Straits Times Forum 4 Jan 10;
IT WAS with great concern that I read the report, 'Super rice under development' (Dec 25). Genetically engineered or modified (GM) crops are often touted as 'a solution to world hunger', promising yield increases via resistance to pesticides and high tolerance to flooding, drought and salinity.
A closer look at the GM industry reveals a different story. The tests done by the companies are far from conclusive as to whether GM crops are safe either for the environment or human health. Nutritionists are discovering that food sensitivities are increasingly coming from traditionally benign foods that could have their source in GM ingredients.
What is worse is that consumers lose total control over what they put on their plates, as many GM products are pushed unlabelled for fear that consumers will not accept them.
There is no conclusive evidence that yields increase because of GM agriculture. Studies have shown that the same or better results can be achieved with integrated pest management and sustainable agricultural practices by promoting a biodiversity of crops.
In fact, GM is a threat to food security as large monocultures dependent on few traits in selected crop species can lead to catastrophic shocks in the system, as in the case of famines in Ireland in the 19th century or in Ethiopia in the 20th century.
Many farmers in Ghana and India have reduced crop failures by cultivating drought-resistant varieties of the same species, which also leads to better water management and reduced pesticide use.
GM seeds are patented and sold at a hefty premium to farmers who also have to pay a hefty technology fee. Intellectual property rights mean farmers get a licence to use the seeds for only one year, and cannot save seeds as they have done for centuries.
Hunger is not a technological problem. It is a distribution problem, as food is concentrated in the hands of some. GM is a strategy which will only perpetuate poverty and hunger, as it destroys small farmers' livelihood and self-sufficiency.
Bhavani Prakash (Ms)
Full letter on Super Rice or Monster Rice? Why GM crops can’t feed the world
from EcoWalkthetalk
