Knowledge
Centre

GM Crops 'Good For Wildlife And Yield'

The Guardian reports that Sir John Beringer, a leading scientist, said a new generation of genetically modified crops could be a key to richer wildlife and efficient food production on British farms. Beringer told the British Association for the Advancement of Science festival in London that the presence of more songbirds on British farms would depend on encouraging the survival of more weeds and insects.

'Perversely the only safe way I can think of doing that is to breed herbicide tolerant crops which would enable you to use herbicides as little as possible,' he said 'We also need to reduce the use of pesticides to kill insects, because insects are food for birds,' he said. 'We can do this by incentives for farmers to allow more insects to occur. We could do it by stopping the use of insecticides, which would be largely organic farming ... We have got to increase the amount of wildlife because we want it . . . but it has to be done in a way in which farmers can survive and produce food reasonably cheaply and in large quantities,' he said. 'I think we have to consider, whether we like it or not, that genetic engineering may actually have some solutions, if we look at it sensibly.'