World Grain - September 2019 - 6

FROM THE EDITOR

Embracing technology
paramount for sustainability

hile the recent trade dispute
between the United States and
China has taken center stage
in terms of its impact on agricultural
trade, another disagreement - one that
pits the E.U. against 16 of its trading
partners - has received much less attention but also hinders free trade.
The E.U. recently began implementLQJ PHDVXUHV WKDW H൵HFWLYHO\ SURKLELW
the use of pesticides that most of the
world's major grain producers use for
what they insist is safe and sustainable
agricultural production. In a letter to
the World Trade Organization in July,
16 nations, including the United States,
Canada, Brazil and Australia, argued
WKDW WKH (8 LV LPSRVLQJ D ³QRQWDUL൵
trading barrier on agricultural goods."
The E.U. is essentially taking a hazard-based approach to pesticides, where
regulators focus on the chemicals' potential to do harm, while most nations
follow a risk-based approach, in which
scientists look at realistic exposure levels and determine if those levels could
be harmful to humans. "It appears that
the E.U. is unilaterally attempting to
impose its own domestic regulatory approach onto its trading partners," the
countries wrote in their letter.
The issue of disputed pesticide tolerance levels speaks to a larger point
made by Randall Giroux, vice-president
of food safety, quality and regulatory
for Cargill, at the International Grains
Council Conference in June. AddressLQJDQDXGLHQFHRIDJULEXVLQHVVR൶FLDOV
from more than 50 countries, Giroux
said the world's public and private sectors must do a better job to ensure consistent and practical agricultural trade
policy between nations that minimizes
uncertainty, which is the enemy of investment and prosperity.
How do the public and private sec6

EDITORIAL STAFF

tors get on the same page? It begins with
PDNLQJGHFLVLRQVEDVHGRQVFLHQWL¿FHYLdence. For instance, about 90% of scientists believe GMO foods are safe to consume, a view that is shared by the World
Health Organization and other healthfocused groups. Yet, the E.U., where the
LVVXH RI JHQHWLFDOO\ PRGL¿HG IRRG LV D
political hot potato, has been out of step
with its trading partners by historically
placing greater restrictions on products
containing GMOs.
Unfortunately, the E.U. also views
gene editing - perhaps the most exciting agricultural-based technological
breakthrough in recent memory - with
skepticism. Gene editing allows for the
improvement of agricultural traits by
plant scientists, making crops more resistant to disease and more capable of
delivering maximum yield. Legislation
has been passed in the E.U. that imposes
extensive risk evaluations before geneedited organisms can be planted or sold as
crops, essentially giving it the same stringent legal status as GMOs. European scientists are appealing to the newly elected
European Parliament and European Commission to reconsider their position.
Global agriculture is charged with
the task of feeding the growing global
population expected to reach nearly 10
billion people by 2050. Whether it's
utilizing gene editing,
GMO crops or safe
levels of pesticides,
the tools are available
to provide more susWDLQDEOH DQG H൶FLHQW
agricultural production. But for these goals to be realized,
the global food system must work with
technology, not against it.
Arvin Donley
Editor

Editor
Arvin Donley
Managing Editor
Eric Schroeder
Associate Editor
Susan Reidy
Digital Media Associate Editor Holly Saddler
European Correspondent
Chris Lyddon
China Consultant
Fengcheng Wang
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WORLD GRAIN (ISSN 0745-8991) Volume 37, issue 9,

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World Grain - September 2019

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