GM food – Hinterland https://hinterland.org.uk Rural News Fri, 15 Nov 2019 07:21:24 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.5.2 Owen Paterson: Embrace GM or risk becoming ‘museum of world farming’ https://hinterland.org.uk/owen-paterson-embrace-gm-or-risk-becoming-museum-of-world-farming/ Wed, 08 Jan 2014 20:32:38 +0000 http://www.hinterland.org.uk/?p=2413 In our global economy we only produce 60% of our own food. Lots of people are interested in knowing exactly where their food comes from and there has been an explosion in local growing – you cant get an allotment for love nor money these days. Are GM crops and local food incompatible concepts? What do local communities involved in local food initiatives think about the issue? I suspect the whole food agenda needs a more radical debate and re-think than we are ready for if we are going to build any sustainability for ourselves as the world grows more populous and hungry around us. I would be interested in your thoughts – this article tells us:

Owen Paterson, a long-standing fan of biotechnology, warned the Oxford Farming Conference: “The longer Europe continues to close its doors to GM, the greater the risk that the rest of the world will bypass us altogether.

“Europe risks becoming the museum of world farming as innovative companies make decisions to invest and develop new technologies in other markets.”

Paterson cited a study last June that found “compelling evidence” that GM crops could benefit farmers, consumers, the environment and the economy.

A key test of the appetite for GM produce among EU member states will come this month, when there will be a vote on whether to allow cultivation of a variety of maize that has been made insect-resistant through genetic engineering. If licensed, it would be the first GM food crop authorised for planting by the EU in 15 years, but the proposal faces significant opposition.

]]> Shoppers kept in dark over GM ingredients https://hinterland.org.uk/shoppers-kept-in-dark-over-gm-ingredients/ Thu, 24 Mar 2011 23:55:45 +0000 http://www.hinterland.org.uk/?p=138 This article explains how: “Household name brands like Cadbury Dairy Milk and Bird’s Eye use milk, eggs and meat made from animals that could have been fed GM soy.”

I have been doing some work on a local food project where the definition of local has been highly problematic and in a further project linked to the development of a local food map for the Yorkshire Dales we are keen to discuss what “local food” really means.

We are having two workshops – one in Hawes on 12 April and a second in Gargrave on 14 April. Anyone reading this would be very welcome to join us and participate in the debate! Let me know if you would like more details.

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