GE - not the only option
Who benefits from genetic engineering and who loses? What are the risks and who will bear them? What are the alternatives to genetic engineering? This issue of LEISA Magazine attempt to explore these questions.
In this issue we focus on the specific claims made in favour of the introduction of the Genetic Revolution in tropical farming, the risks involved and the alternatives that exist around the world.
Some claim that we need Genetically Engineered (GE) crops to meet the demands of a rapidly growing world population. But do we really need these technologies? Do they deliver what they promise? Are large companies investing in these technologies interested in the specific needs and requirements of smallholders in the tropics? Will low-cost and low-risk oriented farmers benefit from these technologies? And are there other biotechnologies not based on genetic modification that provide affordable and complementary tools for improving genetic resources?
Table of contents:
-
1 - 1
-
2 - 3
-
4 - 5written by ILEIA editorial teamA new agricultural revolution is taking place: the "genetic engineering revolution". For the first time it is possible to break through natural species' barriers, systematically moving genes from one species to another that do not combine in nature. Many see GE as "the" solution to hunger, poverty and many health problems. It sounds too good to be true. But when we begin to look behind the facade of this promise-filled development, many important questions emerge, allof which are explored in this issue of the LEISA Magazine.
-
6 - 8written by Peter RossetIf poverty and hunger in the world are to be reduced, then the reasons for these problems need to be understood. Starting with a short historical background, the author traces the changes that have taken place in national and global governance mechanisms, leading to some of the most pressing problems faced by small farmers today. In his opinion, GM crops will not address the principal constraints faced by farmers; in fact the risks they face far outweigh any benefits. The author emphasises that it is not a lack of technology that holds farmers back, but pervasive injustices and inequities to resources including land, credit, market access etc.
-
9 - 11written by Bert VisserBiotechnology that has been developed and utilised by humans over the ages falls within the parameters of the definition adopted by the Convention on Biological Diversity of 1992, where biotechnology is defined as \"any technological application that uses biological systems, living organisms, or derivates thereof, to make or modify products or processes for specific use\". However, traditional use of biotechnology seems not to be considered anymore. This article describes four \"modern\" biotechnologies, their application, the inputs they require, and the possibilities they bring in relation to traditional techniques.
-
12 - 14written by Edith Lammerts van Bueren , Aart OsmanIn the mid-1990 the organic agricultural sector decided not to allow the use of GMOs in organic production. This was partly due to the risk of undesired and unknown environmental and health-related side effects of GMOs. But the main reason was a more ethical choice of respecting the integrity of plants and animals. The Louis Bolk Institute, a private research institute for organic agriculture, organised a discussion with all key players in the Netherlands. This resulted in a vision on organic plant breeding that was further discussed at workshops throughout western Europe in order to formulate a common standpoint.
-
15 - 16written by Norman UphoffBesides Madagascar, where it was developed in the 1980s, the system of rice intensification (SRI) is now showing, also in other countries, that it can be more productive than other methods for growing irrigated rice. As shown in this article, SRI confirms the general value of an agroecological perspective, so this should increasingly guide agricultural research. Further genetic research, as demanded by many, will be more beneficial if it is linked to agroecological theory and practice, not assuming that gains in productivity are due only, or even primarily, to genetic improvements.
-
17 - 18written by Flemming NielsenAmong the many different approaches to pest control in maize, the push-pull system shows great potential for small holder farmers. Repellent plants intercropped with maize ´push´ the insects out of the fields into trap crops outside the field that ´pull´ the insects in. The system makes optimal use of existing biological interactions, offers long-term stability and requires no expensive inputs. In Kenya, the grasses selected by the farmers as repellents and as trap crops have the added benefit of providing fodder and in suppressing the vicious weed Striga. The system has now been released officially in Kenya and is getting a very positive response from farmers.
-
19 - 20written by Jose Maria Tardin , Jean Marc von der WeidBrazil is the "last of the big dominoes" in the soybean market still resisting the GM onslaught. Taking the international situation in mind, Brazilians have to decide where their strategic interests lie, and thus decide whether to go for GM soybean or not. This article shows that the country is doing well withoug GM soybean, and, what's more, that agroecological soybean production in a viable abd competitive option for many small scale farmers there.
-
21 - 22written by Dorothy MyersGlobal cotton production has tripled to around 20 million tonnes sonce the 1930s, largely due to the intensive use of synthetic chemicals. By 2000, some 5.3 million hectares of GM cotton were grown, representing 16% of the total cotton area planted worldwide. Concerns about the increasingly wodespread use of this technology abound. This article presents organic cotton as a viable alternative, following the examples from different countries.
-
23 - 24written by Luis Gomero OsorioPeru, like many other countries in this region, is endowed with many plants that can be used for pest control. With the introduction of chemical pesticides, the use of these plant-based substances has gradually decreased. However, the genetic engineering of crops to build-in resistance to pests has brought the discussion of natural protection methods back on the agenda. Some of these plantbased pest control agents are well known and are available commercially, but there are many more possibilities, considering the diversity of plant species.
-
25 - 26written by Doreen Stabinsky , Niccolo SarnoThe Mexican government announced research showing that 15 of 22 communities where maize seeds were tested this year were found to have been contaminated by GE maize. Three to ten percent of the maize seeds tested contain genes from GE maize. GE varieties are not grown in Mexico but they are imported from the United States for feed and industrial use. Contamination was found in the southern states of Oaxaca and Puebla, centres of origin and diversity of maize. The magnitude of the problem is large and the potential for contamination of neighbouring fields is a serious reality worldwide.
-
27 - 30Over the past quarter century a number of participatory methods have been developed to democratise policy-making. Citizens juries is one such method that is being used widely to get farmers involved in the debate on GMOs, which has a direct impact on their lives and livelihoods. This article describes two such juries conducted in India, in Karnataka and Andra Pradesh. In both instances, the farmers clearly said ´no´ to GMOs, and supported localised food systems instead.
-
29 - 29written by Adriano CampolinaOver the past quarter century a number of participatory methods have been developed to democratise policy-making. Citizens juries is one such method that is being used widely to get farmers involved in the debate on GMOs, which has a direct impact on their lives and livelihoods. This article describes two such juries conducted in India, in Karnataka and Andra Pradesh. In both instances, the farmers clearly said ´no´ to GMOs, and supported localised food systems instead.
-
30 - 30written by Jessamijn MiedemaOver the past quarter century a number of participatory methods have been developed to democratise policy-making. Citizens juries is one such method that is being used widely to get farmers involved in the debate on GMOs, which has a direct impact on their lives and livelihoods. This article describes two such juries conducted in India, in Karnataka and Andra Pradesh. In both instances, the farmers clearly said ´no´ to GMOs, and supported localised food systems instead.
-
31 - 31
-
32 - 33
-
34 - 35
-
36 - 36Many concerned people are apalled at how the poverty of the rural people of the South is made use of to justify genetically modified food to Northern consumers. Some reasons are presented here. (From a letter to the Channel Four News and The Times newspaper in the U.K., in response to a documentary and article signed by a large group of concerned people from all continents.)
Print this