24 Oct World Food Prize laureates bemoan consumer acceptance of biotech science
The greatest challenge feeding the world’s growing population is not about the science needed to boost production, it is convincing the public to accept it, said three GM pioneers who received the 2013 World Food Prize last week.
The three scientists honoured as pioneers of genetically modified crops spent much of their time defending the two-decades-old technology against concerns they say should have been laid to rest long ago.
“Looking back at the beginning of this science, I don’t think I could ever imagine it would have had the impact and adaptation that it has had today,” said Robb Fraley, Monsanto’s executive vice-president and chief biotechnology officer.
“And I never thought in the early stages that we would still be talking about acceptance and the consumer challenges we are talking about today.”
He noted genetically modified crops developed by his company and others have an “impeccable” safety track record and been embraced by farmers in more than 30 countries all over the world.
“The beauty of the science is taking all of this advancement in biology and genetic engineering and putting it in a seed. Every farmer in the world knows what to do with a seed. The barriers to adoption are very, very low and the ability to reap benefit is high,” he said.
However, it continues to face opposition from consumers, activist groups and politicians. “We need to make people understand the technology has been tested and the safety has never been compromised.”
What’s more, the technology has transformed plant breeding, taking it to the molecular level, as gene mapping makes it possible for scientists to select for specific traits, he said.
“I am optimistic that the tools that we have in biotechnology are incredible. From the science perspective we’re seeing just the tip of the iceberg by way of new opportunities,” he said.
But at the same time as the world is called upon to double its food supply, producing more in the next few decades than it has in its entire history to feed an estimated 9.6 billion people by 2050, the backlash continues against one of the technologies that can help make that happen.
Three receive award
Fraley joined Marc Van Montagu, the founder of the Institute for Plant Biotechnology Outreach in Belgium, and Mary-Dell Chilton, founder of Syngenta Biotechnology Inc. in accepting the annual award recognizing individuals who have contributed to global food security….
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Pic caption: Robb Fraley, Marc Van Montagu, the founder of the Institute for Plant Biotechnology Outreach in Belgium, and Mary-Dell Chilton, founder of Syngenta Biotechnology.
World Food Prize 2013 :Statement of Achievement
Building upon the scientific discovery of the Double Helix structure of DNA by Watson and Crick in the 1950s, Van Montagu, Chilton, and Fraley each conducted groundbreaking molecular research on how a plant bacterium could be adapted as a tool to insert genes from another organism into plant cells, which could produce new genetic lines with highly favorable traits.
The revolutionary biotechnology discoveries of these three individuals — each working in separate facilities on two continents — unlocked the key to plant cell transformation using recombinant DNA. Their work led to the development of a host of genetically enhanced crops, which, by 2012, were grown on more than 170 million hectares around the globe by 17.3 million farmers, over 90 percent of whom were small resource-poor farmers in developing countries.
The combined achievements of the 2013 World Food Prize Laureates, from their work in the laboratory to applying biotechnology innovations in farmers’ fields, have contributed significantly to increasing the quantity and availability of food, and can play a critical role as we face the global challenges of the 21st century of producing more food, in a sustainable way, while confronting an increasingly volatile climate.