Glickman’s New Biotech Approach

July 19, 2000

Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman took a somewhat new approach to promoting the benefits of biotechnology Monday in a speech before the United Nations Economic and Social Council. Instead of touting biotech’s benefits and continuing the war of words with Europe over the worth of the technology, Glickman appealed for consideration of the Third World’s need for what biotechnology can offer.

More than 800 million people are chronically hungry, Glickman reminded the council , and the world’s population is projected to soar to 9 billion within 50 years, with much of that growth in the developing world. Meanwhile, the world's arable land base is shrinking. "To meet skyrocketing food and fiber demand, we have to do something to squeeze higher yields out of fewer and fewer acres. And I believe biotechnology has to be at least part of the answer," Glickman said.

Biotechnology's benefits have far-reaching implications for food security, he added. "It can allow farmers to cut input costs; it can help farmers use less water and fewer pesticides, thus lessening the strain on our natural resources; it has the ability to create crops with drought, pest and disease-resistant features, as well as certain medicinal qualities."

The biotechnology dialogue too often has ignored what transgenic crops can mean for food security, especially in the developing world, said Glickman. "Instead, there's been a very loud, contentious, transatlantic food fight focused primarily on the safety of these new food varieties, their environmental impact, and the ethical question of whether genetic engineering is an inappropriate manipulation of nature."

He added, "In my opinion, both sides -- biotech advocates and opponents -- are guilty of losing sight of biotechnology's humanitarian potential. Many of the opponents, frankly, can afford the luxury of their opposition; they don't have to worry about food insecurity, since they live in prosperous, agriculturally abundant societies.

"And biotech's champions, especially the multinational corporations who develop the products, are often too narrowly focused on the bottom line. They have geared their marketing, research and development toward products that will bear immediate profit, rather than tailoring their efforts more toward Third World needs."

A challenge for the future will be to move beyond "the somewhat stale current debate and harness the power of biotechnology for the benefit of the poorer, food-insecure regions of the world." That will have to be a joint effort on the part of governments, the private sector and the multilateral community, he said.