Against the background of climate change and rising food prices, there are signs that the government is reopening the debate on genetically-modified (GM) crops. On this page and the next, Julian Little and David Dickson set out their hopes for GM in Europe and the developing world.

Julian Little hopes that the European public will see the benefits of GM

The British Retail Consortium announced in September that food inflation was nearly 10 per cent. Unfortunately, there is no one solution either to food security or to food inflation; neither silver bullet nor quick fix. The key to the future lies in an integrated approach to protecting the current food supply whilst investing in methodologies to increase agricultural productivity and reduce waste.

Plant biotechnology, including GM crops, can help as part of the solution by protecting yields and increasing productivity, thereby helping to stabilise food supplies and reduce the rising prices of milk, meat and other staple foods. Likewise, GM crops have a part to play in minimising the environmental and carbon footprint of agriculture and, in the near future, by climate proofing agriculture with crops that can survive drought and require significantly less fertiliser.

Consumer attitudes

GM crops have been grown extensively around the world for the last 12 years without one sniff, one cough or one sneeze attributed to its commercial use. A total of 12 million farmers grew GM crops on an area of 114 million hectares (about the size of the UK, Ireland and France put together) in 2007. Fully 11 million of these cultivate a very small amount of land, typically one or two hectares, mostly for personal consumption with only a small amount left for sale to make some money.

The question for the people in the UK is: how does this help me?

A recent report on consumer attitudes (1) suggests that a majority of consumers do recognise benefits of GM crops: 52 per cent of those polled believed that GM can be used to increase productivity and feed a growing world population, with only 13 per cent disagreeing with that view. Likewise, 47 per cent of consumers thought that GM can help to protect crops against disease and extreme weather, whereas 12 per cent were not convinced.

However, many commentators believe that until overt, tangible, on-the-supermarket-shelf benefits are available, consumers will remain sceptical of the use of this technology in food production. So what products are being looked at and how likely are they to make it commercially? The list is long and includes improving the nutritional quality of foods, reducing allergen content and some exciting work to create a cheap and plentiful supply of vaccines.

New products

The provision of vegetable oils with a better fatty acid profile is close to commercial realisation. Nutritionists agree that oils high in polyunsaturates are healthier than others, especially if they contain omega-3 and 9 fatty acids, and GM varieties of oilseed rape and soybeans are in development with an increased polyunsaturated content.

The problem with such a profile, however, is that they tend to be unstable when used in processed food. Oilseed rape and soybean crops have therefore been developed (using biotechnology even if the product is not genetically modified) with an oil profile having a near-zero trans-fat potential (low linolenic acid); they have been on sale in the US and Canada for several years.

Even more exciting is the development of plants containing long chain omega-3 oil profiles. Traditionally, the only source of these are fish oils, but research teams around the world have succeeded in enriching vegetable oils with this essential fatty acid associated with a healthy heart. Soybeans with such a profile will be first to the market and are nearing commercialisation. 
 
GM in Europe

In the end, it is consumers who will decide whether GM is ultimately a success in the UK and the rest of Europe, but only if they get the opportunity. The rate of adoption of this technology elsewhere in world is huge, but there has not been one new trait approved for use in European agriculture for ten years. The single trait available is resistance to attack from the European Corn Borer, which damage the ears and stalks of corn. This trait is successfully used in seven countries in the European Union.

It is clear that Europe will have to increase food production. Climate change is resulting in the burden of food production being further accentuated in the Northern Hemisphere. In the future, all methods of improving agricultural productivity will have to be considered realistically and without prejudice.

Reference

1. IGD report

Julian Little chairs the Agricultural Biotechnology Council, which promotes biotechnology in sustainable agriculture