Comment: Genetically modified food and food security

May 16, p. 6

For more than 65 years after independence, Indonesia’s food problems remain unsolved. The country is still trapped in the same situation as other underdeveloped nations, where hunger, poverty and malnutrition make headlines almost every day.

Six decades of the fight against food problems has not caused Indonesia to learn from history. The life of farmers is worsening day by day, as indicated by the farmers’ exchange value (NTP), which in January 2011 stood at only 97.99 per month.

This figure shows that high staple food prices are not accompanied by improvements in the welfare of farmers and fishermen.

Your comments:

There is a huge amount of scientific data that shows GM food is bad. GM products have been, or are being, banned in many countries.

Peter Sands
Bali

The comments above verge on fear-mongering. Even Greenpeace and similar organizations do not condemn this science, but want better controlled testing.

Brad
New York