Tagged With: GM crops
Genetically Modified Organisms (Part 2) – Are they safe and is there a need for them?
By Professor Nigel Brown FRSB, President of the Society for General Microbiology. Part 1 of this series described what GMOs (genetically modified organisms) are. There has been a backlash against these in some EU countries, including the UK. Two issues of concern are safety of individuals and safety of the environment. However, the main concern … Continue reading
Genetically Modified Organisms (Part 1) – What are they?
By Professor Nigel Brown FRSB, President of the Society for General Microbiology. The abbreviation GMO means Genetically-Modified Organism and these can be plants, animals or microorganisms. They are made by adding new genetic material to an organism. The genetic material is DNA, often obtained from a very different organism or chemically synthesised. In either case … Continue reading
GM: is opinion more important than science?
by Rebecca Nesbit, Society of Biology Today’s announcement by Environment Secretary Owen Paterson that the British public should be persuaded of the benefits of genetically modified crops has predictably caused controversy. The top message from anti-GM campaigners seems to be ‘you’re wrong about GM – the public don’t want it’. GM Freeze, quoted in the … Continue reading
Your plant science questions answered
So many issues in plant science (and indeed in science in general) don’t have the simple answers we expected. Organic farming can cause environmental damage, GM crops have potential to increase food security, and some biofuels can increase rather than decrease carbon emissions. I can be hard to keep up with these debates, and reliable … Continue reading