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blue bits. red rocks.
Wednesday 28 October 2009
Any More Food?

They say that current trends suggest a big food shortfall is coming, and that it will hurt the poorest and most vulnerable citizens on the planet. They worry that several trends are holding back agricultural innovation.

On the left, they see a romantic preoccupation with organic farming, which will never be sustainable. They see the paralyzing power of the precautionary principle. They see an active dislike of corporations that provide much of the investment and invention in agriculture. They see distrust of science. Such forces have restricted research in genetically modified food to just a handful of major crops in a few major markets. That means the most powerful tool in the 10,000-year history of agriculture is currently not addressing some of the most pressing needs on the planet.

On the right, they see a similar distrust of science and technology, a dreamy hope for home gardening, and an unwillingness to contemplate the impact of global warming, which they believe will force us to innovate much more quickly as climates shift. It distresses both John and Steve that some of their fellow Christians most vocally distrust science and deny global warming.

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