NationStates Jolt Archive


GM Crops

Darcorian
12-09-2004, 16:38
An article from Saturday's Irish Independent

GM crops 'crucial to meeting soaring world food demands'

Saturday September 11th 2004


THE use of genetic modification will be a crucial element in feeding the world's soaring population, an Agricultural Science Association conference in Waterford was told yesterday.

Humans will consume twice as much food in the next 50 years as in the whole history of civilisation, as the population rises 50pc, but the amount of agricultural land falls by two-thirds, said Dr Clive James of the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications.

GM technology was not a panacea or a silver bullet to meet increasing food demands, but it had to be part of the solution, he said.

Some seven million farmers now grow GM crops on 70m hectares of land - 10 times as much as Ireland's total land area - since the technology was introduced on a commercial basis eight years ago, Dr James said.

The US, Argentina and Canada are the biggest growers of GM crops, but around 30pc of all GM crops are now grown in developing countries.

There were concerns about corporate ownership of GM technology, but China was set to become the biggest public investor in such biotechnology.

GM technology had doubled crop productivity in some areas where it was grown and it had a beneficial environmental impact by reducing the need for pesticides to be used, as well as reducing the amount of land that had to be cleared for cultivation and stopping soil erosion.

Dr James's organisation is a not-for-profit organisation which aims to provide biotechnology to developing countries. It is supported by philanthropic organisations, aid agencies and the private sector, including agri-giant Monsanto. The acreage of GM crops grown is expected to increase by 50pc in the next five years, with Russia, Hungary, Chile, Bolivia, Paraguay, Pakistan and Malaysia expected to be major users, Dr James said.

But the industry had done a lousy job in communicating the risks and benefits of GM technology, he said. The most significant pollutant in the world today was poverty, yet GM crops had already helped to increase income in countries where they were used.

Aideen Sheehan
Agriculture Correspondent

Any comments? Good or bad thing???
Letila
12-09-2004, 17:09
Patrick Zala wants to get into our food. Keep those coördinator soybeans away from me.
Superpower07
12-09-2004, 17:21
We'll need GM crops if we want to feed the world - unlike human GM, the cons at this stage won't outweigh the pros
Darcorian
12-09-2004, 18:21
Yeah....I definitely would agree with you on that one. As long as it's done properly.
Proletariat-Francais
12-09-2004, 18:24
The problem with GM crops are that the corperations control them. Eventually they will monopolise the food economy even more, squeezing out small scale operators and driving up food prices. There are enough crops to go around - in the EU farmers are paid not to produce, we have such a surplus.
Darcorian
12-09-2004, 18:31
I know about the E.U. crop mountains etc. I'm not sure, though, if there's enough to go around the whole planet? As for the corporations....I definitely agree with you on that one. I definitely don't think the private sector should be allowed to control GM research.....at least not in the early days. It's far too risky for that.
Darcorian
12-09-2004, 18:33
Patrick Zala.....is that an anime character?
Great Yggdrasil
12-09-2004, 18:42
I won't feel entirely comfortable with GM crops until we've had more research on the environmental impact they create. There's also the danger of people viewing them as a cure-all and not looking at the real issues of overpopulation and world hunger.
Darcorian
12-09-2004, 18:58
That's a fair point....but I think it's a bit late for that now. Some countries have already introduced them.
Letila
12-09-2004, 19:05
Patrick Zala.....is that an anime character?

Yes, from Gundam SEED.
Darcorian
12-09-2004, 19:10
Gundam SEED? Any good?
Arenestho
12-09-2004, 19:43
Patrick Zala wants to get into our food. Keep those coördinator soybeans away from me.
Letila, I saw Gundam SEED on Friday, looks pretty cool, but remember, it's FICTION.

I support GM Crops 100%. I agree they should be under strict government control though so as to prevent cross contamination as best as possible, as well as a herbicide capable of killing GM crops developed to prevent it from driving out native species.
Letila
12-09-2004, 19:46
Gundam SEED? Any good?

Definitely, but it's being taken off the air in the US soon.
Quadrocycle
12-09-2004, 19:49
yep