Will the Hungry Profit From Biotechnology?

The "biotech will feed the hungry" argument is often used to rationalize genetically engineered (GE) crops and to justify the export of these crops and genetic technologies to developing countries. But will genetically engineered crops feed the world's hungry? Doubtful. In fact, GE food might actually limit people's access to healthy food through corporate control of the world's genetic resources.

It is generally recognized that GE foods are not intended for the world's poor and hungry. In fact, the push for GE crops is purely commercial. Currently, the majority of GE grain crops are used for animal feed. And first generation GE foods were mostly aimed at improving crop production, not quality or nutrition. Second generation crops, often described as nutraceuticals or functional foods, may be the next magic bullet, but boosting natural foods with vitamins through genetic engineering, such as vitamin A rice, may create serious health problems.

It is also clear that the multinational corporations behind GE foods are in business to increase profits. GE crops are not cheap. Farmers who grow GE crops have to pay a technology fee on top of buying seed and other inputs. Consumers may also have to pay more.

Altruism or Greed?

The "green revolution" has radically transformed the environment, agriculture and food systems (including traditional diets and farming practices) of developing countries, leaving them even more dependent on western technology and aid. The gene revolution now promises to do the same.

It is clear that many GE-derived products were created in one place to replace existing native or local production of key ingredients in another place. Canola oil, for instance, directly competes with the production of coconut and palm oils. Cocoa, vanilla and coffee are other crops at risk of being supplanted by foreign GE products. Considering the number of indigenous people subsisting from the production of these crops, it is difficult to see how genetic technologies will improve local economies.

Hungry for Profits

The promise of feeding the hungry also justifies the presence of multinational corporations and other gene prospectors in the developing world. This provides an excuse for biotechnology companies to access and use the genetic resources found there, where remaining stocks of biodiversity might enclose the industry's next "innovation." This has been called biopiracy.

Natural and farm biodiversity are nevertheless threatened by the presence of GE crops. The problem of genetic pollution is arising on a global scale, potentially displacing traditional breeds of agriculturally important crops such as corn, wheat and grain crops. Native plant species are poor competitors for GE plants.

In addition to displacing native crops and local industries and uses, traditional knowledge of plants and their cultivation methods are also slated for corporate control. Through intellectual property rights or patent rights, multinational corporations and biotechnology researchers are able to own genetic resources, some previously obtained through the labour and ingenuity of local farmers and indigenous people over generations. While pharmaceutical and agri-chemical companies have been reaping profits from these plants, local and indigenous people have yet to benefit from products derived from genetic materials collected on their land.

Companies are now also developing "self-sterilizing" crop plants (dubbed "terminator technology") that block seed formation. This essentially stops farmers from saving seeds, a practice that ensures food availability. In other words, biotechnology effectively turns crops into non-renewable resources, thereby threatening the world's poorest and hungriest.

Genetic engineering involves taking genes from one species of plant or animal and inserting them into another in an attempt to transfer a desired trait or characteristic. alive Magazine has always taken a hard-line stance against this experimental technology, which offers more financial rewards to giant companies than safety records to concerned citizens and scientists.