Comments on: Technology has a role in alleviating hunger

By: Suzanne

Suzanne — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 16:18:27 +0000

Not only do GMO crops help lift the production level of subsistence farmers — they actually increase their over-all well-being and even help countries’ societies mature. A child who doesn’t have to spend all his/her time weeding because of weed-resistant seed can go to school; a mother who doesn’t have to spend all her time in the fields carrying water because of seed better suited to dry climtes can spend time making handicrafts to be sold at market; a farmer who grows more food can better feed his family and sell the extra at market. Thus appropriate use of GMO can help build entire societies. Just because we have grown beyond subsistence farming does not mean that we should shut the door on important advances in agriculture that allows others to do so. Think about it — in the early 1900s starving to death we still a leading cause of death. Now we are more threatened by obesity.

By: Bill Harshaw

Bill Harshaw — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 21:38:16 +0000

Nosmokes: You may be right, in a narrow sense, but GMO’s do increase the net return to the farmer, which is an incentive to produce more. My evidence–farmers are willing to pay the premium for GMO seed when the resulting crop can be marketed freely.

By: Rebecca T. of HonestMeat

Rebecca T. of HonestMeat — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 17:31:24 +0000

GMOs have played no role in increasing food production on this planet. The Green Revolution was about hybrid plant breeding, irrigation technology, and improvements in fertilization.
In fact, herbicide-tolerant crops comprise 81% of the GMO crops planted globally, nearly all of which are Monsanto’s Roundup Ready variety. This is all about ensuring sales of Roundup and nothing about “feeding the world”. Glyphosate use on soybeans, corn, and cotton rose dramatically from 7.9 million pounds in 1994 to 119.1 million pounds in 2005. More recently, USDA data has shown an increase in the application of more toxic and persistent herbicides such as 2,4-D on soybeans and atrazine on corn, in part to combat increasing glyphosate weed resistance. Contrary to claims by the biotech industry and some bloggers that GMO crops reduce chemical use, USDA’s own data shows the emergence of a trend towards more toxic and more frequent herbicide applications.
The absolute best ‘technology’ to increase food production globally is soil conservation. We loose more productivity due to soil erosion and loss of fertility than anything else.

By: nosmokes

nosmokes — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 20:18:43 +0000

Of course technology is responsible for advances in agriculture, but like everything it must be used in a wise manner. You include GMOs as part of the technological solution to providing food and hunger relief to the world when in fact there is no GMO on the market that increases yield.