BBC Monitoring | August 5, 2003
The Italian newspaper La Stampa welcomes the Vatican's "opening up" on the theme of genetically modified foods and believes the Church's contribution could sway public opinion. Stressing that the benefits of GMOs are to come in the future, it says that thanks to the Church's intervention, "the responsibility of rich countries vis-a-vis the poorer can again take centre stage in the global public debate". The following is text of Carlo Bastasin commentary by Italian newspaper La Stampa web site on 3 August entitled "New seeds and good will":
The Church's unexpected opening up on the theme of genetically modified foods could weigh decisively on the debate that concerns the fate of mankind.
Seed-sowing, famine, and the fear of the unknown, which for millennia have represented the symbolic pillars of religious practice, are today being addressed by the Vatican, albeit with the authority of those who have to match the values of doctrine with stark pragmatism. The tendency to support the use of biotechnology in the field of agriculture is the offspring of a concrete world vision of man's major problems. Unlike the doctrine on procreation and the family, there is no fear here of paying the price of facing reality and acknowledging the importance of those billions of human beings who live beneath the survival line. Genetically modified foods are a topic for fierce debate at every level, from the small Piedmont field that was burnt because it marginally came into contact with genetically modified seeds, all the way up to government summits between Europe and the United States. Supporters of genetically modified foods claim that the seeds are safe, less harmful to the environment, and can guarantee better quality food at lower prices. Critics say they are risky and not necessary, and challenge scientific assurances by questioning their capacity to assess the long-term dangers associated with protein-structure modification.
Europe and the United States defend opposite and particularly hefty interests: for the Europeans, protecting the diversity and purity of their own crops means justifying the substantial public aid the sector receives, and also trade barriers; whereas for Americans, it means defending both the leadership and the profits of their own biotech industries. By the time the World Trade Organization (WTO) summit takes place in early September in Cancun, Europe and the United States hope to reach an agreement, the general guidelines of which are to be made known in a week's time in Geneva. There is, however, no guarantee that the agreement will take into account the interests of poorer populations.
The ideological intensity of the debate is rather disproportionate. Not only are the risks of GMOs to human health and the environment overestimated, but, for the time being, so are their economic benefits. Despite a 30-fold increase in 10 years, only 5 per cent of the world's cultivated soil undergoes GM seeding. Even if hundreds of millions of humans use them, the market is too small to generate any real benefit for farmers. At the same time, the scant economic advantage for consumers causes the latter's distrust to be even more deep-rooted.
The Church's stand, and the dose of pragmatism it showers over an opportunist political debate, can influence the attitude of millions of consumers and producers. This would change the prospects for GM technology, the significance of which lies not in the present, but in the promise it holds for the future. The fact that even spiritual interests, as in the case of the Church, and critical stands, as in the case of Europe, also wish to have a say in the future of these technologies is reassuring.
At the same time, this does not mean that the use of genetically modified seeds will by itself solve the problem of world hunger. The use of GM technologies is no magic wand with which to solve poverty in Africa. To do so, besides more effective and less costly seeds, what is necessary are productive models that can be locally adapted to crops, along with roads, hygiene, schools, and assistance.
The fact that, thanks also to the Church's intervention, the responsibility of rich countries vis-a-vis the poorer can again take centre stage in the global public debate is certainly, starting today, the most positive seed sown by genetically modified organisms.
Source: La Stampa web site, Turin, in Italian 3 Aug 03BBC Monitoring:
