FAO declares war on farmers, not on hunger

The Director General of the FAO (UN Food and Agriculture Organisation) today received an open letter from hundreds of civil society organisations from across the world, including Greenpeace, denouncing its the recent annual report as a disgraceful public relations tool for the genetic engineering industry.

The FAO 200-plus page document attempts to appear neutral, but in reality is highly biased and ignores available evidence of the adverse impact of genetically engineered crops. Contrary to what the FAO proposes in their report, genetically engineered crops do not help fight hunger in the world.

The letter submitted today outlines that: "History demonstrates that structural changes in access to land, food, and political power - combined with robust, ecological technologies via farmer-led research -reduce hunger and poverty. The 'gene revolution' promises to take us in the opposite direction."

Our GE campaigner from Argentina, Daniela Montalto, says: "Argentina is the second-biggest GE crop producing country in the world, but far from helping farmers or alleviating hunger during our economic crisis, the GE soya fever has locked the country into an export oriented agriculture trade model that undermines people's food security, and has turned into a social and environmental nightmare."

Find out more:

- Read the open letter sent to the FAO today.

- Read FAO Director-General Dr Jacques Diouf's response to the open letter

- Read the press release from Grain for more information

- Find our more about the real state of farming in Argentina and read Daniela's story From Rosario, Argentina to the Esperanza

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