Poor nations are now starting to shake off the old ‘Frankenfood’ taboo

Africa is no stranger to scourges, but few cause as much ruin as maize streak virus. Spread by the tiny leafhopper bug, MSV plagues the southern part of the continent, where tens of millions rely on corn for more than half their daily calories. “You go into the fields and want to weep,” says Jennifer Thomson, a South African molecular biologist and expert on MSV. “You wonder why anyone bothers to plant.” Now they may have a reason. Thomson and fellow researchers at the University of Cape Town teamed up with Pannar, an African seed company, to insert mutated DNA from the virus itself plus two other genes into healthy maize, essentially short circuiting the virus’ reproductive code and immobilising the disease. In greenhouse trials, the doctored maize curbed the damage from MSV, and sometimes stopped it cold. If it passes safety tests, it could hit the market within four years. It would be Africa’s first homemade genetically modified crop.

That would be a landmark. For years, farmers in Africa and other developing countries have struggled against pests and changing weather patterns, without being able to avail themselves of all the high-tech tools that wealthier nations have. A big obstacle has been a taboo on genetic modification of food crops, inspired largely by attitudes in Europe, and a global agricultural industry that has been deaf to the problems of poor nations. But a recent series of crises is changing those attitudes. Spiking food prices triggered riots across the tropics last year. As supplies vanished, Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo went so far as to threaten rice hoarders with life imprisonment. Worldwide, grain stocks hit a quarter-century low. In a world where almost a billion people went hungry last year—119 million more than in 2007—and with food demand set to double by midcentury, the taboo against GM foods is crumbling. “There can be no doubt science must come to the rescue,” says Joachim von Braun, head of the International Food Policy Research Institute, an independent group that has always toed a cautious line on GM.

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