Using biotechnology, science is now increasingly able to grow GM crops or GMO (genetically modified organisms) as it is more correct known, that bring benefits that only a few years ago would have been inconceivable. Using this technology, increasingly drought resistant, disease resistant and more healthy crops can be grown. This is good for the environment and also good news for farmers, especially in the poorer, more populated parts of the world in often drought prone regions. You would think everyone would be celebrating these developments - but they are not.
Many on the political extremes, left and right, the misinformed and scientifically ignorant and the gullible, object to GM food. This is largely because it's cast as dangerous and sinister. For example, the ever incandescent Daily Mail brands it Frankenstein food, reaching for depths of idiocy impressive even for that noisy, vacuous organ. Casting potentially transformational developments as the stuff of nightmare and horror fiction is right up the Mail's street, but as a whole, it and those who share its views are doing us all a major disservice. The debate is not about evidence or fact, it's all about fear and suspicion. Fear of completely speculative dangers unsupported by any evidence and suspicion that we are all being secretly poisoned by big, normally American, corporations with nasty track records who are secretly putting something new and experimental into our food.
Likewise, the green lobby is up in arms, along with the organic food industry ( no surprise there then), painting all sorts of wild images of the dooms we are about to bring down on our heads if we eat anything not grown naturally and no doubt fertilised with chemically free night soil.Ok, I made up the last bit, but Greenpeace have said that the "introduction of GM food and crops has been a disaster, posing a serious threat to biodiversity and our own health. In addition, the real reason for their development has not been to end world hunger but to increase the stranglehold multinational biotech companies already have on food production". What they do not say of course is that there is a clear weight of scientific research to back up this view. That's because the evidence points to quite the opposite.
None of GM's detractors seem to be able to accept that those seeking to develop this technology might not be agents of evil corporations. They are scientists, who just might be motivated by the challenges posed by trying to feed a growing world population with healthier, more affordable food that can be grown in increasingly challenging environments.
I'm no scientist, and have no grasp of the complexities of genetics and biotech. So, in such a case, how do I make my own mind up? Well, we have to rely upon those who do understand it. What is the scientific consensus on GM food? It is that genetically engineered crops currently available to the public pose no greater health risks or environmental concerns than their non-engineered counterparts. No reports of ill effects have been documented in the human population from GM food. The reason the evidence is therefore compelling is because the sheer reliable weight of it means the vast majority of scientists agree with this view. That includes outfits like the American Association for the Advancement of Science, The Royal Society of Medicine and the Royal Society of London ( one of the most respected scientific bodies in the world), the French Academy of Science and its German and USA equivalents, the World Health Organisation, the U.S. National Academy of Science etc, the list goes on and on.
Perhaps they are all wrong and the likes of the Daily Mail and its odd bed fellows and allies out of left field are right and all these organisations are part of some vast global conspiracy being orchestrated by the Monsanto's of this world. More likely though, as with virtually all popular conspiracy theories, there are no real, dull facts or stats to support it. However, if we let this vociferously vocal but uninformed lobby derail this science, then truly we are letting Stupid Rule OK.
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