A major new report from the Royal Society, an independent academy of scientists, has called for a £2 billion ‘Grand Challenge’ research programme on global food security – and it said GM was a top priority.
The Society, a respected national academy, said policy makers must allow farmers to adopt GM technology to increase crop yields sustainably.
“Where GM has been proved effective at either increasing yields or else resistant to diseases it should be used in the UK,” said Professor Ian Crute, one of the report’s authors.
Prof Crute said GM crops would need to be looked at on a case-by-case basis however, and that they were not the only solution to world hunger.
The Royal Society report ‘Reaping the benefits: Science and the sustainable intensification of global agriculture’ examined the current and predicted threats to food-crop production, the contribution that science and technology can make to future food security, and the likely consequences and impacts of the technologies discussed.
Professor Sir David Baulcombe FRS, who chaired the Royal Society’s study, said: “We need to take action now to stave off food shortages. If we wait even five to ten years, it may be too late.
“Biological science has progressed in leaps and bounds in the last decade and UK scientists have been at the head of the pack when it comes to topics related to food crops.
“In the UK we have the potential to come up with viable scientific solutions for feeding a growing population and we have a responsibility to realise this potential.
“There’s a very clear need for policy action and publicly-funded science to make sure this happens.”
However, the year-long study has received a strong backlash from anti-GM campaigners.
Emma Hockridge, Soil Association policy coordinator, said GM technology did not offer the benefits it often promised. “For over two decades huge claims have been made about the potential for GM, which have not come to fruition.”
Instead she said Marker Assisted Selection, which was also included in the report’s recommendations, was producing almost all of the successful innovations in crop breeding. She added other farming systems could provide food security.
“Scientific evidence proves that low input systems, such as organic, can provide sustainable solutions to food security,” she said.
The Society, a respected national academy, said policy makers must allow farmers to adopt GM technology to increase crop yields sustainably.
“Where GM has been proved effective at either increasing yields or else resistant to diseases it should be used in the UK,” said Professor Ian Crute, one of the report’s authors.
Prof Crute said GM crops would need to be looked at on a case-by-case basis however, and that they were not the only solution to world hunger.
The Royal Society report ‘Reaping the benefits: Science and the sustainable intensification of global agriculture’ examined the current and predicted threats to food-crop production, the contribution that science and technology can make to future food security, and the likely consequences and impacts of the technologies discussed.
Professor Sir David Baulcombe FRS, who chaired the Royal Society’s study, said: “We need to take action now to stave off food shortages. If we wait even five to ten years, it may be too late.
“Biological science has progressed in leaps and bounds in the last decade and UK scientists have been at the head of the pack when it comes to topics related to food crops.
“In the UK we have the potential to come up with viable scientific solutions for feeding a growing population and we have a responsibility to realise this potential.
“There’s a very clear need for policy action and publicly-funded science to make sure this happens.”
However, the year-long study has received a strong backlash from anti-GM campaigners.
Emma Hockridge, Soil Association policy coordinator, said GM technology did not offer the benefits it often promised. “For over two decades huge claims have been made about the potential for GM, which have not come to fruition.”
Instead she said Marker Assisted Selection, which was also included in the report’s recommendations, was producing almost all of the successful innovations in crop breeding. She added other farming systems could provide food security.
“Scientific evidence proves that low input systems, such as organic, can provide sustainable solutions to food security,” she said.
Readers' comments (3)
- When are we in the EU going to admit that the rest of the world is moving on without us. Organic farming will never feed the world's rapidly expanding population. GM may not be the only answer, but it is certainly a significant part of the answer, and to pretend otherwise is ostrich-like behaviour. Fine, let's ban GM in Europe and pretend it never happened - but try explaining to your average African farmer why his family should starve to satisfy the esoteric whims of misguided refuseniks with full stomachs...
- The average African farmer would be well able to feed his family, had he access to adequate water for crop irrigation. Selling him GM seeds- which he will have to purchase every year from the big multinational seed companies, like Monsanto, rather than save his own- will only put him in debt. Reference the suicides of Indian farmers over just this issue.
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