Thread by @GMWatch

This article really shows the shallowness of @BillGates thinking. He actually calls #GMO crops "magic seeds" and compares alternatives to "singing kumbaya". It's laughable but this is a good article that quotes some incisive criticisms of Gates' approach apnews.com/article/russia…

@BillGates Some researchers question Gates' fundamental premise, increasing ag production through #GMO seeds + fertilizers & #pesticides. They point to the environmental footprint of industrial ag, including fossil fuel-based fertilizers, soil degradation and the diminishing of biodiversity

@BillGates Critics in Ghana ask what would happen if instead of funding #GMO crops, so far to little effect after nearly a decade, those resources went to the national research centers in Ghana, to building roads, to building storage, to building silos or helping to build markets?

@BillGates Rachel Bezner Kerr, a prof of global dev at Cornell & lead author of the food chapter of the latest report from the #IPCC, said, “overall, the kind of focus on a few techs & reliance on fossil fuel-based inputs isn’t in line with ecosystem-based adaptation” or a biodiverse future

@BillGates Alternatives could include agroecological interventions, like developing locally managed seed banks, composting systems to promote soil health, and pest interventions that don’t rely on chemicals, experts said. Over time, those approaches can build more resilient farming systems.