The World Food Prize has been awarded to three developers of genetically modified crops-英语听力

[00:00.10]From VOA Learning English, [00:02.96]this is the Agriculture Report. [00:05.51]The World Food Prize has been awarded to three developers [00:09.31]of genetically modified crops,or GMOs. [00:14.14]Mary-Dell Chilton, Marc van Montagu and Rob Fraley [00:19.14]received the award on October 17th. [00:22.74]The award praises the technology they created [00:26.14]for being able to increase the quantity [00:29.30]and availability of food, [00:31.91]it also says GMOs help deal with a growing world population [00:37.52]and changes in weather patterns. [00:40.27]But the selection of the three scientists [00:43.27]has been criticized by people [00:45.53]who question the safety and value of GMOs. [00:49.88]In the 1970s, Marc van Montagu, [00:53.44]a Belgian scientist discovered bacteria in soil [00:57.55]performing a kind of natural genetic engineering. [01:02.05]He found that the bacteria placed a piece of [01:05.21]their genetic material, or DNA inside the plant cells, [01:10.47]the cells then produce chemicals [01:13.45]that work good for the bacteria. [01:15.81]"Once we [saw] bacteria can insert DNA [01:19.22]to give a new property to a plant, [01:21.87]we were able to replace that part of the DNA [with] DNA [01:26.93]that we want that gives new, [01:29.09]useful properties to the plant," van Montagu said. [01:31.78]His work was the beginning of plant biotechnology. [01:36.24]Mary-Dell Chilton and Rob Fraley both Americans, [01:40.64]produced the first genetically modified plants using that technology. [01:46.08]Ms Chilton was studying a common plant infection called crown gall [01:52.19]when she witnessed the same thing as Mr van Montagu. [01:56.40]She discovered that it forms when a germ called Agrobacterium [02:01.09]puts a piece of its own DNA into the plant cell's genes, [02:06.38]the plant then makes food for the bacteria. [02:10.04]Ms Chilton, Mr van Montagu and Mr Fraley [02:13.84]along with the Monsanto company created the technology [02:17.65]to reproduce plants while changing their DNA. [02:22.46]Genetic engineering can add information to plants [02:26.62]to produce different kinds of things, [02:29.41]such as a protein that kills insects. [02:33.08]Farmers quickly accepted and supported the new technology [02:36.88]first used in 1996. [02:40.64]Nearly all the corn and cotton [02:43.19]grown in the United States is made with GMOs. [02:47.45]The World Food Prize organization in the American state of IOWA says [02:53.29]17 million farmers worldwide grew GMO crops in 2012. [02:59.89]It says the technology increased production [03:03.33]and reduced the usage of harmful chemical on crops. [03:07.83]Doug Gurian-Sherman is a scientist with the Union of Concerned Scientists. [03:13.89]He says the technology could be useful, [03:16.64]but as there is no proof it is necessary to feed the world. [03:22.10]"My understanding of the prize is you should be giving it to people [03:25.09]that have shown major positive, [03:26.80]unequivocally positive accomplishments in world agriculture. [03:30.62]And I don't see, so far, [03:32.52]this technology being anywhere near that yet," Gurian-Sherman said. [03:35.92]Opposition to GMOs is also spreading. [03:39.47]In the Philippines, protesters destroyed test fields of rice [03:44.37]that had been genetically engineered to produce vitamin A. [03:49.91]And that's the Agriculture Report from VOA Learning English. [03:55.33]I'm Christopher Cruise.