Food and biotechnology

I wish to comment on your editorial Fears of the unknown (Sept. 19, 2000). While I must commend your newspaper on raising public awareness on the issue of biotechnology, your editorial gave the mistaken impression that the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has recently endorsed and perhaps recommended the use of biotechnology. Specifically you stated that "the FAO's message is clear that genetic engineering should be considered as a solution to world hunger".

You appear to be referring to the latest FAO annual report called State of Food and Agriculture 2000 which was published recently. I would like your readers to understand that this report is not about biotechnology, rather it deals with the spectacular achievements which have been made in food production over the last five decades and the lessons that have been learned. The report contains far more information about cereal prices, population growth, food emergencies, rural employment, nutrition levels, and public investment in agriculture than it does about the contentious issue of genetically modified crops.

The FAO report is not yet available in Jakarta so perhaps the information in your editorial is based on the misleading Reuters article which was published on Sept. 18, 2000 (Biotech can cut world hunger: UN, page 10). That article quotes Professors Liptona and Evenson, who wrote sections of the State of Food and Agriculture 2000. If your readers want to know what these experts actually said in the FAO report, I would encourage them to look at the FAO web-site where summaries of their work are available: http://www.fao.org/NEWS/2000/000903-e.htm. Although both Professors mention biotechnology in passing, it would be a gross misinterpretation to suggest they were promoting the use of genetically modified crops. They are more concerned with the fact that "agricultural scientists and patents have been 'locked into' a few private firms in rich countries".

Furthermore, if your readers are interested in knowing the views of the participants of an international meeting organized by FAO in Yogyakarta last year, they may want to visit the following web-page: http://www.communityipm.org/pollcystat.html. Participants of this meeting, representing a number of Asian governments, NGOs and international donors raised doubts about the effect of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) on both the environment and the empowerment of farmers. The meeting concluded that "GMOs should not be allowed to become normal ingredients of farming". This may not be the official view of all of the organizations represented at the meeting, but it indicates the serious reservations held by many of the 65 people who attended. Some of your readers may find this a useful counterbalance to the views attributed to FAO in your editorial.

ANDREW BARTLETT

Senior IPM Program Development Officer

FAO Program for Community IPM in Asia