Hope Not Hype - Third World Network

60 Hope Not Hype
The authors of the Assessment thus had reason to step back from endorsing bold
claims of enhanced yield and/or revenue gains from existing commercial GM crops. Recalling
the “bird in the hand” argument of Chapter Two, they drew the responsible conclusion
that evidence of such benefits exists, but it was not of the form that allowed extrapolation
of benefits to agroecosystems not already in GM production or to hypothetical future
GM crops or animals.
Are other technologies more reliable and as promising There is solid evidence for
optimism that biotechnologies that do not include modern biotechnology but do make use
of modern molecular tools can make the advances that are needed, again provided that we
do not rely upon technology alone. These technologies are discussed in Chapter Seven,
and needed associated changes in trade and intellectual property rights regimes are discussed
in Chapter Eight.