At Rome conference, debate over genetically modified food continues

Published: 2004-09-27

ROME (CNS) -- U.S. Ambassador to the Vatican Jim Nicholson said he first saw the merits of agricultural productivity growing up in Plymouth, Iowa, a town of fewer than 500 people. "There was a traditional farmers' bragging right with 100 bushels of corn per acre, and that was a very good year. Now, because of the miracles of seed science and fertilizers, they can get 300 bushels per acre," he said. This level of growth is what biological advances can now provide for the developing world, Nicholson said as he opened a conference on genetically modified food. The Sept. 24 conference at Rome's Gregorian University was organized by the U.S. Embassy to the Holy See with the cooperation of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. It was one in a series of events marking the 20th anniversary of U.S. diplomatic relations with the Holy See. While several panelists said biotechnology decreases pesticide use and creates more nutrient-filled crops that require less water and resist drought, not everyone agreed that genetically engineered foods are the answer to global hunger. Some critics in the conference audience said the genetically modified food solution could breed further dependence by small farmers on corporations. Others said it ignores the true cause of hunger -- poverty.

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