SciDev.Net

Building public support for genetically modified crops in sub-Saharan Africa means developing a homegrown solution to the region's own needs.

Although GM crops are controversial, they can still play an important role in meeting the world's food needs. But the controversies do highlight the need for a robust regulatory framework.

A ruling by Canada's Supreme Court that a company's patent on a gene covers the use of all products containing that gene may have reduced legal uncertainty about GM crops. But it has highlighted — and heightened — the political conflict over them.

The world’s largest study of the potential impact of genetically modified crops on the environment has produced an ambiguous set of results. Ironically, this should make future decisions easier.

Two new reports on genetically modified crops paint a convincing picture of their relevance to the needs of the developing world. But neither is likely, on its own, to convince the sceptics.

African states should not be ridiculed too hastily for hesitating to accept food containing genetically-modified seeds. But a more rational discourse is needed.

A report on the controversy over the potential threat of genetically modified corn to the Monarch butterfly provides some useful pointers to ways in which such controversies could be better handled in future.

Those who seek to blend science with social commitment run a constant risk of criticism for doing so. The answer lies not in separating the two, but in finding ways of ensuring the integrity of each process through greater transparency.

A decision by the Indian government to approve the commercial planting of genetically-engineered cotton gives it a heavy responsibility to take effective steps to ensure their safe and equitable application.