The authors assess the role various strategies can play in augmenting global food supplies and combating hunger.They attempt to defuse the contentious debate surrounding the development and spread of genetically modified (GM) foods, which, they argue, can help meet the needs of the poor.The...

Despite the ongoing controversy over their use, genetically modified (GM) crops have progressively grown in popularity and are now planted in approximately 160 million hectares in 29 countries. In the discussions of biosafety regulations for GM crops and whether to approve such crops for...

"Pollution of the environment by metals and organic contaminants is an intractable global problem, with cleanup costs running into billions of dollars using current engineering technologies. The availability of alternative, cheap and effective technologies would significantly improve the...

"The regulatory approval of genetically modified crops in the field initially requires small, restricted experimental trials known as confined field trials. These small scale experiments provide researchers with important information on environmental interactions and agronomic performance of the...

"A vast literature has accumulated since crop varieties with transgenic resistance to insects and herbicide tolerance were released to farmers in 1996 and 1997. A comparatively minor segment of this literature consists of studies conducted by agricultural economists to measure the farm-level...

"As progressively more farmers in developing countries begin using biotech crops, careful evaluation of such crops' benefits becomes ever more important. This food policy review examines the applied economics literature regarding the impact of biotech crops on non-industrialized agriculture and...