SELF SUFFICIENCY IN FOODS-CAN THIS BE POSSIBLE FOR ALL COUNTRIES?

If every country in this planet wants to attain self sufficiency in food, is it technically and logistically achievable? Such lofty ideals are good to be proclaimed while the ground reality will tell a different story. Food pundits and policy experts tend to debate endlessly whether this planet will have the capacity to produce sufficient foods to meet the minimum food needs of every denizen if the population grows at the current pace but there is no unanimity on this issue with many predicting food famine and deprivation in in a few decades' time from now because Mother Earth cannot support huge jump in production even if there are some dramatic technological breakthroughs in the coming years. GMO lobbyists have their own answer and they aver that gene manipulating technology can increase food production very significantly though there is very little hard evidence to support their over optimism! Set against this bleak scenario, the lamenting of British policy makers about the dependence of this country on imported foods is rather amusing. Here is a take on this new fear being expressed in the UK regarding its food future. 

"Falling self-sufficiency means Britain produces less than two-thirds (62%) of the food the country consumes, down from 75% in 1991, the National Farmers' Union said. If all the food produced in the UK in a year were stored and eaten from January 1, the "cupboard" would be bare by August 14, the NFU has calculated. Farmers are calling for support from politicians, the public and food industry to back British farming and help them produce more. NFU president Peter Kendall said the UK could not simply go around the world chasing the cheapest deal on food. "To think that today's date would signal the time when our domestic food supply runs out is frankly alarming. It says to me that we must act," he said. "Right across the board farmers have a fantastic natural capacity to produce more British food, given the right market signals and the confidence to invest. We have the right technologies to produce more from less, with precision farming helping to target fertiliser and crop protection products within centimetres. "Laser technology can even pinpoint an individual weed, improving accuracy and efficiency. Crops grown under cover help to lengthen the season for our British fruits. "But there is more to do to empower our farmers to enable them to make the most of our natural resources and feed our growing nation." He urged the Government to help create an environment where farming businesses could invest, to address market failures and iron out price volatility to ensure the food chain can increase supplies".

It was assumed that the World has become a village with no borders under liberalized economic regimes and free trade protocols worked under the aegis of WTO. If this is really so, why should the UK government worry about import of foods from other countries with surplus production? Is it because of fear of inferior and relatively unsafe foods which may find their way into the country? With hardly any surplus land for agriculture how can a geographically small country like the UK can expand cultivation? Talking about technological innovations there is a limit for achieving incremental production and putting in place farmer supporting policy initiatives is unlikely to achieve much. Probably the UK must think in terms of encouraging their farmers to go out to countries where land utilization is relatively low due to many reasons and lease out land, deploy most productive modern production technologies and bring the same for the consumption of its citizens. If India can do this why not the UK. The inter dependence of countries on each other cannot be wished away under noble patriotic fervor. As for safety adequate mechanisms are available to ensure the same with sound management systems and intense vigilance. 

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

ANOTHER GM MONSTER FOOD CREEPING INTO THE FOOD PLATE!

Americans are about to add one more GM food to their diet if the FDA finally clears GM salmon as safe for human consumption. Developed by a small scale enterprise through biotechnology route, GM salmon is going to be a money spinner as it has the ability to grow fast and big resulting in very significantly higher productivity. According to the developers who promptly patented their product, there is absolutely no difference in taste, flavor and texture between normal and GM version of the fish. As for safety some short term studies seem to have been made based on which safety clearance was sought. As the US is one of the most ardent "admirers" of GM foods, with more than 80% of foods in the market containing GM ingredients, FDA just could not hold up the clearance process for too long. Here is a commentary on the present position vis-a-vis GM salmon in the US as being reported in the media.

"Michael Hansen, a researcher at the Consumers Union, explained that GE fish could cause allergic reactions that the FDA is unable to anticipate. GE fish will also likely not be labeled accordingly, leaving consumers in the dark about where the fish is coming from. If the FDA does not heed the public outcry, Congress could still prevent the commercialization of GE fish. Wenonah Hauter, director at the Food & Water Watch, urges consumers to contact their congressmen to overturn what has been called "a dangerous experiment" at the expense of consumer health. Other concerns about GE fish pertain to its ability to outcompete natural Atlantic salmon. If it is released into the wild, the AquAdvantage salmon could adapt to new pray, survive in tough habitats, and reproduce much faster than its natural counterpart.Andrew Kimbrell of the Center for Food Safety concluded that "the GE salmon has no socially redeeming value. It's bad for the consumer, bad for the salmon industry and bad for the environment."


The most unfortunate aspect of GM salmon clearance is that the safety authorities, in collusion with the industry is trying to push the product on to the dining table of even those who are not willing to consume them. As of now the industry is not being mandated to declare the GM nature of the fish on the label for giving an option to those not wanting to eat them because FDA holds the view that GM salmon is not significantly different from natural salmon in any way. If stray reports concerning the undesirable consequences of consuming GM products are taken seriously, there can be a considerable percentage of population which can develop allergy and serious health consequence. Fears are also being expressed regarding the possibility of extinction of natural salmon in the ocean if GM versions gain access unintentionally or for commercial reasons. if mankind is driven by logic, fish eating should have stopped long ago considering one has food grains like Chea which has more than three times Omega-3 fats than that in Fish!

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com