Is GM food necessary?
It has been argued that GM is not necessary for overcoming the world’s nutritional problems. Rather, this might be better achieved by developing sustainable systems of agriculture that use existing varieties of edible plants and animals, and/or those resulting from further conventional breeding. It is true that in the West we have available an abundance of wholesome food, and GM isn’t essential for feeding people in developed nations. But in food science, as in virtually every other branch of science, researchers are encouraged to investigate potentially better applications of existing methods of production, and to develop new technologies that may lead to improvement of the human condition. Perhaps the same consideration should apply to GM as to the development of better computers, aeroplanes, light globes, and so on. Also, with respect to the food supply in Western nations, the argument that we don’t ‘need’ new foods, or more total food, doesn’t take into account the poor diets of ma
