lessonsfromthe green revolutionforthe biotechnology debate（lessonsfromthe绿色revolutionforthe生物技术的争论）.docVIP

Lessons from the Green Revolution: Effects on Human Nutrition Rachel Bezner Kerr Draft, please do not cite without permission Introduction Current debates about the potential positive and negative implications of agricultural biotechnology for human nutrition do not seem to be well informed by lessons learned from the Green Revolution. This paper will examine the following question: what was learned from the Green Revolution concerning its effects on food consumption and/or nutrition? 2) In what respects is the agricultural biotechnology issue similar to the Green Revolution? 3) In what respects is it different? 4) Under what circumstances (if any) do you think it would be appropriate to introduce genetically engineered crops into the farming systems of developing countries? 5) What are the pros and cons of the preceding recommendation? Conceptual Framework The conceptual framework used for this analysis integrates the causes of malnutrition (UNICEF 1990), the extended model of care (Engle, Menon, and Haddad 1999) and the sustainable livelihood framework (Adato and Meinzen-Dick 2002). In addition, it incorporates some aspects of the framework used to assess the effects of commercialization on nutrition (Braun, Bouis, and Kennedy 1994). Starting with UNICEF’s model of the causal mechanisms of child malnutrition, the conceptual framework attributes direct child nutrition to both adequate nutrient intake and good health (lack of disease). These factors are in turn affected by a broad spectrum of caregiving behaviors, including child feeding, hygiene practices and food preparation and storage, that are found to be critical in child nutritional outcomes (Engle, Menon, and Haddad 1999). This framework then tries to break apart the ‘cultural, political and social context’ that influences the food and economic resources available for care at the household level. In doing so, I try to integrate the broader social, economic and political processes that interact at the ho