Title:

GM

Publish Date:

September 2011

ISBN:

978 1 86168 600 8

Covering Ages:

11 to 14 years

Issue Description

Genetically modified crops have been suggested as one solution to world hunger, as well as a way to provide disease immunisation. However, large corporations tightly control the GM seed market with patents and licensing laws. Many people still question whether GM foods are 100% safe for humans to eat, and yet animals fed on GM diets are entering the food chain without consumers’ awareness. This book considers the debate surrounding genetic modification.
The information comes from a wide range of sources and includes government reports and statistics, newspaper articles, features, magazine articles and surveys, literature from lobby groups and charitable organisations.

Price:

£5.95

Quantity:

Key Facts

• ‘GM’ stands for genetic modification. GM allows chosen individual genes to be transferred from one organism into another, including genes between non-related species. (page 1)
  
  
• The only GM crop licensed for growing on a commercial scale in Europe is unsuitable for UK conditions and is grown in northern Spain. (page 5)
  
  
• Using GM to tackle a range of deficiencies in one go is the goal of the BioCassava Plus project, which aims to pack almost a full meal into cassava, a staple for 250 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa. (page 9)
  
  
• At the centre of the debate is this question: is GM simply the next stage in the development of agricultural technologies or does it represent a new departure with risky and irreversible consequences? (page 13)
  
  
• Critics complain that most GM technologies focus on developing characteristics valuable to rich farmers, such as herbicide and insect resistance. (page 14)
  
  
• Two-thirds of people in the UK want GM crops to be kept out of the food chain, a survey from June 2010 has revealed. (page 23)

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Table of Contents

Chapter One: Genetic Modification Trends

The science behind GM crops, GM – the facts, GM food Q&A, GM crops flourishing in developing world, says report, Can GM crops feed the hungry?, Activities.

Chapter Two: The Debate

The GM debate in context, GM crops – the risks explained, Ten reasons why we don’t need GM foods, Consumer benefits of GM crops, Two-thirds want GM to be kept off their plate, Shoppers kept in dark over GM ingredients, Activities.

Key Facts
Glossary

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