Food production relies increasingly on a small number of species and varieties. This makes it more vulnerable to diseases, pests, changes in climate and extreme meteorological events. This negative trend could yet accelerate with the development of new biotechnologies and the digital sequencing of plant genetic resources.
More articles on seeds published on hungerexplained.org
December 2023 – Opinions: Reflections on food, power, poverty and resilience in the face of global catastrophic risks by Geoff Tansey – Ensuring resilience of our food systems in the face of global catastrophic risks will require that we change our view about how the world works, so as to be able to modify the way we run it. [read]
April 2021 – Opinion: Another false start in Africa sold with Green Revolution myths by Timothy A. Wise and Jomo Kwame Sundaram – AGRA has clearly failed to improve agricultural productivity and farmers’ incomes in Africa. This failure remind us of the high opportunity costs of paths not taken. [read]
10 January 2021 – Mexico, first Latin American country to ban GMO maize and glyphosate – A ban that represents a real challenge for the country, because of its many implications. [read]
April 2020 – Opinion: Green Counter-Revolution in Africa? by Jomo Kwame Sundaram. Many millions of dollars spent on fertilizers and seed subsidies in Africa have not delivered their promised outcomes. Agricultural input subsidies have benefitted agribusiness transnationals at the expense of farmers, consumers and governments. [read]
February 2019 – Opinion: Agribusiness Is the Problem, Not the Solution by Jomo Kwame Sundaram. Powerful business interests influence government food and agricultural policies to the detriment of small family farms [read]
May 2017 – Opinion: Genetically Engineered Disappointments by Jomo Kwame Sundaram and Tan Zhai Gen. [read]
26 novembre 2017 – Large manoeuvres in the global food system: concentration and financialisation consolidate its industrial nature – Increased risks of monopolistic behaviour, dissipation of accountability, obstacles to innovation constitute threats on the sustainaility of our food. [read]
27 December 2016 – Scientific research under the influence of private interests – A study by France’s INRA shows that a large proportion of research publications on GMOs is the object of conflicts of interest and that, in this case, the content of the publication has high chances of being in favour of seed companies. [read]
11 February 2015 – A new generation of GMOs based on the RNA interference technology evades regulation and is likely to flood the US market. What about the rest of the world? [read]
8 February 2015 – The New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition in Africa: focus on land and seeds – A report prepared by GRAIN and AFSA provides details on actions taken by the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition of the G8 in the area of land and seeds in Africa. [read]
16 September 2014 – Biodiversity or GMOs : how to increase plant resistance against drought? Seeds are made available on the market that associate common plants (maize, paddy, soya and wheat) to a fungus that gives them the capacity to thrive better under drought conditions. [read]
9 May 2014 – Green revolution in Africa: more improved seeds for the continent – Growing Africa’s Future (AGRA) has just published a report on the seed sector in Africa which concludes that the sector is now dominated by local start-ups. [read]
8 March 2014 – The large corporations multinational corporations in charge of our agri-food system…: agrochemical corporations – In 2010, multinational corporations weighed more than 25% of world GDP. For agricultural inputs, a handful of companies control the market and promote products which often have an exorbitant environmental and health cost. [read]
1 November 2013 – GMOs: set-back in Latin America and hope in Europe for multinational seed companies – After Brazil, where a study had challenged the legality of GMO crops, a decision by a judge bans transgenic maize in Mexico. This comes at a time when Europe envisages to authorise the cultivation of a second GMO maize variety. [lire]
October 2012 – Myths on hunger debunked: GMOs are the solution to eradicate hunger [read]