Location:
International Food Policy Research Institute
2033 K Street, NW, Washington, DC
Fourth Floor Conference Facility
Wednesday, November 28, 2001
3:30 - 5:00 p.m.

Kindly RSVP to 202-862-8107 or Email: S.Hill-Lee@cgiar.org.

Presentations on the costs and benefits of genetically modified crops and foods in developing countries by the expert authors of the following IFPRI books. Open discussion will follow the presentations.

Seeds of Contention: World Hunger and the Global Controversy Over GM Crops
By Per Pinstrup-Andersen and Ebbe Schiøler

In recent years the media have reported, frequently with alarm, on the increasing use of genetically modified crops in agriculture. Concerns have ranged from consumer safety and the risks of large-scale ecosystem damage to the shift of power away from locally controlled farming operations toward large agribusiness and biotech companies.

In this book, Per Pinstrup-Andersen and Ebbe Schiøler review the evidence on these controversies and then focus attention on the less discussed issues of the potential benefits and costs of genetically modified crops for developing countries. They argue that GM crops may be one element in the solution to poverty and hunger, and that people in developing countries should have information about benefits and risks and the freedom to make their own decisions about whether or not to grow and consume these crops.

“This book presents a balanced perspective on the potential benefits and risks of modern biotechnology for developing-country food and agriculture and suggests action to reduce risks and increase benefits. It is an excellent and highly welcome addition to the ongoing debate on biotechnology and GM foods.” - Gordon R. Conway, President, The Rockefeller Foundation

Per Pinstrup-Andersen (presenter) is director general of the International Food Policy Research Institute and winner of the 2001 World Food Prize. Ebbe Schiøler is a consultant in research and development issues primarily related to agriculture. Published for IFPRI by The Johns Hopkins University Press (176 pages)

The Politics of Precaution: Genetically Modified Crops in Developing Countries
By Robert L. Paarlberg

Genetically modified (GM) agricultural crops such as cotton, maize, or soybeans have been planted widely by farmers since 1995 in three western hemisphere countries - the United States, Argentina, and Canada. Where GM crops have been planted they have performed as advertised, allowing farmers to reduce costs by controlling insects and weeds with fewer, less toxic, and less persistent chemicals. Yet the planting of GM crops has not spread significantly beyond these three countries.

In this original study, Robert Paarlberg examines local policy responses to GM crop technologies in four important developing countries: Brazil, India, Kenya, and China. He identifies five policy areas in which governments of developing countries can either support or discourage GM crops: intellectual property rights, biosafety, trade, food safety, and public research and investment. In explaining how some developing countries have arrived at their decisions about biotechnology, Paarlberg opens up the possibility for policymakers to make new choices.

“This is the first major empirical study that sheds light on the policy dynamics influencing the adoption of biotechnology in developing countries. The analytical framework and the wealth of new information make it both original and substantive. In addition, the study is an honest and candid account of trends in developing countries. This is an important book that will inspire the practitioner, challenge the academic, satisfy the curious, and appease the bewildered.” - Calestous Juma, Harvard University

Robert Paarlberg is a professor of political science at Wellesley College.

Published for IFPRI by The Johns Hopkins University Press (195 pages)

The Future of Food: Biotechnology Markets and Policies in an International Setting
Edited by Philip G. Pardey

What is the future of food? Everyone agrees that feeding the world in the decades ahead will require substantial increases in crop yields. But how we get there has become a remarkably contentious question because of biotechnology. What should be biotechnology’s role in assuring affordable and sustainably grown food for all? How we answer this question now will have profound ramifications for decades to come.

The chapters in this book confront the controversy over biotechnology with new analyses and insights from economists and technologists. The topics covered include the differences in perceptions about biotechnology among rich and poor countries; the effects of rich-country restrictions on international trade in genetically modified crops on the welfare of poorer countries; the effects of intellectual property rights on the bioscience done by public agencies; and the economic impacts of biotechnology.

Policymakers and partisans on both sides of the debate will find useful economic ways of thinking about the tradeoffs of biotechnology.

"This important book places biotechnology directly in the context of developing-country concerns about food and agriculture. It is all the more valuable because it presents the science and economics of this controversial technology in a way that will help decisionmakers make the most informed choices--choices that will have profound consequences for how future generations feed themselves." - Ismail Serageldin, Distinguished Professor, American University, Cairo, and Special Advisor to the Egyptian Government Alexandria Library

Philip G. Pardey is a senior research fellow at IFPRI. Published by IFPRI and distributed by The Johns Hopkins University Press (330 pages)