In an article published in the Seattle Times, economics professor, William Easterly, writes that the end of global poverty will not come through technology but through ensuring poor people’s rights instead. “Gates believes poverty will end by identifying technical solutions. My research shoes that the first step is not identifying technical solutions, but enduring people’s rights,” states Easterly. The article continues to explain that true democracies, which allow people to freely vote and protest against harmful autocracies, are where an end to poverty can begin, not through technological fixes.
AGRA Watch also contends the Gates Foundation’s relentless support for biotechnology, although financially advantageous for shareholders, will prove to be futile in terms of ending global hunger and poverty. As research has shown, the answer does not lie solely with technological approaches like genetically engineered seeds, but rather non-technical methods which promote farmer knowledge, cooperation and ensure farmer’s rights to freely plant, harvest and save seeds.
AGRA Watch 