Will Biotechnology Feed the World's Hungry?
| DOI | 10.1177/002070200105600407 |
| Published date | 01 December 2001 |
| Date | 01 December 2001 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
PETER
W.B.
PHILLIPS
Will
biotechnology
feed
the
world's
hungry?
ONCE
AGAIN,
THE
WORLD'S
800
MILLION
MALNOURISHED
and
hun-
gry
are
being promised
the
magic
of
science,
in
this
case
agricultural
biotechnology,
as
a
solution
to
all
of
their
food
security
problems.
Scientists,
industry,
and
many
governments
are
promoting
biotech-
nology
as
the
potential
means
of
vanquishing
hunger.
Much
of
the
recent
enthusiasm
has
focused
on
the
potential
role
of
vitamin
A
enhanced Golden
RiceT
m
in
ameliorating
malnourishment
in
develop-
ing
countries.
While
many
see
this
as
a
'grain
of
hope'
others
see
it
as
'fool's
gold.'
Other
scientific
breakthroughs,
such
as
hybrid
crops,
the industrial-
ization
of
the
agri-food sector,
and
the
Green
Revolution
greatly
accel-
erated
the
world's
food
production
capacity
and
lowered
the
propor-
tion
of
the
world's
population
that
is
short
of
food,
but
it
did
not
elim-
inate
hunger.
The
new
biotechnology
offers even
greater
opportunities
and
greater
hope
that
technical
constraints
will be
removed,
but
they
have
somewhat limited
commercial, economic,
social,
and
political
applicability
in
developing
countries.
THE HUNGER
PROBLEM
The
International
Food
Policy Research
Institute
estimates
that
in
the
early
1990s
there
were
approximately
780
million
malnourished
peo-
Professor
ofAgricultural
Economics
and
Professional
Associate
in
management
and
marketing
in
an
NSERCJSSHRC
Chair
in
Managing
Knowledge-based
Agri-food Development,
University
of
Saskatchewan.
Dr
Phillips
is
also
a
Member
of
the
Canadian
Biotechnology
Advisory
Committee.
INTERNATIONAL
JOURNAL
Autumn
2001
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