Hope Not Hype - Third World Network

Biotechnologies for Sustainable Cultures
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traditional societies needs to be”
generally recognized. It may not be
enough to use biotechnology to increase
the number or types of cattle, for
instance, if this reduces local genetic
diversity or ownership, the ability to
secure the best adapted animals, or they
further degrade ecosystem services. (p.
43)
(From Agriculture at a Crossroads: The
Synthesis Report by IAASTD, ed.
Copyright © 2009. Reproduced by
permission of Island Press, Washington,
D.C.)
unexceptional at best and possibly counter-productive at worst. To the degree that it might
offer benefits, these are disputed and either the industry or regulators, or both, have not
risen to the challenge of closing the research uncertainties. The scientific risks are both
plausible and demonstrated if not always conclusive outside of the laboratory or field test.
The legal risks have been amply demonstrated.
Until recently, it was thought that “there are fewer options available than previously to
address current problems through traditional breeding techniques” and that genetic
modification technologies would largely replace classical breeding. The science of plant
breeding is still waking up from this transgenic dream. Although genetic modification
technologies have proven to be very powerful for introducing single gene traits (for example,
resistances to insects and herbicides), the success rate for more complex traits, determined
by numerous interacting genes, is much lower (Zamir, 2008, p. 270).
The authors of the Assessment were not depressed by Zamir’s prognosis. They
believed that there was reason to be optimistic that agriculture could be sustainable and
more productive either with or without modern biotechnology (Tilman et al., 2002).
Traditional breeding technologies have been immensely successful, and indeed are largely
responsible for the high yields associated with contemporary agriculture. These technologies
should not be considered passé or out of date…This is because selective breeding operates
on whole organisms – complete sets of coordinated genes – while genetic engineering is
restricted to three or four gene transfers with little control over where the new genes are
inserted. For the most important agronomic traits, traditional breeding remains the technology
of choice (Varzakas et al., 2007, p. 336).
Like all visions, the Assessment’s will be incomplete or wrong in some details, but it
is a vision that arises from the largest single research effort on this topic in all of human
history. It is the most authoritative statement on current knowledge.
The Assessment found that the drive to use the private sector for such an enormous
proportion of agriculture research innovation fails to be relevant to the circumstances and
needs of poor and subsistence farmers (Tilman et al., 2002).
There is a vast difference between what happens in the fields of a farmer growing just one or
two different crops on 500 hectares in Iowa and another growing many more different crops
on