Rice is the staple for about 2.4 billion people. To capture such benefits we must squarely face the profound ethical and safety issues of biotechnology. These are complicated by the issues of proprietary science. Protests have been staged by farmers and citizens' groups in a number of countries on ethical or ecological grounds. These fears can be addressed by promoting enlightened and transparent policies together with collaborative research that taps the knowledge of farmers and the capabilities of private and public institutions.
Confrontation can give way to cooperation only if there is unbiased dialogue on risks and benefits.
We have helped feed the world using breakthroughs such as the production of higher yielding wheat, rice, corn and potatoes. This has been done by treating agricultural technology advances as a benefit to be shared as widely as possible, including with poor farmers in developing countries. Given the same commitment and approach to the gene revolution, it can be part of the solution to the food and environmental challenges of the 21st century. The writer, winner of the World Food Prize in 1987, is an international authority on biotechnology in food. He contributed this comment to the International Herald Tribune.