3rd June 2008
Food and Climate Change
In this section of our website we're hoping to provide you with some food for thought, facts and figures and inspiration to become active. There are lots of different ideas about what we need to do to stop catastrophic climate change. Here we present some of them in the hope to stimulate a productive debate about how a sustainable future might look.
GM food - climate saviour or red herring?
Genetic modification is the science of taking genes from one species and inserting them into another. Genetic engineering techniques now allow scientists to insert specific genes into a plant or animal without having to go through the trial-and-error process of selective breeding. Genetic engineering is therefore extremely rapid compared to selective breeding. With genetic engineering, you can also cross species very easily (for example, you can create a plant that produces human insulin).
The techniques are now standard and genes can be spliced very easily. Using selective breeding techniques, people have created everything from variegated roses to giant pumpkins to strains of wheat with twice the yield and very high disease tolerance. In the same way, you can take chickens, analyze their eggs and find chickens with eggs that contain less cholesterol. Then you can breed them to create a strain of low-cholesterol chickens. You can select on any detectable trait and selectively breed members of the species that do well on that trait.
Genetic engineering was supposed to be a giant leap forward, but instead they pose 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.
We are told that GM crops will help feed the world's poor but according to the United Nations, we already produce more than enough food to satisfy everyone. And even though consumers have rejected GM foods outright, the biotech companies and the governments that support them are still trying to force their inventions on us, purely for commercial gain. But the long term effects of GM crops have not been properly researched and, by cross-pollinating with non-GM crops and wild plants, they replicate themselves and contaminate the environment with genetic pollution that is impossible to clean up.
Genetic modification in food and farming raises many fundamental environmental, social, health and ethical concerns. There is increasing evidence of contamination of conventional crops and wild plants, and potential damage to wildlife. The effects on human health of eating these foods remain uncertain and some scientists are calling for much more rigorous safety testing. It is clear that further research into all these issues is vital. Furthermore the public has not been properly involved in decision making processes, despite strong public support for the precautionary approach to GM in the UK and the EU.
What's wrong with GM food?
A monopoly on seed stocks by giant multinationals. Cross-contamination of non-GM crops and organisms. Crop failure and economic ruin for farmers. Threats to biodiversity. Potential risks to human health... The list goes on The simple truth is, we don't need GM technology. And it certainly isn't the solution to climate chaos. Using sustainable and organic farming methods will allow us to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, repair the damage done by industrial farming, reduce the excessive use of fertiliser, herbicides and other man-made chemicals, and make GM crops redundant.
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