Hungry Helped With Biotech
The Vancouver Province
November 17, 2000
by Ashley Ford
Dr. C.S. Prakash, professor of plant molecular genetics
at Tuskegee University in Alabama, was cited as telling the final day
of the Pacific Rim Biotechnology conference in Vancouver that advances
in food biotechnology offers one tool to help the world's malnourished
and hungry people, adding, "It disturbs me greatly that while many North
Americans ruminate on what developing countries need or don't need to
address their problems of malnutrition and starvation, every day 800 million
people go to bed hungry.''
Prakash was further cited as saying there is no single solution
to this very complex problem, but advances in agriculture biotech offers
great hope and he defended the industry's record and says it is stringently
regulated -- as it should be, stating, "Historically there has always
been anxiety about new science, especially when it comes to food which
is often seen as personal and sacred.''
Eileen Inrig, director of communication for BIOTECanada,
was quoted as saying in Canada, biotech foods have to pass stringent rules
for Health Canada, Environment Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection
Agency, and that regulations governing so-called ``novel foods'' are more
stringent than those governing conventional foods and less than one per
cent have been deemed commercially viable.
(from Agnet archived at : http://www.plant.uoguelph.ca/safefood/archives/agnet-archives.htm)
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