The Gene Revolution and Global Food Security


Book Description

Using the concept of innovation capacity, this book, using recent field data from countries in Asia and Africa, competently demonstrates how biotechnology can contribute to sustainable economic development. The approach articulates the imperative for developing countries to build up specific capabilities backed up by policies and institutions.




Africa's Gene Revolution


Book Description

As development donors invest hundreds of millions of dollars into improved crops designed to alleviate poverty and hunger, Africa has emerged as the final frontier in the global debate over agricultural biotechnology. The first data-driven assessment of the ecological, social, and political factors that shape our understanding of genetic modification, Africa's Gene Revolution surveys twenty years of efforts to use genomics-based breeding to enhance yields and livelihoods for African farmers. Matthew Schnurr considers the full range of biotechnologies currently in commercial use and those in development - including hybrids, marker-assisted breeding, tissue culture, and genetic engineering. Drawing on interviews with biotechnology experts alongside research conducted with more than two hundred farmers across eastern, western, and southern Africa, Schnurr reveals a profound incongruity between the optimistic rhetoric that accompanies genetic modification technology and the realities of the smallholder farmers who are its intended beneficiaries. Through the lens of political ecology, this book demonstrates that the current emphasis on improved seeds discounts the geographic, social, ecological, and economic contexts in which the producers of these crops operate. Bringing the voices of farmers to the foreground of this polarizing debate, Africa's Gene Revolution contends that meaningful change will come from a reconfiguration not only of the plant's genome, but of the entire agricultural system.




The Gene Revolution


Book Description

Whether or not to embrace GM technologies is a fundamental and politically charged question facing humanity in the 21st century, particularly in light of rapidly growing populations and the unknown future impacts of climate change. The Gene Revolution is the first book to bridge the gap between thenaysayers andcheerleaders and look at the issues and complexities facing developing and transitional countries over decisions about GM in light of the reality of what is happening on the ground. The first part of the volume looks at the rise of GM crops, commercialization and spread of the technology and the different positions of the USA and the European Union on the GM question and the effect of global markets. The second part consists of country perspectives from Argentina, Brazil, China, India and South Africa, which provide insight into the profound challenges these countries face and the hard choices that have to be made. The final part takes the analysis a step further by comparing developing and transitional country experiences, and charts a future course for government policy on GM that supports growth, sustainability and equity for the many billions of people affected worldwide.




Sustaining Global Food Security


Book Description

Population growth alone dictates that global food supplies must increase by over 50% in coming decades. Advances in technology offer an array of opportunities to meet this demand, but history shows that these can be fully realised only within an enabling policy environment. Sustaining Global Food Security makes a compelling case that recent technological breakthroughs can move the planet towards a secure and sustainable food supply only if new policies are designed that allow their full expression. Bob Zeigler has brought together a distinguished set of scientists and policy analysts to produce well-referenced chapters exploring international policies on genetic resources, molecular genetics, genetic engineering, crop breeding and protection, remote sensing, the changing landscape of agricultural policies in the world’s largest countries, and trade. Those entering the agricultural sciences and those who aspire to influence public policy during their careers will benefit from the insights of this unique set of experiences and perspectives.




The Doubly Green Revolution


Book Description

Today more than three quarters of a billion people go hungry in a world where food is plentiful. A distinguished scientist here sets out an agenda for addressing this situation. Initially published in 1997 in the United Kingdom, the book is now available in the first edition produced for the Western hemisphere. In it, the author has updated information to reflect current economic indicators. This volume includes a foreword written for the previous edition by Ismail Serageldin of the World Bank. The original Green Revolution produced new technologies for farmers, creating food abundance. A second transformation of agriculture is now required—specifically, Gordon Conway argues, a "doubly green" revolution that stresses conservation as well as productivity. He calls for researchers and farmers to forge genuine partnerships in an effort to design better plants and animals. He also urges them to develop (or rediscover) alternatives to inorganic fertilizers and pesticides, improve soil and water management, and enhance earning opportunities for the poor, especially women.




The Future of Genetically Modified Crops


Book Description

The world is now on the cusp of a new agricultural revolution, the so-called Gene Revolution, in which genetically modified (GM) crops are tailored to address chronic agricultural problems in certain regions of the world. This monograph report investigates the circumstances and processes that can induce and sustain this new agricultural revolution. The authors compare the Green Revolution of the 20th century with the GM crop movement to assess the agricultural, technological, sociological, and political differences between the two movements.




One Billion Hungry


Book Description

Hunger is a daily reality for a billion people. More than six decades after the technological discoveries that led to the Green Revolution aimed at ending world hunger, regular food shortages, malnutrition, and poverty still plague vast swaths of the world. And with increasing food prices, climate change, resource inequality, and an ever-increasing global population, the future holds further challenges. In One Billion Hungry, Sir Gordon Conway, one of the world's foremost experts on global food needs, explains the many interrelated issues critical to our global food supply from the science of agricultural advances to the politics of food security. He expands the discussion begun in his influential The Doubly Green Revolution: Food for All in the Twenty-First Century, emphasizing the essential combination of increased food production, environmental stability, and poverty reduction necessary to end endemic hunger on our planet. Beginning with a definition of hunger and how it is calculated, and moving through issues topically both detailed and comprehensive, each chapter focuses on specific challenges and solutions, ranging in scope from the farmer's daily life to the global movement of food, money, and ideas. Drawing on the latest scientific research and the results of projects around the world, Conway addresses the concepts and realities of our global food needs: the legacy of the Green Revolution; the impact of market forces on food availability; the promise and perils of genetically modified foods; agricultural innovation in regard to crops, livestock, pest control, soil, and water; and the need to both adapt to and slow the rate of climate change. One Billion Hungry will be welcomed by all readers seeking a multifacted understanding of our global food supply, food security, international agricultural development, and sustainability.




Plant Genetic Resources and Food Security


Book Description

The International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) is a pivotal piece of recent legislation, providing a route map for the use of such resources for sustainable agriculture and food security. Plant Genetic Resources and Food Security explains clearly the different interests and views at stake between all players in the global food chain. It touches upon many issues such as international food governance and policy, economic aspects of food and seed trade, conservation and sustainable use of food and agricultural biodiversity, hunger alleviation, ecological concerns, consumers' protection, fairness and equity between nations and generations, plant breeding techniques and socio-economic benefits related to food local economies. The book shows that despite the conflicting interests at stake, players managed to come to an agreement on food and agriculture for the sake of food security and hunger alleviation in the world. Published with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations and with Bioversity International.




Let Them Eat Precaution


Book Description

The often-confrontational debate over the development of agricultural and pharmaceutical products made with the help of genetic modification has drastically limited the exploitation of this still new technology. This book focuses on the risk and rewards of genetic modification, the differing paths the dialogue on GM has followed in Europe and the developing world in contrast to the United States, how the debate impacts the commercial realities of companies developing new products, and what strategies might foster more constructive discussion over the costs and benefits of genetic manipulation to bring about more rational and internationally coordinated public policy.




Ninth Revolution, The: Transforming Food Systems For Good


Book Description

We are at a critical point in human history and that of the planet. In this book, a world leader in agricultural research, Professor Sayed Azam-Ali, proposes a radical transformation of our agrifood system. He argues that agriculture must be understood as part of global biodiversity and that food systems have cultural, nutritional, and social values beyond market price alone. He describes the perilous risks of relying on just four staple crops for most of our food and the consequences of our current agrifood model on human and planetary health.In plain language for the wider public, students, researchers, and policy makers, Azam-Ali envisions the agrifood system as a global public good in which its practitioners include a new and different generation of farmers, its production systems link novel and traditional technologies, and its activities encompass landscapes, urban spaces, and controlled environments. The book concludes with a call to action in which diversification of species, systems, knowledge, cultures, and products all contribute to The Ninth Revolution that will transform food systems for good.Related Link(s)