Plans for British 'GM food revolution' come under fire

Plans for British 'GM food revolution' come under fire
Hi-tech vision of food production advocated by the UK government's chief scientific adviser is unnecessary and potentially damaging, says conference of farmers, academics and environmental groups


The vision of hi-tech British farming outlined this week by the UK government's chief scientific adviser, Sir John Beddington, has been dismissed as unnecessary and potentially damaging by environmental groups and organic farmers.


In a speech to British farmers and the food industry on Wednesday, Beddington claimed there was a need for "a new and greener revolution" to increase food production. He urged that genetic modification (GM) of crops and nanotechnology needed to be mobilised if catastrophic food shortages were to be avoided in the face of rising temperatures and global population.


"Techniques and technologies from many disciplines, ranging from biotechnology and engineering to newer fields such as nanotechnology will be needed," he told the Oxford farming conference.


But the hi-tech strategy, known to be favoured by the environment secretary, Hilary Benn, and the government, came under attack by organisers of the Oxford Real Farming Conference, meeting in the city at the same time. Here, academics, environment groups and others concluded that farmers were well able to feed the world without novel and untried technologies - but to do so would require governments to operate in line with biological principles and not solely economic ones.