Poor miss out on GM crops: UN

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In its strongest endorsement yet of genetically modified food, the United Nations' food agency says enhanced crops are helping poor farmers and have so far been found to be safe.

But it says most developing countries are missing out on the benefits because private research is concentrated on four cash crops and not the staples needed to feed the world's hungry.

In its first major report devoted to the controversial issue of biotechnology and food, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said the biggest problem was that the technology had not spread fast enough to poor countries and small farmers and had focused mainly on big commercial crops: cotton, maize, canola and soybeans.

The report said the scientists generally agreed that the food derived from transgenic crops was safe to eat, although more study was needed on long-term effects on humans and the environment.

"Biotechnology holds great promise for agriculture in developing countries, but so far only farmers in a few developing countries are reaping these benefits," the report said.

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Almost all GM foods are grown in six countries: the United States, Canada, Argentina, Brazil, China and South Africa. Such products face widespread opposition in Europe and parts of Africa, where critics say that the long-term health and environmental risks are unknown, and that multinational companies stand to gain the most. Opponents also argue that modified genes could spread to wild plants.

UN officials stressed that GM crops were only one tool for sustainable agriculture, and that farmers also needed access to fair markets, low-cost seeds and productive land. But they said the crops offered advantages that could greatly help farmers and consumers, such as improved nutrition and resistance to insects and drought.

Governments should sponsor research and development of basic crops such as rice, potatoes and cassava, the report said, staple foods skirted by the private sector, which spends $3 billion a year on more profitable crops.

The FAO compiled the report to give governments and consumers sound science on a confusing and politically charged issue, UN officials said.

While FAO head Jacques Diouf emphasised that transgenic crops are safe to eat, he conceded that "little is known about their long-term effects."

Experiments with GM food were first approved in 1987. Since then, transgenic crops have spread widely, and now account for 5 per cent of the world's crop area. Their use is increasing, the agency said, pointing out that in 30 years the world will also have an extra 2 billion mouths to feed - a challenge that biotechnology can help meet.

This week the European Union ended a six-year moratorium on GM foods, finally accepting modified sweet corn for human consumption.