Berlin -- U.S. Sen. Dick Lugar told European leaders that biotechnological breakthroughs are important for feeding people worldwide.

 

“The world food crisis has hit in a very large way this year. The World Food Program and others have provided food, but the long term picture in many developing countries will not change until they are able to increase their own agricultural production. One key to this is developing scientific advances in better seeds and better practices,” Lugar said to German agricultural officials.

 

The Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) estimates that people in nearly 40 countries are facing food shortages that require international intervention. More than a dozen countries have experienced food-related riots and social unrest. The undernourished comprise 850 million people globally, 170 million of which are children. Development assistance has not kept up with need and globally, only 4 percent of official development assistance from all donors in 2007 was allocated for agriculture. 

 

“The current food crisis owes its existence to a complex web of factors, not least of which is U.S. and EU intransigence in protecting their market-distorting subsidies. The situation threatens to not just increase hunger, but to undo many of the development and health gains that have been achieved over the last decade. It also is causing political instability in some countries, which can have spillover effects beyond national borders,” Lugar said.

 

“Twenty-three countries are taking advantage of the most advanced technology – that is genetically modified crops. Nearly all of them are food exporters. Not surprisingly, the nearly 40 countries that are threatened by the recent spikes in food prices and by increases in the number of undernourished are not on this list,” Lugar said.

 

“Biotechnology has provided significant farm yield increases and pesticide use decreases. Yet since 2000, many countries with chronic food insecurity have rejected or limited the import of genetically modified foodstuffs, including food aid. The fear of biotech crops has been most prevalent in Europe. Many developing countries, especially in Africa, worry that if they adopt these crops, they will not be able to export to Europe. The governments and people of Europe must understand that their opposition to safe biotechnology contributes to hunger in Africa,” Lugar said.

 

In addition to Germany, Lugar has discussed biotechnology with officials in Turkey, Romania and Ukraine. Later this week he will discuss the issue with European Union officials in Brussels.

 

Lugar outlined the biotechnology issue at a speech in July. In a July 2 speech, Lugar noted that Ukraine’s agricultural production was now roughly half of what it had at the end of the Stalinist era. "Ukraine, some agronomists believe, could supply roughly one-seventh of all the food on Earth.  The possibilities are that great, and this is why the depletion of those resources is so severe, if you're looking at a world food crisis problem," he said.

 

A schedule of Lugar’s trip, which has focused on energy security, can be found at: www.lugar.senate.gov/energy.

 

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