“When a committee of distinguished scientists chose three biotechnology pioneers to receive the 2013 World Food Prize on Thursday night, they surely knew the response in some quarters would be utter horror,” writes Julie Borlaug in her opinion piece for the Des Moines Register. Borlaug is the granddaughter of Norman Borlaug, the “founder of the Green Revolution,” and the man who established the World Food Prize.
“But the World Food Prize laureate selection committee in fact did select three pioneers of plant cell transformation through the use of recombinant DNA — and then took its decision a step further by issuing a statement stoutly defending the role of biotechnology in the future of agriculture,” Borlaug continued.
“To which I can only say, hallelujah. In my view, advocates of biotechnology desperately need to do a better job of explaining to the public why biotechnology is so important to humanity’s future and why the opposition to it cannot be permitted to deprive billions of people of its promise.”
Read the full, original story here: “Another View: Like it or not, biotech is a necessary ag tool”
Additional Resources:
- “The Register’s Editorial: Food prize week is time to debate and learn,” Des Moines Register
- “Commentary — Norm and Me: ‘From the Green Revolution to the Gene Revolution,'” Global Food For Thought
