The chief scientist of the UK government, Sir John Beddington, said recently that the third world and developing countries cannot afford blocking the cultivation of genetically-modified (GM) crops on ethical and moral grounds, given the state the world is in. While avoiding to acknowledge the validity of the arguments against GM crops, and the practices of companies that sale them, the high-ranking British official said that the world is getting ready to face a crisis unlike any other it has ever seen.
The announcement was made following the food riots that took place in North Africa. Around the world, food prices are soaring, and the expert seems to think that growing GM crops could solve all this.
“A number of very important factors are about to change our world. Its population is rising by six million every month and will reach a total of around 9,000 million by 2050,” the scientist said.
“At the same time, it is estimated that by 2030 more than 60% of the population will be living in cities and will no longer be involved in growing crops or raising domestic animals,” he added.
“And on top of that the world’s population is getting more prosperous and able to pay for more food,” he went on to say. As such, by 2050, the global population will need 40 percent more food, 30 percent more water, and 50 percent more energy than it does today.
By around the same time, the unwillingness politicians show to get past their own interests, and vote into effect laws to counteract the effects of global warming and climate change, would have began to make its effects felt.
Rising temperatures will warm oceans, cause glaciers to melt, trigger widespread floods and droughts, and bring about many instances of diversification. All of this will be accompanied by shifts in global precipitation patterns,
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“We could cut down tropical rain forests and plant crops on the savannas to grow more food, but that would leave us even more vulnerable to the impact of global warming and climate change. We needed these regions to help absorb carbon dioxide emissions, after all,” the UK scientist argued.
A solution to all this would be to allow the widespread use of new biotechnological techniques in farming, granted that no harm is inflicted on humans or the environment.
Beddington made the comments ahead of the release of a new report called “The Future of Food and Farming,” which is a major document that will be considered by the UK Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), and by the Department for International Development.
“Around 30% of food is lost before it can be harvested because it is eaten by pests that we never learnt how to control. We cannot afford that kind of loss to continue,” the expert said.
“GM should be able to solve that problem by creating pest-resistant strains, for example. Of course, we will have to make sure these crops are properly tested; that they work; that they don’t harm people; and that they don’t harm the environment,” Beddington concluded.
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