Science chief's warning over food

Although he admitted it was not a message that would go down well with the Scottish Government, Sir John Beddington, the chief scientific advisor to the UK government, said that genetically modified organisms could provide some of the answers to the increased world demand for food.

Speaking in Edinburgh, the chief scientist outlined how increases in temperatures around the world would totally disrupt existing food production with several of today's most productive areas succumbing to much drier and hotter conditions.

Referring to predictions for as short a period as 20 or 30 years hence, he stated: "We are facing a dramatic change. In some parts, including most of the United States, there will be big reductions in yield."

There would be no answers coming from increased irrigation as world water supplies were also seen as a limiting factor to increased food production.

Sir John predicted that even existing irrigation schemes would be seen as wasteful and inefficient with a move towards "drip irrigation" being more effective.

This drop in world food production linked to increased population pressures would, in his estimation, mean that "some of the problems will have to be solved by GM".