The Guardian Prince Charles yesterday reignited the GM debate by endorsing a revolutionary agricultural system that claims to prove that the 800m facing hunger in developing countries can grow far more food by adopting simple farming techniques than by going down the hi-tech GM route favoured by Tony Blair and US corporations. One of the most commonly raised arguments raised by those in favour of GMs is that they are necessary to 'feed the world'. But where people are starving, lack of food is rarely the underlying cause. There is a need to create sustainable livelihoods. I would argue for a more balanced approach.
Sustainable agriculture provides a pointer to what can be achieved.
It is close to organic agriculture which the prince has long favoured. The research showed that almost all the projects made better use of local natural resources and involved people working together as groups. We can start to see real improvements.