GM crops can help India increase food production: US expert

Kolkata, Sep 7 (PTI) Amidst a debate in India overallowing GM crops, an American expert has said shifting to itcan help India increase food production to fight hunger andglobal warming. "Average yields will go down and GM crops is going to beone of the answers in fighting issues of climate change andpopulation growth," Dr Julian Adams, professor in thedepartments of molecular cellular and developmental biology atthe University of Michigan, told reporters here. He said to ensure food security and fight hunger, theworld has to increase food production by about 60 per cent by2050. Taking advantage of genetically engineered technology,scientists can change genes in the seed to make it moretolerant to floods, drought and heat. Asked about its impact on biodiversity, Adams said theconversion from traditional farming to GM crop farming has"no affect" on biodiversity. According to an estimate, he said if there hadn’t beenGM crops the world would have needed around 21 millionhectares of arable land. Carrie McMahon, Consumer Safety Officer of United StatesFood and Drug Administration, said over the last 25 years, 150varieties of GM crops had been evaluated and were released inthe market only after they were found to be safe for bothhumans and animals. She said US Food and Drug Administration is working onsharing best practices in evaluation of GM food to scientistsof other countries. PTI NIK KKTIR