Supporters of genetic engineering argue that high-tech foods are a safe way to improve farming. They point to the fact that genetically modified corn and soybeans have been used in the United States since 1996 and say that no one has suffered as a result. Florence Wambugu supports this view on the issue in the following editorial.
Biotechnology is used to create important crops in Ibaden, Nigeria. Scientists store the plants in test tubes to keep them strong and free of pests.
Is genetically modified food a good way to feed the world?
Yes, new technology can help protect against hunger.
I was one in a family of nine children growing up on a small farm in Kenya’s highlands. I learned firsthand about the enormous challenge of breaking the cycle of poverty and hunger in rural Africa. In fact, the reason I became a plant scientist was to help farmers like my mother. My mother sold the only cow our family owned to pay for my secondary education. This was a sacrifice because I, like most children in Kenya, was needed on the farm.
I have since made it my mission to alert others to the urgent need for new technology in Africa. New technology can help protect against hunger, environmental damage, and poverty. African growers desperately need access to the best management practices and fertilizer. They need better seeds and biotechnology to help improve crop production. Crop production is currently the lowest in the world per unit area of land.