Bush backs modified crops
By Andrew Ward and Daniel Dombey | George W. Bush on Thursday stepped up pressure on the European Union and other governments to lift restrictions on genetically modified crops to help ease the crisis in global food supplies.
The US president said modified crops offered a partial solution to the food crisis gripping some parts of the world because of their high yields and resistance to drought and disease.
“These crops are safe,” he said, “and they hold the promise of producing more food for more people.”
The remarks came as Mr Bush proposed a fresh $770m (€498m, £390m) in food aid, in addition to the $200m in emergency aid announced two weeks ago.
If approved by Congress, the funds would increase total US food aid this year to $2.3bn, up from $2.1bn last year.
“We’re sending a clear message to the world: that America will lead the fight against hunger for years to come,” said Mr Bush.
Global food prices have increased by 43 per cent over the past year because of soaring demand from developing countries and droughts in Australia and other crop growing countries, according to the White House.
Decreased supply and rising prices have led to food shortages from Haiti to the Philippines.
The White House rejected criticism that its support for the development of ethanol for fuel had contributed to the crisis by increasing pressure on corn supplies.
Officials said that the use of corn to produce ethanol accounted for just 2-3 per cent of the increase in food prices, and a third of the increase in corn prices.
However, the White House acknowledged the need to develop alternative sources of ethanol to reduce pressure on corn supplies – pointing to the $1bn committed for research into the use of grasses, wood chippings and agricultural waste to produce energy.
Dan Price, the US national security adviser for international economic affairs, said that most of the aid would go to Africa, with some of the funds earmarked for technical assistance to help countries grow more food.
He said GM crops would allow poor countries to produce larger, more resilient harvests but said restrictions in Europe and elsewhere provided a deterrent to investment in GM crops.
The US last year provided more than $2.1bn of food aid to 78 developing countries, with more than $1.8bn dispersed by Food for Peace, the agency that is the main provider of US food aid to the rest of the world.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008
See More:BushHave Your Say: Bush backs modified crops
Please note, only selected comments will be published.
Or discuss this report in our our new forums
One Response to “Bush backs modified crops”
-
whistler
Posted: May 6th, 2008 at 1:16 pm | Link to this
Free Newsletter
Loading ...Related News
- Starving Haitians riot as food prices soar
- Despite bumper grain crop, 33 countries in food crisis: UN
- Brown urges G8 action on food scarcity
- Exposed: the great GM crops myth
- ‘Sustainable’ bio-plastic can damage the environment
Email This Page To A Friend
Latest Headlines
- Officers routinely lied to obtain search warrants
- Will the Mortgage Industry Pay for Its Crimes?
- Judge May Make CIA Torture Memo Public
- Roots of surveillance standoff go back decades
- U.S. deploys more than 43,000 unfit for combat
- UN suspends aid flights after Burma impounds food
- BBC kept £106,000 of charity cash
- Peak Food: Blaming the Victims
- The Challenge Of Modern Slavery
- Ex-MI5 chief warns over detention
More Breaking News
Archive
How pathetic George, the only reason for GM food is to line the pockets of the multinationals who patent these crops. You already have a disaster in the USA due to GM crops affecting 40% of the bee population not being able to pollinate. And this is just the beginning…