FRAMING GM CROPS AS A SOLUTION FOR GLOBAL FOOD SECURITY

Mycotoxins, a Major Challenge in Global Food Security

Benefits of tropical crops for food security.

West et al.’s recent paper (1) compared tradeoffs of carbon and crop production in temperate and tropical zones. We welcome the empirical evidence in support of agricultural intensification rather than extensification. We strongly caution against the implicit conclusion that food production might need to be concentrated in the temperate zone, however. First, this has implications for food secur...

GM animals - another GM crops?

As new biotechnologies are developed, the parallels with GM crops are often drawn. In this paper, I consider GM animals and contrast them with GM crops. I use a systems of innovation perspective to consider innovation, product markets and regulatory systems and suggest that whilst there are some parallels between GM crops and animals there are also clear differences. There are differences in th...

Genome editing of crops: A renewed opportunity for food security

Genome editing of crop plants is a rapidly advancing technology whereby targeted mutations can be introduced into a plant genome in a highly specific manner and with great precision. For the most part, the technology does not incorporate transgenic modifications and is far superior to conventional chemical mutagenesis. In this study we bring into focus some of the underlying differences between...

Cautious welcome for GM crops

The international battle to win a future for genetically modified crops has been boosted by a key agency report, says Nigel Williams One of the world's most important organisations championing the needs of the globe's poorest people gave its backing last month to the role genetically modified (GM) crops might play in securing future food supplies for such populations. The conclusion gives a fil...