Experts discuss genetically modified crops for developing countries in UN lecture series

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan today hosted a lecture featuring experts on genetically modified crops, the second in a series of talks in New York dealing with issues outside the normal range of UN topics and focused on matters at the forefront of both the humanities and natural sciences.

The speakers were Professors Jennifer Thomson of the University of Cape Town in South Africa and Daphne Preuss of the University of Chicago, who discussed the use of genetically modified crops in developing countries, and the related technological and policy debates.

In his introductory remarks, the Secretary-General noted that the issue was complex and controversial. "It is a subject that involves the frontiers of science and technology, but equally, the most fundamental of human needs," he said. "It is a subject on which people's views may be very different, but it is not one on which we can afford to be indifferent."