Talk about health

How do you feel about genetic modification? Up to a few days ago I had no strong feelings about it in principle. I've read some of the arguments for and against and in general could agree with some points on both sides. My working view was that so long as there were proper precautions and careful regulation GM might be a solution to some problems with food production. You could say I've been firmly on the fence.

However, just recently I've come across an article that made my fence-sitting not so firm. Apparently in the USA the number of honey bees has been declining at quite a fast rate. So what? Well. many plants need honey bees to help pollination and fertilisation so that they can form seeds and fruits. It's an essential part of the life cycle of these plants. Bees transfer pollen from flower to flower.

No bees means no seeds or fruit. One estimate has it that seeds and fruit form as much as 33% of the average diet. So, it's hardly a trivial matter.

What has GM to do with all of this?

Scientists have been trying to discover the reasons for the decline in honey bee numbers and one possible source of the problem is GM crops. A German study allowed bees to feed from GM rapeseed and found that having been fed GM pollen, younger bees were affected. The GM pollem seemed to change the normal genetic material in the young bees guts. Normal gut bacteria had changed to match the genetic traits found in the GM cropand suvival goes down.

Clearly this is only one study and we need to have more evidence. But, can we allow honey bees to disappear from our lives? I think not.

Until there is a definitive answer to questions such as the loss of bees and the consequences of it, scientists should tread very carefully. There must be other ways to optimise food production without GM. Large companies are using GM to push their profits up while influencing politicians with their cash-rich lobbying. As with new drugs you don't need to adopt them just because you can.

GM could well have some benefits for the planet, but manipulating sensitive natural cycles for a quick buck could have devastating consequences for all of us. I have often wondered why we need more GM if farmers could improve yield with simple efficiency measures. Now I have serious doubts that there are enough controls on GM, and it is spreading under the radar.

If the media don't report problems such as the decline in honey bees, how will we know until it is too late. You could choose NOT to buy GM products in the shops - assuming the labelling is correct.

What will pollinate crops when there are no bees to do it? A man with a brush? How will that be a step forward? I think I am leaving the fence for the "against" side.

Do you agree? Post your opinions here.