Greenpeace today accused the world's governments of failing to fulfil their commitment to reduce world hunger (1) while ignoring the methods of agriculture that are environmentally sound and proven. Nutritious, high-yielding crops are already being grown. It is the commercial power and political influence of the chemical companies promoting GM farming that prevent proper investment in these real solutions. A study, commissioned by Greenpeace, Bread for the World, and the British Government's Department for International Development (DfID) found 208 examples of sustainable agricultural projects at work in 52 developing countries (2).
This study was presented on the eve of an international conference "Sustainable Food Security for All by 2020" organised by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) this week in Bonn (3). The projects in the study show how hunger and poverty can be overcome by sustainable agriculture.
"Governments have lost sight of genuinely sustainable farming. The real solutions are out there, but lack funding and support. It is in the interest of the GM industry to keep it that way. If the level of investment that we see for GM today was made available to proven sustainable methods of production and researching alternatives it would go a long way to solve problems of agriculture in developing countries,"
said Charlie Kronick, GM Campaigner for Greenpeace.
Greenpeace called on the world governments to take their commitment to achieve food security for all seriously and reverse the current trend of declining assistance to developing countries (4). The organisation demanded independent public research and promotion of sustainable agricultural models - especially those addressing the needs of small-scale farmers who will suffer the most if the sell-out to GM industry continues.
"Sustainable agriculture is not a luxury but a necessity. It provides the most effective means to combat hunger. We should solve problems, not create new ones. GM puts people and their environment at further risk in countries that do not have the capacity to deal with the problems that GM may bring,"
Charlie Kronick added.
Editors notes:
(1) Representatives of 186 countries met in Rome in November 1996, committed themselves to the time-bound, monitorable, yet modest goal of halving hunger until 2015: "We pledge our political will and our common and national commitment to achieving food security for all and to an ongoing effort to eradicate hunger in all countries, with an immediate view to reducing the number of undernourished people to half their present level no later than 2015."
(2) The study " Reducing Food Poverty with Sustainable Agriculture: A Summary of New Evidence" by Jules Pretty and Rachel Hine.
(3) The international conference on "Sustainable Food Security for All by 2020", organised by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) in close collaboration with the German government and several other organisations from civil society and the private and public sectors takes place in Bonn on September 4- 6, 2001. The conference will address the emerging concerns how to fulfil the goal declared by the World Food Summit in 1996.
(4) Official Development Assistance has decreased during the 1990 from 0.33% to 0.25% of the Gross National Product of OECD Countries, to the detriment of the majority of the developing countries, especially the least developed countries in Africa which receive almost no private inflows.
Further information:
Contact:
Greenpeace press office on 0207 865 8255
