GM Crops Can Contribute to Increased Food Production and Reduced Hunger

[BiotechBloggers]

ST. LOUIS, MO (June 19, 2007) - In the year 2000, more than 800
million people were food insecure, despite agricultural productivity
throughout the 20th century that lifted millions from poverty by
increasing yields, improving nutrition and generating income among
resource-poor farmers. In an exclusive video interview and podcast,
Dr. Per Pinstrup-Andersen - the 2001 World Food Prize Laureate -
supports the use of crops developed through genetic engineering to
increase food production and reduce hunger and malnutrition in
developing countries.

"800 million people, all together, do not know where their next meal
is coming from," says Dr. Pinstrup-Andersen. "And I remind you that
75 percent of the people we're talking about are in rural areas. If
we want to help them to escape poverty, we've got to help them to
produce more on the resources that they have. ... And, that's why
agriculture research is so extremely important."
http://www.monsanto.com/biotech-gmo/asp/news.asp?yr=2007&newsId=nr20070619