Technology cannot solve world hunger

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More than 150 Nobel laureates and World Food Prize recipients recently signed an open letter stressing the need to boost food production to avert an impending global hunger crisis. While the need to address hunger is vital, several of the approaches mentioned in this high-profile letter seemed problematic because they primarily aim to tackle hunger through technological fixes. Yet, hunger instead is more of a social problem.

At first glance, it seems encouraging that a coalition of the world's most celebrated thinkers called for collective action to address hunger. The signatories of this open letter include noteworthy scientists, the Dalai Lama, as well as Joseph Stiglitz, the famous former World Bank economist. This impressive list of signatories was brought together by Cary Fowler, famous for his work to establish gene-banks which can be used by plant breeders and scientists to develop new crop varieties.

Some of the statistics cited in the open letter are indeed alarming. For example, the letter notes that 700 million people are currently food insecure. And 60 million children under five remain stunted, which means they have become cognitively and physically impaired for life, due to a lack of nutritional food.

The letter stresses the need to enhance agricultural productivity using tools like AI, computational biology and genomic techniques.

However, the WFP has repeatedly pointed out that global hunger is not due to a lack of food. The world currently produces more than enough food for everyone on Earth. But, nearly one-fifth of all food produced each year is either wasted or lost post-harvesting. Many people in the world remain hungry not because of lack of food, but because they cannot afford to buy it. Yet, the open letter has not paid due attention to these issues. Although their letter calls for "planet-friendly" efforts to contend with hunger, such assertion can be misleading. Even proponents of genetically modified seeds claim that they offer 'greener' solutions, as their seeds need less pesticides. Nonetheless, on-ground experience indicates that GMO crops such as BT cotton, genetically engineered to resist worm infestations, have caused significant problems. BT cotton seeds are expensive, and they have increased farmer indebtedness, fueling the recurrent phenomenon of farmer suicides in countries like India.

Existing intensive farming practices, including monocropping, cash cropping and increased meat production, have exacerbated methane emissions, led to freshwater contamination and depletion, degraded soil quality and exacerbated deforestation. Relying on more advanced technological innovations, which need more capital-intensive investments, is not going to help address hunger in a sustainable manner.

It was a similar imperative to feed the growing global population which ushered in the so-called 'Green Revolution' back in the 1960s. The Green Revolution also advocated use of technological innovations of the time, such as mechanised farming implements, fertilisers and pesticides, to boost productivity. While crop yields did increase significantly, these new farming techniques caused environmental and ecological havoc.

Although the main thrust of Fowlers appeal's is to place faith in technological efficiencies, it did recognise the need to boost research on indigenous crops which can tolerate extreme weather conditions, and to try and reduce food waste as well. These are more sensible and sustainable suggestions, provided they are implemented in a manner which is inclusive rather than being exclusionary. We need more ecologically friendly crops grown by small-scale farmers instead of large agri-corporations. It is also vital to rethink food consumption habits, and to lessen meat consumption. However, instead of aiming to move the world towards more sustainable farming and consumption patterns, the appeal spearheaded by Fowler seems keener to harness technological forces to address hunger, which is a strategy that may exacerbate the underlying reasons why people remain hungry in the world today.