A dangerous mix of the global economic slowdown combined with stubbornly high food prices in many countries has pushed some 100 million more people than last year into chronic hunger and poverty. The silent hunger crisis – affecting one-sixth of all of humanity – poses a serious risk for world peace and security. Food production will have to be at least doubled to meet the needs. The potential of biotechnology to assist in meeting this challenge is far from being fully exploited. Nearly 70% of poor and food insecure people live in rural areas in developing countries. Low production in agriculture is a major cause of poverty & food insecurity. Biotechnology & genetic engineering can: 1) facilitate agricultural & rural growth through high-yielding varieties resistant to biotic & abiotic stresses; 2) reduce pest–associated losses; 3) increase the nutritional value of foods which is a very important factor in rural areas or developing countries. Therefore, by applying biotechnology to agriculture, though we will come across some controversies, but we can be hopeful that we have chosen a reliable way, which will take us to food security & poverty reduction in a near future, if we really intend to. In this review, the ways which biotechnology & genetic engineering can help us to provide food security, & how biotechnology can act as a valuable tool to reduce poverty will be discussed.

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