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Agbiotech and world food security — threat or boon?

Nature Biotechnology volume 18, page 361 (2000)Cite this article

Lurking behind the debate on genetically modified organisms (GMOs) is the phantom fear of the ownership of staple food resources. Corporate control and US domination may, in fact, be the real boogeyman. Most assuredly, there continues to be a level of concern about the impact of scientific alteration of crops on our health and environment. But the world community is gradually building an infrastructure of biosafety to accommodate new agricultural technologies and products. Though not without its serious shortcomings, the protocol on biosafety drafted in Montreal in late January indicates that there is now an across-the-board consensus that at least recognizes the potential of biotechnology for food and agriculture.

Foreign ownership of food resources is an inflammatory issue when it comes to sovereign assertions of national independence and food security. Although global regulatory systems are grappling with ways to cope with this dilemma, recent corporate developments may have removed some of the sting from the dialogue. Prompted by poor performance in life science divisions, some of the GMO giants have either undergone or are in the process of undergoing restructuring. Although the process is still developing, a commercial climate is beginning to emerge that is more hospitable to diversification and a wider participation in developing bioactive agricultural resources.

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References

  1. Falck-Zepeda, J.B., Traxler, G. and Nelson, R.G. Rent Creation and Distribution from the First Three Years of Planting Bt Cotton. The International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA) Briefs No. 14 Ithaca, NY 14 (1999).

  2. Ibid, p.v.

  3. Ibid, p.v.

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  1. CEO and president of GIC Group, 1016 Duke Street, Alexandria, 22314, VA

    Richard Gilmore

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  1. Richard Gilmore
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Gilmore, R. Agbiotech and world food security — threat or boon?. Nat Biotechnol 18, 361 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1038/74329

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