The world population is growing at a frantic and alarming rate. According to the United Nations projections, the population number is expected to reach two billion over the next three decades, increasing from the prevailing 8 billion to 9.7 billion in 2050, then again to 10.4 billion in 2100. Another report is also blowing the whistle about the worrying expansion of hunger and malnutrition, which are exponentially increasing worldwide, killing tens of thousands of human lives daily.

In fact, the latest edition of the report “The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World”, published jointly by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Food Program (WFP) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), states that, in 2021, more than 800 million people have been affected by hunger. This represents an increase of approximately 46 million compared to 2020, and 150 million since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic crisis. Consequently, the world can no longer aggressively fight the hunger crisis, and is clearly struggling to ensure equitable food security.

Furthermore, the pivotal development of genetic manipulation and engineering techniques in the second half of the 20th century has paved the way for the spread of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), which have been the topic of heated debates over the past few decades. It has, however, become obvious that the world won’t have the option of bypassing the genetically engineered agricultural technologies. Thus, it will inevitably have to strive for the development of these new scientific and innovative strategies in order to increase food production and feed the entire human population.

The sole focus on the challenges of developed countries at the expense of the difficulties faced by developing countries, including Third World countries, will inevitably be pricey for the international community. This reality is likely to result in more severe negative impacts, than merely simple concerns, such as the distrust regarding some of these (bio)technologies. A prognostic study, conducted by the International Food Policy Research Institute, has pointed out that by 2050, an additional 70% (of what is currently being produced) of food supply will be needed, to feed the ever-increasing worldwide population.

Could GMOs be the miracle solution to solve the crucial issue of food insecurity? Sir Richard Roberts, winner of the 1993 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, answers this question, and more, in an exclusive interview with This Is Beirut in conjunction with the accreditation ceremony by the AACSB of the Faculty of Management and Economics of Notre-Dame University (NDU).