Quote (inkanddagger @ Aug 11 2014 08:16pm)
This is really not true.
First, organic is a farming method that is easily deployed and even the UN FAO has stated that localized organic farming is the only way to sustainably feed the world. The main factors on cost are demand, simple branding, and artificially low supply. If there were a community controlled small organic farm around every street corner, cost would diminish into almost nothing.
Second, the vast majority of GMO crops (corn and soy make up the majority by quite a bit) are not being used as staple foods. Most are being used to create ethanol or going to animal feed. If you're referring to Borlaug's dwarf wheat, that does not fit into the category of transgenics or genetic engineering, it's an enhanced conventional breed.
And modern capitalist agriculture is a root cause of starvation. It pushes farmers into growing cash crops while people all around are starving to death, ruins the land, and destroys economic competition and eventually farmers in poor nations, which leads to even more starvation.
There is never an incentive to grow good in agriculturally rich areas, transport them at a loss to the poor, and earn nothing in exchange.
Capitalism isn't causing starvation, self-interest is.
The green revolution in China and India is a huge reason starvation is almost a thing of the past among the two largest nations.
Drought and flood resistant rice is huge.