And The Winner Of The World Food Prize Is… The Man From Monsanto
October 8th, 2013Via: NPR:
Ever heard of the World Food Prize? It’s sometimes called the “Nobel Prize for food and agriculture,” but it has struggled to get people’s attention. Prize winners tend to be agricultural insiders, and many are scientists. Last year’s laureate, for instance, was , a pioneer of water-saving “micro-irrigation.”
This year, though, the World Food Prize is likely to get some publicity, some of it in the form of anger and protests. The prize will go to who played prominent roles in creating genetically engineered crops: Marc Van Montagu, Mary-Dell Chilton and Robert Fraley.
Of the three, Fraley is by far the youngest, but also the most pivotal and divisive. He’s spent his entire career at Monsanto. He was hired in 1981 as one of the company’s very first molecular biologists, led the company’s intense drive to sell genetically engineered crops in the 1990s, and is now the company’s chief technology officer. In fact, if there’s a single person who most personifies Monsanto’s controversial role in American agriculture, it’s probably Robb Fraley.
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The winners were announced Wednesday at the U.S. State Department, with Secretary of State John Kerry contributing his own remarks. It’s hard to imagine a similar event taking place in Europe, where government authorities have refused to approve the planting or importation of some of these GMO crops.
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The prize has been criticized in the past for close relationships with agribusiness companies.
