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Critics say it has a darker shade.
The debate over how far and fast to go with bioengineering is shaping up as one of the key issues at the World Food Summit, which opened Wednesday. They contend that as long as resources are channeled into research and development, the world will be able to produce enough to feed the estimated 8.7 billion people that will inhabit the world by the year 2030. We believe that agricultural research is at the center of the interface between environmental concerns, food security and production. Through biotechnology and genetic engineering, scientists are developing new crop varieties that yield more, resist pests and drought, and even thrive on poor soil. The research group argues that 80 percent of the additional wheat output in the developing world has come from genetically improved crops, while only 20 percent was the result of more land being planted.