One of the thornier questions we face is how to feed a global population heading towards 10 billion and beyond.
Not only are rising temperatures squeezing the amount of viable farmland; industrialised farming techniques are also reaching the limits of sustainability. Pest mutations, denuded soils and a collapse in the number of bees are already taking their toll.
The solution, at least in part, lies with genetic modification. True, the technology got off to a terrible start. The rapacity of agrochemical giants – locking farmers into buying their products by designing crops linked to their own herbicides – only exacerbated underlying concerns about the perils of “Frankenfoods”.
But, 20 years on, our need for high-yield, low-impact foods is sharper than ever, and GM has itself evolved.
Read the full, original article: GM crops could help to solve the problem of over-fishing
