As the leaders for the G8 countries (the U.S., Canada, Japan, Germany, United Kingdom, Italy, France and Russia) meet in Japan this week, it is interesting to note how the price and availability of food have forced their way onto an agenda that was to have focused on climate change.
A report from an advance G8 Science and Technology ministers meeting covered a number of topics dealing with the issue of food security and included the following language: “In order to address the recent global food crisis, it is important to enhance agricultural productivity…. Food security would also be improved by increased access to new agricultural technologies including biotechnology and post-harvest technologies.”
Prior to arriving in Japan, President Bush also addressed the issue, including a plug for biotech crops in a G8 briefing with reporters, “I'm also going to make sure that the world understands the importance of advanced agricultural technologies, including biotechnology, to help nations grow food so they don't have to come to the world for help.”
While biotech-enhanced seeds are available in some developing countries, the science and technology ministers meeting in advance of this meeting recognized the need for developing countries to participate in the development of all types of technology to meet their specific needs. If the G8 leaders recognize the importance of biotech crops to deal with the global issue of rising food and feed prices – we will have reached a new level of global acknowledgment regarding the importance of technology to meet the demand of feeding a rapidly growing global population – increasing yield and enhancing the accessibility, affordability and increased nutritional value of our food while protecting our natural resources.
Biofuels may be to blame for that coupled with the oft disputed by cited fact that gmo's produce less on average than conventional crops thus reducing our potential harvests. But here we have Biotech backing biofuels which in turn causes food shortages and price increases that some say begs the need for more biotech crops and their accompanying pesticides--a vicious circle that makes the biotech industry richer and the consumer--including some farmers, poorer and hungrier. Is it really working or fueling a failed agricultural/energy approach that grows further and further out of touch with its sacred purpose to sustain the people and conserve our land resources?
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