© 2001 British Nutrition Foundation Nutrition Bulletin, 26, 145–146

Correspondence: Robert Pickard, Director-General, British Nutrition

Foundation, 52–54 High Holborn, London WC1V 6RQ, UK.

E-mail: r.pickard@nutrition.org.uk

Reproduced with the permission of Professor Pickard

GM Crops, understanding the issues is available free of charge from

Du Pont at http://www.dupont.com/biotech

NEWS AND VIEWS: RESEARCH AND INDUSTRY

GM crops, understanding the issues

Robert PickardBritish Nutrition Foundation, London, UK

Introduction

The following is the foreword written by Professor

Robert Pickard, Director-General of the BNF, to GMCrops, Understanding the Issues. This book was

produced with the support of the UK Agricultural

Biotechnology Industry, as a constructive contribution

to dialogue and as a point of reference. For more infor-

mation, see footnote.

Foreword

‘Genetic engineering is the single most important devel-

opment in biology since Charles Darwin’s exposition on

the origin of species by means of natural selection

in 1859. Both concepts, evolution by natural selection

and the modification of genotype to achieve phenotypic

goals, have evoked great controversy. This is in keeping

with the magnitude of their potential to change all our

lives. The impact is personal and public; economic

and philosophical. Both concepts challenge our appre-

ciation of the universe in which we make our living.

Facts are not science, just as words are not literature.

With the strategic vision of natural selection and the

tactical capability of genetic engineering, humankind

has built a conceptual matrix into which experimentally

derived facts can be logically inserted. The result is a

more complete understanding of our world and the

means to determine future change in the service of our

survival.

Nature is not benign. The world we inhabit does not

achieve its illusion of harmony through every instru-

mental species playing its scripted part in a great orches-

tra of the spheres. Rather, we live in a world of dynamic

equilibrium; a competitive balance between many

opposing forces in a multifactorial tug-of-war. The

performance is always improvised and a failure to har-

monise is punished with extinction. The standard of

living currently enjoyed by the technologically advanced

populations has been hard won and will be even harder

to keep. The suffering and inequalities of the poorer

populations are set to continue unless humankind, as a

whole, intervenes. For the first time in our history, we

have in genetic engineering the means to increase the

efficiency of food production whilst reducing environ-

mentally damaging methods of crop protection. We also

have the means to meet disease on a much more sophis-

ticated level: avoiding rather than curing. With knowl-

edge of the human genome and the specific relationships

between genes and the consequences of their expression

will come the ability to predict health expectations for

individuals. Apart from increasing the dietary levels

of iodine, iron and vitamin A in the staple foods of

deprived communities, it should become possible for all

citizens to maximise their opportunities for health and

happiness through the selection of an appropriate diet

within a health-promoting lifestyle.

The future of humankind will be influenced by the

extent to which we communicate effectively and the

success with which we select and adopt the technologi-

cal fruits of science. The great gains we have made to

date, with antibiotics and other scientific discoveries, are

only temporary and have bred complacency. When we

push against Nature, Nature pushes back. Continuous

adaptation is essential. We are in the midst of a battle

for survival. There is “no flying hence nor tarrying

here”, in Macbeth’s terms; we have to deal with our

problems now. New threats and disasters await us. As

in any battle, risks are everywhere. There are always

those who will rush ahead without adequate prepara-

tion and those who will hang back for fear of the

unknown. The sensible approach lies between the two:

145

bridled optimism; one cautious but calculated step at a

time. Critical evaluation is essential. Each application of

the new technology should be judged on its own merits.

We should not be afraid to reward the deserving and

146 Robert Pickard

© 2001 British Nutrition Foundation Nutrition Bulletin, 26, 145–146

reject the rest. Risk in battle can be reduced but not

eliminated. Those who would leave the fruits of science

to wither on the vine would leave us naked in a hostile

universe.’