Transgenic Plants and World Agriculture (2000)

Summary: It is essential that we improve food production and distribution in order to feed and free from hunger a growing world population, while reducing environmental impacts and providing productive employment in low-income areas. This will require a proper and responsible utilization of scientific discoveries and new technologies. The developers and overseers of genetic modification (GM) technology applied to plants and micro-organisms should make sure that their efforts address such needs. The many crucial decisions to be made in the area of biotechnology in the next century by private corporations, governments, and individuals will affect the future of humanity and the planet's natural resources. These decisions must be based on the best scientific information in order to allow effective choices of policy options. It is for this reason that representatives of seven of the world's academies of science have come together to provide recommendations to the developers and overseers of GM technology and to offer scientific perspectives to the ongoing public debate on the potential role of GM technology in world agriculture.