Aren GMOs necessary to combat hunger?
Hunger, as many civil society organizations like Food First have pointed out, is a poverty and political problem, and not of overpopulation, production or natural disasters. While biotechnology corporations have presented GMOs as the silver bullet panacea to feed the some 800 million people suffering from chronic hunger, there is not one GM commercial crop that aims to improve crop yield or production, resist drought or enhance nutrition. Claims to the contrary are absolutely false. Currently, the vast majority of commercial GM crops are designed to withstand exposure to specific herbicides or incorporate pesticidal toxins. In fact, all GMOs are protected by a patent or some form of intellectual property rights, restricting farmers use of GM crops. Farmers are prohibited from saving patented seeds, and must pay a royalty in the event they choose to replant their harvested seeds. What’s worse, farmers have been found liable for “gene drift” or cross pollination contamination from neighb
