Italy World Expo focuses on sustainable agriculture GM heated discussion

2014/1/21 World Wide Web

content Summary: The World Expo to be held in Milan, Italy in 2015 will focus on agriculture and food culture with the theme of "Nourishing the Earth, Energy for Life". The issue of whether genetically modified crops should be allowed to participate during the exhibition has attracted attention from all walks of life.

Discussions about genetically modified crops continue, and it is difficult to avoid this topic at the Milan World Expo. According to reports, the 2015 Milan World Expo to "nourish the earth, life energy" as the theme, focusing on agriculture and food culture. However, there has been a lot of discussion about whether genetically modified crops should be allowed to participate in the exhibition during the preparatory period.

According to reports, Italy regards the World Expo as a major opportunity to get rid of the economic quagmire. From Milan to the central government, it advocates vigorously establishing it. However, it is hesitant to allow large multinational companies that promote genetically modified genes to participate.

The report said that the global population continues to increase. How to produce safe and nutritious food to solve the food problem caused by the population without harming the environment is a topic that all parties must face. The problem of hunger has been greatly alleviated after the 20th century, mainly because of scientific and technological progress, mechanization, chemical fertilizers, pesticides, seed and animal species screening, and the improvement of irrigation systems, which have greatly increased the productivity of the agricultural, livestock and food industries.

Chicco Testa, a former political entrepreneur, says green innovations such as the carotene-rich golden rice that could save many Asian children from blindness should not be blocked. Bioethicist Cobellini (Gilberto Corbellini) said more bluntly that the Milan World Expo should be an international event. If only ecological agriculture is allowed to participate and only praises the small-scale farmer model, it is doomed to failure. Well-known Italian cancer and biotechnology expert Veronasi (Umberto Veronesi) believes that genetic reform is a good solution to hunger and a natural way of evolution, and the claim that genetically modified crops may affect health is unfounded.

However, there are also different opinions. In the past, GiuliaMaria Crespi, an entrepreneur who sponsored Veronasi for a long time, said that these genetically modified crops resistant to weeding and insecticide absorbed a large amount of pesticides, while biotech giant Monsanto (Monsanto Co.) produced "Agent Orange" during the Vietnam War, allowing a large number of leaves to fall to facilitate the US military attack. Such agrochemical companies ended up causing countless people to leave sequelae. Agronomist Jonatahio (Mattero Giannattasio) also points out that farming methods that rely on agriculture and fertilizers cannot be sustainable.

In addition, the agricultural chemical industry has promised that genetically modified crops will reduce the use of pesticides and help environmental protection. However, statistics show that the use of pesticides in the United States, where genetically modified crops are widely grown, has not decreased but increased. Since the birth of genetically modified crops that claim to increase production, hunger has not been solved.

"Slow Food" (Slow Food) movement founder Bardini (CarloPertini) was originally at odds with genetically modified crops, has no intention of participating in the Milan World Expo, which tends to large agricultural chemical plants, he believes that to fight hunger, the first thing is to reduce food waste.

Citation from Science and Technology World Network http://www.twwtn.com/Agriculture/53_221582.html