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Today, almost a billion people live in absolute poverty and suffer from chronic hunger. Seventy percent of these individuals are farmers—men, women, and children—who eke out a living fromsmall plots of poor soils, mainly in tropical environments that are increasingly prone to drought, flood, bushfires, and hurricanes. Crop yields in these areas are stagnant and epidemics of pests andweeds oftenruincrops. Livestocksuffer from parasitic diseases, some of which also affect humans. Inputs such as chemical fertilizers and pesticides are expensive, and the latter can affect the health of farmfamilies, destroy wildlife, and contaminate water courses when used in excess. The only way families can growmore food andhave a surplus for sale seems to be to clear more forest. Older children move to the city, where they, too, find it difficult to earn enough money to buy the food and medicine theyneedfor themselves andtheir youngchildren.

As these detrimental social and environmental changes are occurringin the developingworld, a revolutioninbiotechnology and associated information technology is improving the health, well-being, and lifestyle of the privileged and creating more wealth in a few rich countries. Can this revolution also be harnessed to serve the food and nutrition needs of the world's poor? What are the opportunities, problems, and risks involved with the new technologies and can they be managed? The last question is particularly pressing in light of the current controversy between the United States and the European Union over genetically modified foods. The benefits and risks of biotechnology weigh differently for food in areas of food surplus than they do for life-threateningdiseases inthose sameareas.

Full Text of all Briefs
Individual Briefs in Focus 02:

1. Overview
   Gabrielle J. Persley and John J. Doyle
2. Biotechnology and Food and Nutrition Needs
   Richard Flavell
3. Biotechnology and Animal Vaccines
   W. Ivan Morrison
4. The Role of the Private Sector
   Clive James and Anatole Krattiger
5. Disentangling Risk Issues
   Klaus M. Leisinger
6. Safe Use of Biotechnology
   Calestous Juma and Aarti Gupta
7. Intellectual Property Protection
   John H. Barton
8. Research Policy and Management Issues
   Joel I. Cohen, Cesar Falconi, and John Komen
9. Developing Appropriate Policies
   Per Pinstrup-Andersen
10. Letter to a Minister
    Gabrielle J. Persley