Chief scientist calls on EU to prioritise food security
The UK Government’s chief scientific adviser Professor Sir John Beddington has urged EU policy-makers to take urgent and decisive action in shaping European agriculture’s response to the global food security challenge.
Professor Beddington was speaking earlier today at the Brussels-based launch of the Foresight report on Global Food and Farming Futures, co-hosted by the British Chamber of Commerce and the UK Crop Protection Association.
"This is a unique time in history – decisions made now and over the next few decades will disproportionately influence the future of agriculture and food security," said Professor Beddington. "Policy-makers need to think creatively and decisively about the enormous challenges which lie ahead, in order to supply sufficient food in a sustainable way."
The two-year Foresight project, the most comprehensive food security study to date, commissioned over 80 scientific reviews and involved more than 400 leading experts from 35 different countries.
Central to its conclusions is a recognition that the current global food system is failing, and that more food needs to be produced from existing land and resources through the ’sustainable intensification’ of agriculture. Alongside efforts to reduce waste, cut emissions and free up trade, the Foresight report notes that this will require targeted investment in agricultural research and innovation to increase the yield and climate resilience of food crop production.
Addressing an audience of senior figures from the food manufacturing and retail sectors, farming organisations, academics, NGOs, EU officials and diplomats, Professor Beddington insisted that no technological approach should be ruled out, and that access to innovation should be determined according to scientific and evidence-based criteria.
Welcoming Professor Beddington’s comments, CPA chief executive Dominic Dyer said:
"Access to scientific and technological innovation will be essential to help food production keep pace with population growth, yet EU decision-makers appear intent on blocking progress in key areas such as biotechnology and crop protection. The Foresight Report is a wake-up call for Europe. With crop yields falling and food prices rocketing across Europe, policy makers cannot afford to be complacent about the extent of the global food security threat and its impact on the future of EU agriculture and food production."
