The Knowledge
Centre

Save The World: Plant GM Crops

(Summary)

Below is a summary of this article, which appeared in the Daily Telegraph:

Prince Charles's opposition to genetically modified crops was expressed again very firmly in his Reith Lecture, arguing instead for traditional systems of agriculture; "genetic manipulation [sic]" he said, "seeks to transform a process of biological evolution into something altogether different". What a pity it is that someone of his stature has not taken the opposite position. For the truth is that traditional or organic farming, however desirable it might be in some ways, cannot feed the world.

One of the most exciting things about biotechnology is that it is actually very green. GM plants can produce higher yields, in less favourable climates, with less ploughing, less fertiliser and less insecticide, or less toxic insecticide. It means using less or no new land, leaving more land uncultivated and wild; organic farming would certainly mean cultivating more land than now.

The public was disgusted by Jenner's experiments in the 18th century with cowpox, and his invention of vaccination seemed horribly unnatural. There were cartoons at the time of humans with lots of little cow's udders growing from their arms. Had public sentiment prevailed, smallpox would probably be still with us.

It seems to me both sad and shocking that the Prince of Wales has used his considerable influence to cast grave doubt upon science. It is bad enough that this kind of thinking represents a serious misunderstanding of what science truly is; worse still, it will support the Luddite tendencies of this country's highly professional environmental pressure groups, in their irrational and unscrupulous determination to prevent scientific developments that could do wonderful things.