The articles, and the subsequent commentaries provided, show that agriculture and its

management is an important issue throughout the world. There was an abundance available
to find from within not only the last 6 months, but also from since the turn of the year 2011.
From the ones found, there were a range of focal points looked at. This in itself illustrates
what a complex and diverse subject matter which was able to be looked at during the
project.

Many articles had focussed on the world’s rising food costs, with the price of the crop wheat
being at an all time high. From the problems that this causes (poverty, starvation and food
riots) to ways in which it can be curbed (reduction of EU regulations) it was an aspect
covered by many newspapers over the past few months. These articles lead well into others,
which give a ‘doom and gloom’ view on the future of the earth’s food growing potential.
Some of which are suggesting that with the increased population growth (which seems to be
a constant for the foreseeable future), there is a huge problem with growing enough to feed
the world well.

Another particularly common theme to articles was comment, information and reports on
studies conducted into genetically modified (GM) foods. We can see from many sources that
GM is a widely accepted way in which we as humans could increase food production
without the need for more man-power or even space. However, articles continually bring up
the potential pitfalls that a full GM program could bring. Articles such as ‘America May Shift
Policy on Genetic Crops’ from the Economist tend to agree with the policy document in that
there is a place in modern agriculture for both Genetically Modified and Organic crop
production schemes to live happily side by side. Other articles show this is further the case,
with the growth of land used globally to produce Genetically Modified crops growing by 10
per cent in the past year, to around 148 million hectares (equivalent of 10% of the earths
surface area).

The general perception from the articles used is that within the next 5 years time, more
crops (such as tomatoes, potatoes and sugarcane) will be grown with the help of genetic
engineering technology. However, there are some articles (the Independents ‘New diet’ in
particular) which put forward the idea that we as humans should adapt our needs to fit with
what the earth can cope with producing instead of trying to genetically increase crop yields.

In conclusion, after looking at the articles, it is clear to see that there are as many opinions
as ideas about the subject and it is clearly an area which is of huge importance to all people
around the world.