Skip to main content

Debate on genetically modified crops: can and should they be grown to prevent a global food crisis?


The Times (June 20, 2013) reports that the British Environment Secretary will make a case to the European Union to lift the restrictions on genetically modified (GM) crops as a matter of “morality.”
The Environment Secretary, Owen Paterson, spoke at the Rothamsted Research Institute in Hertfordshire, indicating that the government should reassure the public that GM crops were “safe, proven, and beneficial innovation.” Paterson maintained that a failure to capitalize on technology to produce GM crops was “turning a blind eye on a global food crisis.”


GM crops can be modified to grow faster, be more pest and weed resistant, be weather-resistant, and be enriched with added nutrients. These factors would present a case for the growth or supply of GM foods to areas of drought and malnutrition to prevent death and severe stunting in children.


Since 1996 there has been a 100-fold increase in their use. Commercial sale of GM foods began in 1994 after an antibiotic-resistant tobacco plant was cultivated in 1983 in America. The first GM crops for sale were tomatoes. In 2000, with the creation of “golden rice,” scientists genetically modified food to increase its nutrient value. By 2013 about 85% of corn, 90% of soybeans, and 88% of cotton produced in American are genetically modified. However less than 0.1% of global GM cultivation occurred in the European Union. In the EU, GM crops are restricted to a case-by-case basis, with only two crops (a wheat and a potato variety) have been approved for commercial harvesting in Europe.


Over the years, more scientists and farmers were accepting GM technologies and food production techniques. In a poll of 600 British farmers, 61% said they would plant GM seeds. A survey by YouGov in June 2013 found that 21% of the British population supported the GM technologies, 35% opposed it, and the rest weren’t sure.


Agriculturalists in America estimate that in the next 50 years the world could release an area 2.5 times the size of France for GM cultivation. The Environment Secretary is therefore calling for the EU to ease restrictions on GM cultivation in favour of the gains for society and the environment.


Those who oppose it maintain that it leads to intensive farming practices and that it will not deliver secure food supplies for the world’s growing population. The head of policy, research and science at Friends of the Earth opposes GM cultivation on the grounds that there are no “miracle” crops that would tackle the challenges agriculture faces, such as soil degradation and water shortages.


The debate continues.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

2016 update on Rike Park, Tbilisi: from construction to busy park

From a flat patch of uninteresting dirt, Rike Park in Tbilisi, Georgia, has transformed in four years (from 2014-2016) into a busy park full of trees, flower beds, sculptures, fountains, and events. Rike (Rikhe) Park is on the left bank of the Mt’k’vari River (the Kura River) near the Old City of Tbilisi. The Peace Bridge links the right bank to Rike Park. Rike Park is below the hillside Presidential Palace and, via cable car, it is the starting point for the ride to Sololaki Ridge (with the Narikala Fortress and the Mother of Georgia statue). The glass box-shaped cable car terminus was opened on 23 June 2012, and since then the park has continually developed into a ‘people’s park’ where people can walk around, eat at the nearby restaurants, sit next to the statue of American president Ronald Reagan, climb the steps to Avlabari district, and access the sights of Meidan Square, the Peace Bridge, the Metekhi Church, the Old City, the waterfall, the sulphur baths, and t...
Post a Comment
Read more

Pir-E-Kamil - The Perfect Mentor by Umera Ahmed: book review

The Perfect Mentor pbuh  (2011) is set in Lahore and Islamabad in Pakistan. The novel commences with Imama Mubeen in medical university. She wants to be an eye specialist. Her parents have arranged for her to marry her first cousin Asjad. Salar Sikander, her neighbour, is 18 years old with an IQ of 150+ and a photographic memory. He has long hair tied in a ponytail. He imbibes alcohol, treats women disrespectfully and is generally a “weird chap” and a rude, belligerent teenager. In the past three years he has tried to commit suicide three times. He tries again. Imama and her brother, Waseem, answer the servant’s call to help Salar. They stop the bleeding from his wrist and save his life. Imama and Asjad have been engaged for three years, because she wants to finish her studies first. Imama is really delaying her marriage to Asjad because she loves Jalal Ansar. She proposes to him and he says yes. But he knows his parents won’t agree, nor will Imama’s parents. ...
1 comment
Read more

Hop on hop off bus tourism comes to Tbilisi, Georgia

City Sightseeing buses have arrived in Tbilisi. The iconic red double-decker buses, a feature of many cities around the world since the company was established in Seville, Spain in 1999, is now in six continents and almost 100 cities. The company established its Tbilisi business in November 2013, with its operations commencing in February 2014. The 90-minute tour stops at 11 major locations in Tbilisi (with 2 to 5 minute waiting times at each location): the Old City (where it commences), Freedom Square, Rose Revolution Square, Marjanishvili Square, the Dry Bridge, Konka, Avlabari, Metekhi, Akhundov Museum, the Sulfur Baths, and European Square. Passengers can hop off at any stop and see the sights, hopping back onto the next bus at any time. Alternatively, passengers can remain on the bus for the whole tour and take photographs when the bus stops at each location. There are one day (24-hour) passes (for 35 lari – about $20) and 48-hour passes for 55 lari, with family d...
2 comments
Read more