The impatient optimism of GM crops and food security

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Farm household in Kenya (CREDIT: Flickr/CAFOD)

The following is an edited excerpt.

Are GM crops needed to feed the world? This is a common question heard in debates. It isn’t a very useful question, because it offers little guidance concerning investment priorities (and regulations). A better set of questions is: Is the net impact of a particular GM crop on feeding the world positive or negative? How big is the effect? And, which GM traits in which contexts might contribute more than others to feeding the world?

As Bill Gates once said, “I am an impatient optimist. The world is getting better, but it’s not getting better fast enough, and it’s not getting better for everyone”: we would like hunger to decrease at a faster rate. Could GM crops make any difference? Let’s take a look at the concept of food security, the potential effects of GM crops, and some recent evidence.

Read the full story here: GM crops and food security

Additional Resources:

Twist in the Tale: GM crop adds to Food Security,” Forbes (India)

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