If the world is to feed 9 billion people by 2050,it will need to use every technology available.Needless to say,GM crops are only one of many approaches needed to achieve global food security,but they certainly can play a positive role.Counteracting some of the current myths about GM crops,one can state unequivocally that current GM crops are safe for both humans and animals.Current GM crops that are herbicide tolerant or insect resistant can,under the right circumstances,benefit either small- or large-scale agriculture,both of which contribute to food security.Breeding and GM technology can synergize when genes for traits such as drought tolerance,improved nitrogen use efficiency,disease resistance,and/or improved nutritional content are expressed in superior germplasm developed through breeding.Looking to the future,the developing world needs to move beyond the stage of endless field trials and to develop harmonized regulatory regimes that will facilitate deregulation of events that have shown proven benefits in trials.New technologies such as genome editing offer great promise to carry out safe and precise changes to specific regions of the genome and should require much less regulatory oversight.