Give GM Bananas a Chance

Genetically modified (GM) bananas do not pose a threat to the environment, human health and to the smallholder farmers who grow 85% of the global production. GM allows preserving the beneficial characteristics of a plant to which farmers and consumers are used to, and complements them with useful traits such as resistance to pests and diseases and tolerance to abiotic stresses. This argument for GM banana was forwarded by Anne Vezina and Richard Markham of Bioversity International in "Who needs GM bananas? And will they have the chance to choose?" published in the journal Tailoring Biotechnologies of the Center Tailormade Biotechnologies and Genomics in Wageningen, the Netherlands.

Veniza and Markham call for a shift in focus from an ideological GM debate towards one that centers on a socio-economic analysis of the technology. They recommend the design of policies that exclude the unnecessary and inappropriate applications of GM technology, and which instead promote ecologically responsible and cost-effective ones.

Email Anne Veniza at a.vezina@cgiar.org for more information.