Journal or Publishing Institution: Tailoring Biotechnologies
Author(s): Rosset, P.M.
Article Type: Report
Record ID: 2105
Abstract: In this analysis I take very seriously the oft-repeated claim that genetic engineering of crop seeds could be an important way to attack hunger in the nations of the South, submitting it to a rigorous critical analysis. Industry and mainstream research and policy institutions often suggest that transgenic crop varieties can raise the productivity of poor third world farmers, feed the hungry, and reduce poverty (see, for example, www.whybiotech.com; McGloughlin, 1999a, 1999b; Pinstrup-Andersen, 1999). In order to address these propositions critically, we must examine the assumptions and claims that lie behind them. In order to do so, I first briefly review the notion that hunger is due to a scarcity of food, and thus that it could be remedied by producing more. I then look into the situation faced by poor farmers in the Third World, including the issue of their productivity. I close by examining some of the special risks that genetic engineering for agriculture it may pose for peasant farmers.
Keywords: Genetic Engineering, Crop Seeds, Hunger, Transgenic Crop Varieties, Productivity, Poor Third World Farmers, Poverty, Assumptions, Scarcity
Citation: Rosset, P., 2006. Genetically modified crops for a hungry world: How useful are they really. Tailoring Biotechnologies, 2(1), pp.79-94.
