Farming Today - 25/01/2011

UK farmers must start producing significantly more food to feed a growing population, according to a new government study. The foresight report, The Future of Food and Farming, has been two years in development, and has absorbed the work of 400 scientists. It concludes the global food system needs to change more radically in the coming decades than ever before. Professor Sir John Beddington, the government's chief scientist, tells Farming Today that UK farmers must produce more food, but not use more land in doing that. That means using the latest science, including Genetically Modified crops, to stop the global food system consuming the world's natural resources at an unsustainable rate. But Secretary of State Caroline Spelman says careful study of GM crops is still required. Anna Hill hears the reaction of farmers, many of whom welcome the challenge to produce more food. But Patrick Holden of the Soil Association is critical of the report, and says it allows the food industry to carry on being unsustainable. Presented by Anna Hil. Produced by Melvin Rickarby.