The Annual City Food Lecture is fast becoming the must have ticket for the Food Industry. This Year 600 heads of Industry, Editors, Critics and me sat rapt while Sir David King gave it to us straight.
In the 1400's the Chinese damaged the yellow river so extensively that the Loess Plateau became barren and unfarmable. With so much space they built the Forbidden City thousands of miles away in Beijing then moved the entire population. For nearly 600 years this land (the size area as France!) was forgotten. The adjacent before and after photos show the uplifting transformation.
Sir David was illustrating that with central government help, money and local co-operation eco disasters can be reversed. In Rwanda education of improved farming techniques and better water management have led to self sufficiency; a state many western governments can only dream of. As always the good news led to bad news. Sir David sees the only way forward for the earth is an increase reliance on GM foods. As you can imagine the panel debate was a little hot-tempered but the buffet that followed and the drinks that flowed doused the flames of anger. Next year get yourself a ticket. You might even sit next to Sheila Dilon!
