Washington, D.C. – Congress has largely stayed out of the battles over genetically engineered crops, but that could change with a foreign aid bill that could target research money to agricultural biotechnology.

The bill, approved by a Senate committee earlier this spring, is aimed at boosting spending on foreign agricultural development and nutrition programs from $750 million in 2010 to $2.5 billion by 2014. The bill spells out that the money can go to “biotechnological advances appropriate to local ecological conditions,” including genetically modified seeds.

Aid groups say the money is needed to help farmers in Africa and elsewhere to increase food production as the world population grows, the planet warms and more crops are used for biofuels.

The legislation appears to be in line with the Obama administration’s priorities. The administration has proposed doubling agricultural aid to $1 billion, and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has pledged to push for greater use of agricultural biotechnology.

But critics of biotechnology are angry that the increased U.S. aid could be used to promote the use of genetically engineered seeds, and they’re pushing lawmakers to strip the provision from the bill.

The legislation “isn’t just about feeding the hungry, it’s about advancing the interests of U.S. agribusinesses,” Annie Shattuck, a policy analyst for a group called Food First, wrote recently.

“The question is whether there is any reason to insist that foreign aid be genetic engineering, or genetically modified crops,” said Margaret Mellon, a senior scientist with the Union of Concerned Scientists.

China and India are rapidly adopting biotech crops. But many countries in Africa have been reluctant to approve the use biotech seeds for fear they would lose export sales to the European Union, where there has long been strong consumer resistance to the technology.

The Senate bill’s main sponsor, Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., uses genetically modified seeds on his family’s farm and firmly believes they could help poor farmers as well. 

Click here for the rest of this article.