UK Farmers are Upbeat About GM Crops

Farmers are generally optimistic about genetically modified (GM) crops, according to a study funded by the UK Environmental and Research Council (ESRC). The results of the study suggest that farmers do not think that genetic modification raises any issues of principle, or that it is a matter of right or wrong. Most of them regard genetic modification as an extension of previous plant breeding techniques.

The study was conducted by a group of scientists from the UK Open University. According to them, this is the first systematic look at what large scale commodity farmers, not those involved in organic agriculture, think about GM crops.

Andy Lane, lead author of the study, said: "New technology such as GM is attractive to farmers. They want to produce high-quality food profitably and they want to farm in an environmentally sensitive way. GM may allow them to reconcile this conundrum by doing both of these things at once." Lane and his colleagues also found out that most farmers feel that there is poor communication between growers and people involved in agricultural policy and scientific research.

The press release is available at http://www.esrc.ac.uk/ESRCInfoCentre/PO/releases/2008/february/gm.aspx?ComponentId=25875&SourcePageId=20654