Muammar El-Gheddafi’s reference to genebanks at the Hunger Summit on Monday may not be entirely what we thought. His speech is on the FAO webcast website, starting at about the 20 minute mark. I asked an Arabic simultaneous translator friend of mine ((Thanks, Amr.)) to parse the relevant passage and this is what he had to say:
He is talking about the need to break the monopoly on seeds by “satanic multinational companies.” He urges the FAO to encourage the creation of regional and natnioal banks for “enhanced” or “improved” seeds, but not the genetically modified seeds, which he is against. So, he is definitely talking about genebanks, not grain stores.
But not your usual sort of genebank, clearly.