Veneman Touts Biotechnology in Rome Speech

November 6, 2001

Secretary of Agriculture Ann M. Veneman Monday reaffirmed the commitment of the United States to end world hunger and urged the continued development of biotechnology as the means to feed a growing global population and help forge solutions to malnutrition and poverty. Her remarks were made at the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization 31st Conference in Rome.

"I applaud the work of the members of this organization toward the goal of alleviating poverty and hunger," said Veneman. "Working together we can break the crushing cycle of poverty and win the war on hunger." Veneman said technologies of the new century such as biotechnology and information technology, will reinvigorate productivity growth in food and agriculture production, make agriculture more environmentally sustainable, offer more economic self-sufficiency for subsistence farmers in developing countries, and provide increased nutrition and health benefits for the developing world.

"The United States is committed to the goal of ending world poverty and hunger and will walk alongside any country prepared to travel the same path," said Veneman. "New technologies, including biotechnology, will help meet the challenge of feeding a growing world population with a limited resource base."

She noted several examples of the benefits of biotechnology in ending hunger, including the use of drought resistant crop varieties for Africa, genetically enhanced cotton in South Africa, and Vitamin A enhanced rice which could significantly reduce blindness. In the future, Veneman said, "biotechnology will also help produce vaccines against many diseases, including cholera, that could be administered through dietary staples such as rice and bananas."

Veneman praised the work of the FAO in playing a critical role in trade liberalization through the work of the Codex Alimentarius Commission and the International Plant Protection Convention, which ensure the integrity of science-based decision-making on health and safety issues.

"Trade liberalization must be a key component of food security and assures all countries of equal access to world food supplies," she said. "A new round of trade liberalization talks, which we hope to launch next week in Doha, will help put all countries on an equal footing with respect to food security."

Later this week, Veneman will travel to Doha, Qatar, with U.S Trade Representative Robert Zoellick as part of a U.S. delegation to begin negotiations for the next round of the World Trade Organization negotiations.