Biotechnology innovations have the potential to feed the world, and the policymakers gathering at the September 23 UN Food Systems Summit in New York have the responsibility to help make this a reality, say experts writing in International Business Times (IBT).
The UN Food Systems Summit is a major global initiative to end hunger through sustainable food production, as we’ve reported.
Ending hunger and addressing climate change with more resilient food systems requires “leading with science and innovation,”said Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Dr. Jewel Bronaugh at the Pre-Summit in Rome this July.
“Cutting-edge scientific methods, like gene editing,already allow researchers to develop resilient crops that can adapt to environmental pressures and ensure a more sustainable food supply,” write Neal Gutterson and Barbara Wells of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), a global research partnership for food security.
Gene editing developments like…drought-tolerant wheat, more nutritious mustard plants, disease-resistant cassavas, and disease-resistant rice from the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in the Philippines. (IRRI is also behind the vitamin A-rich “Golden Rice” recently approved for commercial use in the Philippines.)
Policymakers worldwide need to allow farmers to benefit from scientific advances like gene editing, Gutterson and Wells argue: “Some 10% of the world's population—up to 811 million people—are undernourished.”
“With their potential to boost economic growth and reduce hunger and malnutrition, it would be unjust to hinder availability of gene-edited crops to those who wish to adopt them,” they say.
Read: How we can stave off the hunger pandemic
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