Jimmy’s GM food fight

Indeed, it seems unnatural to mess with our food, but is it worth considering GM's potential? And what about claims that GM could help developing world countries feed their populations?

In his new Horizon documentary for BBC2, celebrity sustainable farmer Jimmy Doherty looks at this burning issue. He travels to the USA, Argentina and Uganda to find out how genetically modified food is regarded abroad.

Jimmy discovers how the UK has become virtually a GM-free zone because of the strength of protests against the technology. He also visits research labs to see GM purple tomatoes, designed to be rich in the antioxidants traditionally found in berries.

Argentina and the US are clearly embracing the GM revolution; in America, pro-GM voices claim that people have been eating GM corn and soya for years, with no adverse health effects. And, in Argentina, Jimmy witnesses the GM soya boom (used for animal feed), which has led to a huge rise in country's agricultural output and made it the capital of the GM world.

In large parts of the developing world, millions of people are permanently malnourished. Jimmy travels to Uganda, one of the wealthier countries in Africa, to hear how whole crops of bananas are being devastated by black Sigatoka disease. Is there a strong argument here for GM bananas to save the fruit from destruction?

I liked Jimmy's GM Food Fight. He presented a balanced, open-minded and reliable guide to GM, which is often hard to find. For every positive argument put forward, the negative sides - and in particular, serious environmental concerns - are equally highlighted.

So where does it leave us? The debate over GM food has been raging for more than a decade and, whether we like it or not, genetically modified crops are not going away.

So are they a good thing, or should they be banned? Where do you stand in today's GM debate?

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