UK report stresses need for GMOs

New technologies such as genetically modified crops “should not be excluded a priori on ethical or moral grounds, though there is a need to respect the views of people who take a contrary view”, says a UK government report. Entitled “The Future of Food and Farming”, it has been prepared by the government think-tank, Foresight. It stresses that decisions about the acceptability of new technologies need to be made in the context of competing risks rather than by simplistic versions of the precautionary principle. It advocates taking into account the potential costs of not utilising new technology, which has the potential to be highly valuable for the poorest people in low-income countries. “It is important to incorporate possible beneficiaries in decision-making at all stages of the development process,” the report adds.