DuPont adivser Daschle: Biotech key to growing food
Philip Brasher
Des Moines Register -
February 16, 2010
Former Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle signed on
recently as an adviser to Pioneer Hi-Bred parent DuPont and today published a
piece in Politico laying out what he sees as the four pillars for increasing
global food production. The first is increasing the use of biotechnology and
the use of other scientific innovations.
“Products in the ag pipeline offer
the promise of nutritional outputs that will improve products and boost yields.
In order to realize these new technologies, we must foster innovation by
incentivizing and encouraging investment in biotech and broader agricultural
research and development.
Then, Daschle goes on call for “strengthened legal and
legislative safeguards” that would encourage innovation while protecting
intellectual property rights and of more collaboration between companies –
Pioneer is embroiled in a legal battle with Monsanto over use of the latter’s
soybean technology – and also with governments, environmental groups and other
organizations. Finally, he says companies need to partner with governments and
farmers in developing countries, something Monsanto in particular has been
trying to do in collaboration with the Gates foundation and scientists based in
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