Former UK MEP, member of the European Parliament's Agriculture Committee, and family farmer, George Lyon, says today's politicians who "denigrate and blame our current intensive systems of agriculture for destroying the planet" would do well to remember the history of farming.

Before the chemical revolution in food production, a family would have to spend 40% of their income on food compared to just over 15% today, and real hunger was never far away for the poorest in society, explains Lyon in a recent piece in the Courier.

Recently, the UK Government announced a relaxation of the rules allowing field trials of gene edited crops. "While it is no bonfire," says Lyon, "it is at least a small step in the right direction." There is no doubt that our current system of agriculture has been hugely successful in delivering plentiful affordable food for the growing population, but it is longer fit for purpose, Lyon cautions. "(The system) needs radical change if it is to meet the massive challenge of net zero and feeding another three billion mouths by 2050."