THE anti-genetically modified "non-science movement" is the biggest threat to agriculture being able to feed a future world and it is time its claims were countered.
That was the view of Canadian agronomist Robert Saik, founder of the Agri-Trend group of companies and promoter of agriculture and the benefits of genetically modified organism (GMO) technologies, who was the keynote speaker at last week's Grains Research and Development Corporation 2016 Grain Research Update in Perth.
Mr Saik is executive producer of a documentary film called "Know GMO - The Movie" being made in conjunction with his film producer son Nick.
It is being promoted as "an uplifting discussion about food".
Mr Saik showed snippets of the documentary at the Update and told his audience filming had been completed in Hawaii, North America, South America, Uganda and Kenya.
The documentary is in production and is aimed for release later this year.
"Our objective is to get this on Netflix because there is nothing positive about agriculture and food, especially genetic engineering, on Netflix," Mr Saik said.
"The documentary is designed to bring information and attention to urbanised school children to counter anti-GMO hysteria and to let them know what's really going on in agriculture," he said.
"This film is designed to attack the meanies who attack GMO."
Mr Saik claimed "food paranoia" was a "first-world problem".
"We are going to need all kinds of agriculture technology, including genetic engineering, if we are going to ensure global food security," he said.
"Plant breeding has advanced more in the past five months than in the previous 5000 years.''
Mr Saik said CRISPR technology - which uses DNA segments with adaptive immunity to allow genome engineering or editing - was an example of how important important advances could be.
"They can slice out a portion of the genomic sequence and put it back into exactly the same position with an enhancement and it costs US$75 ($101),'' Mr Saik said of CRISPR.
"How is it we can totally embrace genomics and genetic engineering in human research and say it's a good thing and then totally bash it when it comes to agriculture?
"I don't understand.
"Sustainability comes down to two things, the quality of the land you are on and the ability to use less water.
"Technology will allow us to increase water use efficiency and genetic engineering will allow us to provide salt-tolerant and drought-tolerant crops for farmers that are working in less than ideal growing conditions."
Mr Saik said an Argentinean scientist had recently isolated some drought-tolerant genes which was an exciting breakthrough.
He claimed genetic engineering had been beneficial for some time without anti-GM campaigners realising or acknowledging it.
"If you know somebody who is a diabetic who is injecting insulin, then you know somebody who is being kept alive with genetic engineering or GMO technology.
"People protesting 'No GMO' may be protesting about haemophiliacs because haemophiliacs are being kept alive by GMO technology.
"Maybe they're protesting against cheese because 90 per cent all of the hard cheese is GMO, the coagulant is a GMO.
"GM canola produces one of the most healthy oils on the planet for human consumption.
"GM canola allows farmers to significantly reduce tillage and the amount of pesticides needed to grow this crop.
"Total pesticide load on the land and in the crop is dramatically lower because of GMO technology, however this is not what you would hear or see if you Googled or researched GMO technology on the internet.
"It is my contention that the non-science movement is the largest threat to agriculture in terms of our ability to feed the future planet.''
Mr Saik said golden rice, which has been ready for commercialisation since 2002, is fortified with beta carotene and provides vitamin A that can prevent millions of people from going blind.
"It has been sitting on the shelf while activists fight against its commercialisation,'' Mr Saik said.
"Is there something bad happening when you eat an apple because we changed it to taste better?
"We made carrots orange, that doesn't mean they are wrong.
"Broccoli, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts all come from one plant, that's not unnatural yet so many people just yell 'No GMO'.
"Let's stop shouting and find out what it really takes to feed us.
"Biosynthesis, genetic engineering and the idea of encrypted technology are going to make all sorts of things available in agriculture, including drought tolerant genes, it's very exciting.
"As agronomists we are going to be inundated with all sorts of ideas and technologies and it's going to be up to us to try to figure out how to work with our customers to best use the technology."
Mr Saik also outlined emerging global trends such as market segmentation, and technologies such as remote sensing, agri-data collection, analysis and management, robotics and 3D printing and their impact on agriculture.
He warned politicians needed to be made aware that agricultural areas would increasingly rely on good connectivity to the internet and telecommunications in order to use technology to increase yield and reduce water consumption.
"In Canada we are working on a technology that we hope will allow farmers to cast a 20-kilometre net over their farms that you could hook in series and connect all your devices to this net - weather stations, sensors, cameras, even your drone fleet will be connected to this net," he said.
"Of course it's predicated on you having a good connection to the internet and I think one of the things politicians have got to wake up to, is that the farmers need to have good internet connection as much as the bakery in the city does."
The GM-Free Farmers group has called on the WA parliament to reject the Gene Technology Bill (WA) 2014 tabled by Agriculture and Food Minister Ken Baston.
The Bill aims to repeal the GM Crops Free Areas Act 2003 which allowed GM canola and other crops to be grown in WA and to effectively replace State legislation with federal legislation allowing GM crops.
GM-Free Farmers claimed Mr Baston "fails to acknowledge the difference between WA's commercially grown crops, herbicide/pesticide/fungicide restrictions, plant restrictions, declared pests, quarantine laws and most importantly our unique export markets".
"It is irresponsible to discard State biosecurity safeguards to place a major export earner for WA at the mercy of decisions from Canberra," the group claimed.
However, the Nationals WA and members of WAFarmers' grains council have been pushing for Mr Baston to drive the Bill through parliament this term while the government has control of both houses.