a conference call with media to discuss the growing threat of global food insecurity. They used the call to discuss their comprehensive approach to reducing the number of people worldwide who are chronically hungry (currently more than 1 billion).

The U.S. approach centers on “research, capacity-building, and technical assistance” and relies heavily on the production value of biotechnology. According to Sec. Vilsack, “sustainability and productivity are not mutually exclusive goals” and the United States will pursue both in its strategy to promote food production around the world.

The call’s transcript can be read here

We’re wrapping up our time here in Des Moines. Today we heard from some of the world’s leading experts and policy makers on solutions to addressing world hunger. Some of the major themes that were echoed throughout the symposium included the need for greater investments in agriculture both on the R & D side and in educating the next generation of agriculture experts; more investments in small-holder farms and infrastructure; better trade policies and regulations; improved access to markets; enhanced knowledge transfer within and between countries and increased public-private partnerships. Below are some quotes and summaries from some of the panelists.

Bill Gates (Founder, Microsoft and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation): “The global effort to help small farmers is endangered by an ideological wedge that threatens to split the movement in two. On one side is a technological approach that increases productivity. On the other side is an environmental approach that promotes sustainability. Productivity or sustainability – they say you have to choose. It’s a false choice, and it’s dangerous for the field. It blocks important advances. It breeds hostility among people who need to work together. And it makes it hard to launch a comprehensive program to help poor farmers. …we need both productivity and sustainability – and there is no reason we can’t have both…”

“The environment also benefits from higher productivity. When productivity is too low, people start farming on grazing land, cutting down forests, using any new acreage they can to grow food. When productivity is high, people can farm on less land…But some people insist on an ideal vision of the environment – divorced from people and their circumstances…Some voices are instantly hostile to any emphasis on productivity. They act as if there is no emergency – even though in the poorest, hungriest places on earth, population is growing faster than productivity, and the climate is changing…Declining yields, at a time of rising population, in a region with millions of poor people, means starvation…”

“We need to take full advantage of these emerging technologies to develop healthy new crop varieties – and we need to make the seeds available to the small farmers who need them.”

Jeffrey Sachs (Director, Earth Institute, Columbia University): Highlighted the case for prioritizing health and nutrition as part of an overall strategy for addressing world hunger. He offered a 10-point plan that included better access to healthy foods worldwide, including in our own country where it’s difficult finding healthy fast foods. His recommendations also included improving nutrition for early childhood development, better and more efficient water use and identifying a permanent venue to discuss the challenges and solutions facing the global population today vis-à-vis hunger and poverty. He suggested that the World Food Prize Foundation serve as that venue. He also added that the planet cannot feed itself with local foods and organic foods.

Hon. Tom Vilsack (Sec. Of Agriculture, USA): Shared Bill Gates sentiment that we need to find out how both productivity and sustainability can be accomplished. There are many technologies that we need to keep an open mind about and we will need to collaborate in order to understand the full suite of solutions that are before us.

H. E. Gerry Ritz (Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, Canada): We need to work together as part of a global trade community and we need to make sure access to the markets is improved. We also need to put more money in science and innovation and the public sector should support this so we can share our knowledge. Biotechnology is one of the solutions for feeding the world. We can produce enough food and fuel for the world.

H.E. Amin Abaza (Minister of Agriculture, Egypt): Egypt has serious environment and natural resource challenges and these will become greater with climate change. Egypt faces large problems and we will need to invest and use science and technology to meet these challenges. We need worldwide agreement on biotechnology.

Carlos Vazquez Ochoa (Minister-Counselor for Agriculture, Mexico Embassy, Washington, DC): If agriculture is to be an engine of growth, we must recognize that investment in small-scale farms is needed. Agriculture has been vastly under-utilized in development. How do we move into action in the face of climate change, global financial crisis and recession? Work together and intensify efforts to collaborate. Improve better transfer of knowledge. We will need nothing less than another technology revolution, including but not limited to biotechnology.

Kanayo Nwanze (Pres., International Fund for Agricultural Development): Agricultural production is essential for development. Farming is a business. We need to improve market access. We do not need new institutions. We need reformed institutions. Also, women make up 70% of the farmers. We need to be sensitive to the way we develop and implement policies & technologies that take into account the important role of women in development and in agriculture/farming. Africa also needs to see African leaders make a commitment to making changes to helping lift people out of poverty. It’s not just a matter of money; it’s what countries DO with the money and it must be driven by results-based programs. It’s about accountability. It’s not good enough to build hope. We must also have accountability.

This is our final day at the symposium. We’d love to hear your comments about some of the discussions. Please post your comments below.

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Seventeen farmers from around the world gathered for the Global Farmer-to-Farmer Roundtable as part of the World Food Prize Symposium events held in Des Moines, Iowa this week. In its fourth year, the purpose of the gathering is to bring together a diverse group of farmers representing both small and large-scale farms to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing the world’s food producers.

The Roundtable is organized by Truth About Trade and Technology and, this year, is sponsored by the Biotechnology Industry Organization and the Council for Biotechnology Information. As population grows and demand challenges our ability to meet food needs, what are the longterm strategies and technologies used by global farmers to feed the world? Farmers from as far away as Kenya, South Africa, India, China and Australia are meeting to discuss the agricultural needs in their communities. Farmers and agricultural experts from the UK, Ireland, Portugal, Mexico, Chile, Brazil, Honduras, Argentina and the U.S. are also part of the group and each bring a unique perspective on their local agricultural needs. Nations struggling with the question of how to feed more people, sustainably and in harmony with the environment, need only to listen to what some of these farmers have to say.

Here’s what these farmers are saying:

KENYA: Small-scale farmers provide approximately 70 percent of the food for the country. We need access to all technologies to enable us to feed people. This includes agricultural biotechnology, irrigation technology, zero-tillage technology.The government needs to support this.

SOUTH AFRICA: We have the technology and the demand for the food produced, but there’s a lack of support and incentives for investing in R & D and training the next generation of farmers. The cost of farming is prohibitive.

INDIA: We are losing the next generation of farmers as people move to the cities for better education and jobs. In addition to technology, we need incentives for our young people to pursue farming and make it profitable. We can have all the technology in the world, but without people to use it, we won’t have food.

MEXICO: We need a level playing field for all farmers. We cannot deny some farmers access to technologies; those who have the technology cannot fairly compete with those who do. Also, the conversation needs to be more scientific. We need to talk about biotechnology with less emotion and more science.

PORTUGAL: In Europe, we are 10 years behind the U.S. because of all the restrictions and the EU trying to make decisions for all countries regarding use of biotech seeds. We need to make our own choices for using the technology.

IRELAND: In addition to new technologies for plants, we must also consider the health of the soil that we grow our food on.  We need to understand the soil science better.

CHINA: Investments in agriculture is also an investment in our food security. When we grow enough to feed our people, then we know where our food comes from and we have a secure food supply. We have approved the use of biotech rice but it is not yet commercially available.

Stay tuned for more updates on the Roundtable as we move into Day 2. And coming in the next day or so, don’t miss posts/updates on Bill Gates’ first-ever speech on agriculture and global development as well as presentations by Jeffrey Sachs and U.S Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack.

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