The following argument in favor of food technology was presented by Mary Warnock, a member of British Parliament, in a speech delivered at Gresham College (reprinted by The Guardian, a London newspaper):
“If it can be shown, as I believe it can, that the genetic modification of rice to make it more tolerant of adverse weather conditions would make a great difference to the level of nutrition in countries where rice is the most important element of diet, then common humanity demands that such modified rice should be made accessible…That it is perhaps ‘against the grain of nature’ is no more relevant an argument against it than it would be to claim that a replacement hip joint is against the grain of nature.”
Warnock also pointed out that Prince Charles’ repeated protestations against food technology have ignored the fact “that human beings had been interfering with nature as long as they had sown crops for their own use, or bred cattle for milk or meat.”
