GM crops have vital role to play, says John Gummer

GM technology has a key role to play in balancing the conflicting demands on crops for food and for fuel production, former Conservative agriculture minister John Gummer told the NFU conference.


“If we’re going to have biofuels without shifting the capacity of temperate agricultural land, people who currently don’t have enough to eat will find their food getting more and more expensive.”


This was already happening in Mexico as pressure mounted to grow more maize for biofuel rather than for food.


“We have to use GM if we’re to meet the real demands that climate change is placing upon us,” Mr Gummer told a session on Science and Technology.


Explaining this harsh reality was the best way of winning public acceptance of the crucial role GM technology will have for UK agriculture, he added.


“It is no good saying that society needs GMs because they are good for supermarkets or good for farmers. There must be clear value for consumers.”


There was a need to start again from scratch in getting the public to accept that GM technology had a crucial role to play.


The importance of harnessing scientific developments in agriculture was also spelt out by National Institute of Agricultural Botany chief executive Wayne Powell.


With world population expected to reach 9bn by 2050 from 6bn today, and with less land and water available, there would be huge pressure for agriculture to become more productive, both for food and fuel production.


The genetic base would have to be more flexible and responsive to meet these challenges. But with plants able to harness energy from the sun, there were great opportunities for agriculture to deliver sustainable solutions.

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