YOUR NEXT STEP

Greener Gloucestershire Festival GM Debate 20th Sept 2014

Babies and Bathwater …

Chris Short

YOUR NEXT STEP

• Dominantly polarised ‘debate’ (but not today)– Very unhelpful for everyone

• Face up to very really challenges– Climate change (4 degrees by 2050?)– Population increase (11 billion by 2100?)– Increased pressure on natural resources

• Need to retain all the ‘tools’ we have.• Current system is not beneficial.

YOUR NEXT STEP

• Potential benefits of GM– Help meet demand for food

• Especially in getting more from less• Increase resistance to drought and disease

– Provide some medical advances• As yet to little on this

– Reduced use of chemicals• Variable evidence on this

– Producing more food with a lighter environmental footprint.

YOUR NEXT STEP

• What is Genetic Modification?– More accurate and quicker than conventional

genetic breeding techniques– There is more to come, vaccines, bespoke

nutrition, increased resistance.– Where would you go to find out?

• A key issue is TRUST• Sources reinforce old views?

YOUR NEXT STEP

• Need to reconcile risks & benefits– No evidence that they are harmful to us

• Two trillion meals and no negative evidence• Evidence that smaller farmers benefit

– Poor debate has restricted progress• Lack of science-led decision-making • Lack of transparency and accountability

– Focus on the quick (corporation) wins• This needs to change.

YOUR NEXT STEP

• The baby is growing– New products from wide range of companies

• Aimed at reducing waste • New products reducing unhealthy oils• Products designed for consumers

– Responsible use of GMOs increasing • China benefitting from reduced pesticide

• Is the water is getting cleaner?– Some fears not realised– Most that are about people not GMOs

YOUR NEXT STEP

• The challenges are great, so• We need all the tools we have• GMOs alone will not:

– feed the world– make us more sustainable

• They might be part of the solution– keep GMOs and make they work for all of

us and the environment.