Fuel is an important aspect of our everyday lives; we need it to keep things running.  But, while our minds may initially scurry to images of coal and oil at the mention of fuel, it’s equally important to think of the materials that fuel our bodies:  food.  When it comes to feeding a world of 6.8 billion people, we’re talking about a lot of loaves of bread. 

No GM Food for Zambia
It seems curious, then, that in 2004 Zambia would reject 27 000 tons of food aid despite having a population struggling with a food crisis and starvation.  The catch?  The food aid consisted of transgenic material.  In other words, it had been genetically modified (GM).  The Zambian President, Levy Mwanawasa, rejected this aid claiming that the food was poisonous.  But where’s his proof?

The reality is that genetically modified foods have been widely accepted in North America.  In the same year as the Zambian controversy the National Academies of Sciences published a report stating: “To date, no adverse health effects attributed to genetic engineering have been documented in the human population.”  If it is a poison, it’s not a very good one.

GM foods have done wonders for the agriculture business.  Genetically modified crops can be made pest resistant and disease resistant, both of which help increase productivity and allow for higher yields.  With the right GM crop a farmer is able to more effectively battle against the many environmental factors that beat, burn, eat, and whither a year’s growth.  This means more food production and more food available for the 15 million children dying of starvation each year.

The Green Revolution
The transformation in agriculture towards a system capable of coping with our planets population growth has been termed the Green Revolution.  Between 1943 and 1964 Mexico was able to ride the Green Revolution from total reliance on other countries for its wheat supply, to exporting half a million tons a year.  By accepting new ways of thinking in their approach to agriculture Mexico was able to greatly increase yields, thereby providing for its rapidly increasing population.

In the 1960s India followed Mexico’s example and utilized the life saving power of the Green Revolution.  By using a new rice variety, made possible through crossbreeding, India was able to prevent mass famine, saving countless lives, and has since become one of the worlds most successful rice producers.

Today technology has advanced, allowing for stronger and more resilient crops to be created through biotechnology.  By directly manipulating the genes of different crops science enables us to enhance the favorable attributes of a crop, or diminish the problematic traits.

Trouble in Africa
The Green Revolution has had a difficult time catching on in Africa.  Because of heavy corruption, difficult environmental conditions, and nay-saying politicians, the implementation of GM crops in Africa has been slow.  But, as with any new idea, education comes before acceptance.  Every bit of food sent as aid has to be cleared by the health authorities of the donor country as fit for human consumption.  The food on our tables every night has to pass these same tests, but, for some reason, forces continue to keep this form of nutrition from hungry mouths.

If genetically modified crops were allowed for not only consumption in African nations, but production as well, these severely malnourished countries could find themselves with the means to effectively feed their populations, and no longer be dependant Western food aid.

» News 24

Scientists have recently announced the completion of two projects that sequenced both pig and cucumber genomes. According to the reports, this scientific achievement stands to have a tremendous impact on future research, particularly in the areas of human medicine and agriculture. As I read through the article my first question was, and probably that of most people, what the heck is genome sequencing anyway?

After a quick trip to my favourite search engine and a visit back to my days in high school biology (who knew I would use this stuff again?!), here is what I learned:
All living matter is made up of millions of cells that are directed to perform various functions by their genetic makeup or DNA. The DNA strand is made up of millions of its four component parts, called nucleotides, which determine the genetic sequence of the organism’s DNA.

Identifying the study subject’s particular genome sequence can tell us details about how the animal or plant grows, defends itself from disease and produces the characteristics and behaviours that we identify the plant or animal with.

While I think I will leave this type of work to the professionals, I was most intrigued about the part of the announcement that describes the possible impacts this research will have on human medicine and the agricultural sector. What will this understanding do to our Sunday pork loin roasts or my grandmother’s cucumber sandwiches?

A link to agriculture

As scientists now have an understanding of how plants and animals express certain characteristics, they can genetically modify organisms to express more of the desired characteristics and less of those that are not so desirable. Being able to help organisms express their most desired characteristics will reduce waste, increase productivity of an organization, save producers time and money and produce higher yielding, higher quality food products necessary to feed a growing and starving world.

As the latest organisms to contribute to the ongoing research in genetic sequencing, the genomes of pigs and cucumbers hold the secret to more than a great tasting roast and a refreshing crunch. For example, in a swine breed that commonly develops leg problems, scientists will be able to isolate the sequence that controls leg conformation and be able to modify that gene to lower or even eliminate the occurrence of that type of problem. Pig producers, particularly those in dry areas, will be able to raise livestock who use water more efficiently and have a resistance to parasites and zoonotic diseases, such as H1N1, which also happens to affect humans. As pork represents about 40% of the world meat production, overcoming these common challenges should have a pretty huge effect on the global economy. Being pretty health conscious, I get pretty excited at the prospect of increased food quality and the promises of lower fat pork products. And since pig organs are commonly used for transplantation into humans, the more information we have about them, the better chance of transplant success.

Similarly, in cucumbers, understanding how the plants defend themselves from something like the mosaic virus, scientists can help develop a plant that expresses those characteristics and thus reduce the amount of crop lost to this common cucumber disease or any other type of pest. They will also be able to develop varieties that germinate faster, have a greater cold tolerance, have larger yields and have the potential to grow in a wider variety of climates. As the cucumber is a representative of the cucurbit family, which includes pumpkins, melon, squash and watermelon, this research will extend to a large variety of crops that have economic consequences worldwide.

A continuing challenge

While this story is encouraging, it can’t be finished without mentioning that there are many concerns about using biotechnology to change the way we raise or grow our food supply. Even as the genome sequencing of these organisms leads to a greater understanding of how they work, pigs and cucumbers are just a small part of a larger natural system. Genome sequencing research and biotechnology have the amazing potential to change our economy, human health and agricultural systems in many positive ways, we just have to be prepared to address the challenges that this new technology will bring along the way.

» Science Fair

Last October, in his first major address on the subject, Microsoft billionaire Bill Gates announced $120 million US in grants to support nine agricultural projects in Africa and India. This latest donation brings his Foundation’s support for agricultural development to $1.4 billion. According to Gates, this is just the beginning...

Speaking in Des Moines, Iowa on the eve of World Food Day, Gates praised Nobel Prize-winning scientist Norman Borlaug, who developed a disease resistant variety of wheat that saved “hundreds of millions” of lives. Fueled by Borlaug’s success and Rockefeller family money, the ensuing “Green Revolution” was, according to Gates, “one of the greatest achievements of the 20th century”, that “didn’t go far enough. It didn’t go to Africa.”

Brainchild of a trip to Mexico in the early ‘40’s by Nelson Rockefeller and Henry Wallace (founder of Pioneer Hi-Bred Seed, also US Secretary of Agriculture and Vice President under F.D. Roosevelt), the Green Revolution was based on solving world hunger though the development of hybrid seeds for emerging markets. Mexico had asked the US for help to develop a new variety of wheat for its growing population. After that trip, Rockefeller funded it and hired Borlaug to get it done. According to Borlaug “We spent nearly 20 years breeding high-yield dwarf wheat that resisted a variety of plant pests and diseases and yielded two to three times more grain than traditional varieties. “

Picking up from where Rockefeller left off, Gates is convinced that the future for agriculture — not only Africa but also the rest of the world — lies in genetically modified crops.

“We have to develop crops that can grow in a drought; that can survive in a flood; that can resist pests and disease. We need higher yields on the same land in harsher weather. And we will never get it without a continuous and urgent science-based search to increase productivity.”

Endowed with $34.6 billion, the Gates Foundation must donate at least $1.5 billion a year to charitable projects to maintain its tax status; 2008 grant payments were almost double that and their donation budget for the health sector exceeds that of the World Health Organization.

According to the FAO, 85 percent of the world’s farmers farm less than two hectares. Together with their families, they represent one-third of the world’s population. Of those farmers with one or more hectares of GM crops, 90 percent are smallholders in developing countries. In Africa, 4 out of 5 farmers are smallholders, the majority women.

Gates believes that helping the world’s poorest smallholder farmers grow more crops and get them to market “is the world's single most powerful lever for reducing hunger and poverty…”

The recently announced funding for Africa will support the following projects:

• funding for legumes that fix nitrogen in the soil,
• development of higher yielding varieties of sorghum and millet;
• development of new varieties of sweet potatoes that resist pests and have a higher vitamin content;
• funding to ACRA (The Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa, heavily supported by both the Gates and the Rockefeller foundations) to support the creation of government policies for small farmers and provide “training and resources” to African governments as they develop laws and regulations concerning the use of biotechnologies;

Impressive, yes. We are losing the fight against poverty. In 2005, 15 years of consecutive poverty reductions came to a sudden halt, and poverty and hunger has been on the rise ever since. Africa, home to over 200 million chronically malnourished people, desperately needs assistance.

But Gates philanthropic support to Africa is not without controversy.

For many, “Green Revolution” is synonymous with large scale mono-cropping, high levels of pesticide and chemical use, loss of biodiversity, a high degree of mechanization, the depletion of soil nutrients, water erosion, loss of domestic food supplies as land shifts to production of non-food and export crops, and alienation of peasant farmers from the land. Gates acknowledges this but says he wants to do things differently in Africa.

What Gates remains committed to is the Green Revolution’s core belief that the solution to world hunger lies in genetically modified seeds. And therein lies the real controversy.

Gates and his colleagues at the Rockefeller Foundation, the World Bank, the United Nations World Food Program, the International Rice Institute argue that genetic modification of plants allows for reduced pesticide use, drought and flood tolerance, higher yields and the ability to incorporate nutrients not naturally occurring, thereby helping to boost production and alleviate hunger. Companies like Dupont/Pioneer Hi-Bred, Monsanto, Syngenta and others who produce and sell genetically modified seeds agree.

But there are many respected policy-makers and scientists who make strong arguments against the introduction of genetically modified crops to Africa. They include genetic instability and cross contamination of genetic material (development of super weeds), development of pesticide resistant bugs, reduction in bio-diversity (e.g. Bt corn pollen is toxic to Monarch Butterfly), potential human health effects (peas in Bangladesh and India), ecological hazards associated with terminator gene technology, cost to farmers to annually purchase new seeds (cannot save seeds), impediments to future trade with Europe (which bans GMO’s) and ethical issues such as patenting genetic material, illegal extraction/expropriation of local genetic material and the resulting lack of fair and equitable distribution of resources.

Difficult questions. With no easy answers. Gates, through the magnitude of his targeted philanthropy, will undoubtedly change the face of African agriculture. Whether this will contribute positively to the long term sustainability of its communities remains to be seen.

Global agribusiness has used the green revolution as a trampoline to colonize the soils of Latin America. Africa is the dark continent about to light up. This time, it will begin with helping the small, local farmers. By offering to sell them magic seeds that may, in the end, wind up costing them the farm.

» AFP