Is Prince Charles right about GM foods?
Aug 15, 2008
In an interview with The Daily Telegraph's Jeff Randall this week, the Prince of Wales waded into the debate on GM food, accusing multinationals of conducting a "gigantic experiment with nature" that has gone "dangerously wrong". Relying on huge corporations for food will, he says, result in "absolute disaster", particularly for millions of small farmers who will be driven off their land. He also cited the environmental damage he'd seen in the Punjab in India as a result of the "excessive approaches" of modern farming techniques, which place "impossible burdens on nature" and lead to "accumulating problems".
His intervention comes at a critical time, as rising food costs and widespread shortages are bolstering the argument for GM, says Randall. There is no reason to listen to Prince Charles, says Liberal Democrat MP Phil Willis, chair of the all-party Commons Science Committee. His "lack of scientific understanding and his willingness to condemn millions of people to starvation in areas like sub-Saharan Africa is absolutely bewildering."
Quite, says George Bridges, also in The Daily Telegraph. The Prince is right about many things, but not this. By 2050 there will be about 9.2 billion people on the planet, roughly 2.5 billion more than today. "If we are to put food on all our plates, global food production needs to double by 2050." So far, the evidence in favour of GM crops looks good. There are 114 million hectares worldwide. A 1996-2006 survey by PG Economics found they needed to be tilled and sprayed less, reducing tractor fuel and therefore greenhouse gases.
Yet Europe remains wary of GM. "Even when the EU's own scientific advisers approved two GM crops, after 63 peer reviews, the EC still did not give the crops the green light," says Bridges.
But GM foods may not be all they are cracked up to be, says The Times. Critics say there is no evidence they boost yields and many are used for animal feed or biofuels, not to tackle poverty.
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