Hilary Benn, UK Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, has announced that government will consider the use of genetically modified crops as one way to help the production of food within the UK.
The announcements come on the back of discussion over the potential problems that could face future generations if Britain continues to rely heavily on food imports; with population growth an issue across many parts of the world, government is working to look at a greater production of crops in the UK.
Genetically modified crops have fallen out of favour considerably over recent decades. With the increased dedication to organic foods and with health consciousness on the rise, GM crops were seen as an unstable, unnecessary and altogether damaging way to develop food produce.
Hilary Benn, though, believes that they have a part to play in building the foundations for a strong agriculture sector in the future. He stated that,
“If GM can make a contribution, then we have a choice as a society and as a world about whether to make use of that technology – and an increasing number of countries are growing GM products…And the truth is we will need to think about the way in which we produce our food… because one thing is certain: with a growing population, the world is going to need a lot of farmers and a lot of agricultural production in the years ahead”.
At current, commercial growth of genetically modified crops is non-existent, but supporters of the technique argue that it makes produce more hardy; less susceptible to extreme weather conditions.
With Benn arguing that food production must increase dramatically in the UK, some are claiming that GM – and the extra produce it is expected to yield – is a necessary evil; that food shortage is a far more pressing problem than the quality of food in itself.
By 2050, estimates state that the global population will have reached around 9 billion. Currently between 6 and 7 billion, the UN has set developed nations a target: produce 70% more food by 2050.
With such a high mark up, government is arguing that GM crops and the benefits they yield, might well be the answer.
