Source – Somerset Standard (UK), Editorial
Date – Jan 17, 2013
Website – www.thisissomerset.co.uk
One of the biggest topics within agriculture at the moment is GM, or genetic modification. Perhaps many can remember the huge PR disaster that brought this industry to its knees in the EU in the mid-1990s. However, now I believe there is a need to address the opportunities that GM may hold.
The biggest concerns were to the environment and health if GM was embraced nearly 15 years ago but evidence now shows that the technology can deliver huge benefits.
As time has passed, many countries outside Europe have incorporated it into mainstream farming and now more than three trillion GM meals have been eaten with not a single substantiated case of ill health. Furthermore, the concerns of environmental damage have been proved wrong with GM crops such as maize and cotton being grown with less or no chemical input and in some cases with substantial increases in yield over conventionally grown varieties.
In the UK no GM crops are grown commercially but GM commodities such as soya are imported for animal feed.
Environmentalist Mark Lynas, who helped start the anti-GM movement in this country and was one of those responsible for destroying many of the trial plots back in the mid-’90s, has now spoken out in favour of this technology. He now realises that biotechnology offers huge opportunities for us to produce food more sustainably.
By 2050 it is predicted that we will have to feed nine billion people on the same land area with limited water and a very demanding climate. How can we feed a further two billion people without widespread famine, food shortages and huge price hikes?
It will not be the farmers of the developed world who will be able to satisfy this massive global demand on our own – it will be countries like Africa that need to embrace the technology and increase their potential. However, the majority of these countries produce is exported to the EU and because of Europe’s anti-GM stance – many foreign farmers are frightened of growing GM in case they will not be able to sell their produce.
Therefore, putting it bluntly, children in Africa suffer from malnutrition or starve to death because their farmers are fearful of attempting to grow drought-resistant or pest-resistant GM crops. Surely in a continent that wastes in excess of 19 million tonnes of food a year, it is high time we opened our eyes and took a fresh look at the technology that has been proven over the last decade-and-a-half.
Actually, there is already more than enough food-here’s a suggested list of the real culprits:
(1) Corruption among many “3rd World” Governments sells the food to friends for money or ammo to stay in power.
(2) Global Food Distribution is disrupted by Political, Ethnological, as well as Logistical issues. I remember a conversation a few years back with the President of the International Load Brokers Association. On the best of days, he had trans port for half the loads waiting and loads for have the transporters. No system has ever been created to improve that.
(3) The MAJORITY of the American Crop went to Bio-fuel (Government Regulated Quotas), Animal Feed, and other non-food uses. Common Guys, we all know we raise this stuff to make money-and hey, there’s not a thing wrong with that. But our system is most profitable doing the things mentioned-NOT shipping it to folks who have no money.
(4) Waste…all kinds of it. When we Process Raw Food sources or turn into a non-food product, much, in fact up to 50% of it gets wasted, depending on the product and/or process.
So, is Bio-Tech the ONLY answer? Nope-sorry, we need to get Farmers back into the FOOD business, without the influence of Wall Street, the Commodities Market and the Banksters calling the shots.
The Agriculture Industry has become so chaotic with all the infighting, partisanship and inefficiency across the board, that what we end up with is miraculous in the light of it. What might we achieve if we focused, once again, on getting it done every way we can instead of moshing about over the method?
Another Blogger requested I utilize “more acceptable scientific linked citations” in my comments, I provide the following. These, while seemingly unrelated, point to the simple fact that the Science, currently held as the “conventional wisdom” is plainly outdated and should be over-hauled.
Quantum Genetics and Quantum Automata Models Of Quantum-Molecular Evolution Involved in the Evolution of Organisms and Species: http://cogprints.org/8144/2/QuantGenetics_QAMolEvol5.pdf From the Conclusion: “Biological evolution should be therefore regarded as a multi-scale process which is initiated by underlying quantum (coupled) multi-molecular transformations of the genomic and interatomic networks, followed by specific phenotypic transformations at the level of organism and the variable biogroupoids associated with the evolution of species which are essential to the survival of the species. The theoretical framework introduced in this article also paves the way to a
Quantitative Biological approach to biological evolution at the quantum-molecular, as well as at the organismal and species levels. This is quite a substantial modification of the `established’ modern Darwinist, and also of several so-called `molecular evolution’ theories.
Genetic Sequencing Breakthrough to Aid Treatment for Congenital Hyperinsulinism: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/12/121227130325.htm “Researchers at the University of Exeter Medical School are the first in the world to utilize new genetic sequencing technology to sequence the entirety of a gene in order to identify mutations that cause Hyperinsulinism.”
Scientists make wheat genetic code breakthrough:
http://news.yahoo.com/scientists-wheat-genetic-code-breakthrough-180127840.html “Since 1980, the rate of increase in wheat yields has declined,” said one of the project leaders, Keith Edwards of the University of Bristol. “Analysis of the wheat genome sequence data (The identification of around 96,000 wheat genes, and insights into the links between them) provides a new and very powerful foundation for breeding future generations of wheat more quickly and more precisely, to help address this problem,” he added.
Bits of Mystery DNA, Far From ‘Junk,’ Play Crucial Role:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/06/science/far-from-junk-dna-dark-matter-proves-crucial-to-health.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 “The big surprise was not only that almost all of the DNA is used but also that a large proportion of it is gene switches. Before Encode, said Dr. John Stamatoyannopoulos, a University of Washington scientist who was part of the project, “if you had said half of the genome and probably more has instructions for turning genes on and off, I don’t think people would have believed you.”
Breakthrough study overturns theory of ‘junk DNA’ in genome
The international Encode project has found that about a fifth of the human genome regulates the 2% that makes proteins: http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2012/sep/05/genes-genome-junk-dna-encode: For years, the vast stretches of DNA between our 20,000 or so protein-coding genes – more than 98% of the genetic sequence inside each of our cells – was written off as “junk” DNA. Already falling out of favour in recent years, this concept will now, with Encode’s work, be consigned to the history books.
While this (Encode) research is focused on Human DNA, the Science being derived from it, has a profound and compelling impact on ALL Genetic Research.
This points to a NEED to re-examine ALL of the current Products in Biotech, the Science in use, as well as the Technology employed. I suggest Monsanto, Bayer and other Biotech Companies need to head back to the Lab, rather than using draconian measures to keep “the Faithful” in line.