Some sanity on genetically engineered foods

The following is an edited excerpt.

Will wonders never cease? The British newspaper The Guardian has reported the sobering news that crop yields will be inadequate to feed the burgeoning world population by 2050. But that’s not the amazing thing – that news has been around for a while. No, what’s both surprising and encouraging is that the British environment minister, Owen Paterson, has acknowledged this fact, and warns that Europe will fall behind the rest of the world if it doesn’t change its position on genetically engineered crops. In a speech to international crop scientists, he also opined that it would be immoral if Britain did not make GM technology available to poor countries.

Of course, anti-GM activists deplore Mr. Paterson’s stand, but those of us who don’t buy into their ideology think that his position is a breath of fresh air. ACSH’s Dr. Gilbert Ross had this perspective, while being appreciative of the minister’s position: “The EU’s craven opposition to biotechnology has led to, in essence, a ban on testing and production of genetically engineered foods and feeds. Mr. Paterson’s prediction will come true, if the EU regulators continue to kowtow to the ‘environmental’ lobby opposing GMO agriculture out of fear and superstition.”

Read the full story here: Some sanity on genetically engineered foods

 

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