I’m really mad about the responses to the Royal Society’s Food and Agriculture report.
Yes, it is scientists talking about science and food, so what do you expect? These are serious scientists looking at serious scientific solutions to big problems, that’s what they are supposed to do. But it’s the response that wound me up. The almost total focus on GM (a relatively small part of the report) and the hysterical or perhaps worse, subtly misleading responses of many ngos and even the ‘serious’ press is totally irresponsible and leaves no room for thoughtful discussion about the issues, problems and challenges we are all going to face and where technology can most appropriately help.
There are plenty of other things to worry about which the Royal Society report either alludes to or fails to, but yet again the public is mislead, inflamed and misrepresented. Yet again we won’t be having a serious, thoughtful discussion about something which affects us all.
We really need to find a way of discussing these issues properly with the public. Technology may be part of the solution to food security issues, and there are many other things which have to happen to help solve some of these very frightening problems, but this narrow, polarised, polemical ranting is only going to make things worse.
What a total waste of an opportunity. Thanks a bunch folks. Sadly it won’t be you who pays most for the knee jerk reaction which will no doubt follow from all this, more’s the pity.