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information for the concerned consumer
Genetic modification
BBC Programme on Future of Food
George Alagiah travels the world to reveal a growing global food crisis that could affect the planet in the years ahead. Programmes cover a range of issues from the depletion of fish stocks to global increases in meat consumption, biofuels, genetic modification and climate change.
Follow this link to find out more.
Monsanto? Sustainable? Water bully, I'd say
The agricultural giant Monsanto may well still be the world's most hated company. The company that brought the world Agent Orange, the defoliant of choice in the Vietnam War, followed up a decade ago with a strident push to flood the world with genetically modified crops. It alienated millions – and even its friends and rivals among GM supporters blamed Monsanto's belligerence for putting back the cause by many years. But I'm going to ignore GMs and talk about water. And belligerence.
Read more here.
Are we asking the wrong questions about GM?
The Food Ethics Council (FEC); a UK charity that challenges government, business and society to make wise choices that lead to better food and farming, recently published an investigation of GM foods in their magazine.
Contributors from a wide range of academic disciplines, government bodies, and campaigning groups laid the foundations for a fresh debate on agricultural innovation. The lessons of the past decade's discussions on GM should lead to a renewed focus on how to solve problems, and less time spent arguing over technology.
Ultimately, the FEC states, to have a meaningful debate about innovation we should no longer be asking, 'Do we need GM?' but rather, 'What do we need?'
Can GM crops ease the global food crisis?
The Dana Centre in London recently hosted a debate to discuss GM crops and the food crisis. The panel of experts included DEFRA's chief scientist Bob Watson, Professor Tim Lang from City University and Rodomiro Ortiz, director of resource mobilisation at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre in Mexico.
The panel identified and discussed some of the issues surrounding GM crops in the context of the current food crisis. You can now watch the debate online.
Controversial nanotechnology potential successor to GM
Environment secretary Hilary Benn is encouraging research into the potential benefits and consequences of harnessing new developments in nanotechnology- engineering carried out at a microscopic level. These developments could lead to plastic packaging designed to stop food and drink spoiling by killing bacteria or preventing oxygen getting through the container.
The technology could also be used to enrich food with supplements and preserve vitamins that would otherwise be destroyed as food aged. Farmers could also use it to ensure the slow release of fertilisers at the right time for crops, and to detect threats from pests or pollutants. The technology is, however, highly controversial, with green campaigners arguing that its effects on human health are unknown.
Nanotechnology, still in its infancy, is increasingly being seen as a successor to genetically modified (GM) techniques in food production, with GM trials meeting consumer resistance and sabotage by activists.
