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The Daily Democrat Woodland, CA Thursday, June 26, 2003 Biotech battle takes shape in capital By DOUGLAS FISCHER, MediaNews Group An international conference in Sacramento exploring how technology can help solve world hunger has sparked a global firestorm against U.S. efforts to promote genetically modified crops. More than 150 delegations from 100 countries - including 75 foreign agriculture ministers - will gather next week to discuss ways new products and research can reduce hunger in developing nations. U.S. Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman kicks off the three-day Ministerial Conference and Expo on Agricultural Science and Technology on Monday. The invitation-only summit has other countries and international aid organizations claiming the Bush administration is placing agribusiness interests ahead of the world's poor. Thousands of activists, academics and leaders of international organizations plan to mobilize in Sacramento to present an alternative: that distribution, not crop yield, is the problem. "We can produce enough food," said Drinah Nyirenda, director of the Programme Against Malnutrition in Zambia, who flew to California this week. "The problem is some of the international issues that relate to support." Her country recently declined a shipment of U.S. corn after learning it contained genetically modified stock, Nyirenda said. "To say no on behalf of people who are starving is really tough... (But) there are alternatives out there." The USDA will spend $3 million on the conference, which features sessions on irrigation, financial markets, forest management, packaging technologies and transportation, among others. Biotechnology will be an "important aspect" of the conference, but just one of many, said J.B. Penn, the agency's undersecretary for farm and foreign agricultural services. "For the people who are chronically hungry, this is to try and help them do some simple things," he said. "We don't need a lot of advanced technology, but there's a lot of technology that can help them produce more food and better food." Biotech crops are grown primarily for animal feed. But in the Third World, those crops stand a greater chance of ending up on the dinner table - a typical diet in Zambia can be 70 percent maize, Nyirenda said. Genetically modified seeds are engineered to repel insects and withstand weed killers. The result, according to proponents, is higher yielding crops that are easier to grow and maintain. In the 1990s, American farmers began embracing the new technology, and now 75 percent of soybeans, 34 percent of corn and 71 percent of cotton come from gene-altered seeds, according to the USDA. An agency study concluded bio-engineered resistance reduced total pesticide use by 6.2 percent in 1997 - savings that can be significant for a country that sprays 164 million pounds of herbicides on corn alone. But consumers, particularly in Europe, and even agencies such as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, remain wary, saying more must be known about potential health and environmental impacts. "The alternatives are out there - sustainable, environmentally sound, socially sound agriculture has existed for a millennium," said Antonia Juhasz, project manager for San Francisco-based International Forum on Globalization. "What needs to happen is the trade system has to be reassembled to favor the small farmers instead of the multinational companies." FAIR USE NOTICE: This document contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. The International Forum on Globalization is making this article available in our efforts to advance the understanding of environmental, corporate accountability, human rights, labor rights, social justice issues, etc. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. |