Genetically modified crops not so great after all

And not for the reason you'd normally expect to hear from my mouth. It turns out that GM crops just don't produce as well as normally bred strains, even ones that are almost identical to the modified ones.

Genetic modification actually cuts the productivity of crops, an authoritative new study shows, undermining repeated claims that a switch to the controversial technology is needed to solve the growing world food crisis.

The study - carried out over the past three years at the University of Kansas in the US grain belt - has found that GM soya produces about 10 per cent less food than its conventional equivalent, contradicting assertions by advocates of the technology that it increases yields.

This holds true for other crops, too, such as cotton.

But getting the news out can be a little difficult when a very rich corporation is involved. The phenomenon is still being studied, of course.