NightBlogger

AFP
With food prices hitting record highs the jury is still out in Asia as to whether genetically modified crops hold the key to future food security. The Philippine government has openly embraced the commercial growing of genetically modified (GM) corn, but neighbouring countries appear less than enthusiastic.

“There has been a lot of talk about developing high-yielding crops and crops that can cope with climate change using GM seeds,” said Daniel Ocampo, a genetic engineering campaigner with the environmental group Greenpeace. But, he said, the technology was still a long way from “addressing these needs.” Even so this has not stopped the Philippines from subsidising the production of GM corn. Read more

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Like the rumble of distant thunder, bird flu continues to spread across Asia, Africa and Europe. Although it’s been out of the news lately in the United States, scientists say that avian influenza, as it’s also known, remains a serious threat to human and animal health.

The lethal H5N1 version of the virus is mutating rapidly and rampaging through bird flocks throughout those parts of the world, infecting and often killing people who come in contact with them.

The fear is that the virus will change into a form that makes human-to-human transmission quick and easy. At least seven slightly different subtypes already have been identified. Read more

pic courtesy of Mostafa

At the epicenter of the storm is the Philippines, the world’s largest importer of rice. The country is paying exorbitant prices for whatever rice it can get its hands on, driving up prices around the world to double last year’s. At the center of the storm lies a simple question: Why can’t the Philippines, and other countries in Asia, produce enough rice to feed themselves?
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