The Herald does a great job in canvassing sustainability and climate change issues through its pages. But some of the policies that the green movement advocates and recent "green" legislation may well prove to be negative rather than positive. Many of the ideas also completely ignore the UNs' call for a doubling of world food production over the next 20 years. At present NZ farmers produce food for 53 million people. In NZ those who label themselves "green" seem to believe that they have all the answers, and that the rest of us should come into line. Many push organic farming and the use of biofuels in preference to fossil fuels. Many are against trade, and urge us to eat food that is locally produced. The use of biotechnology in agriculture is strongly opposed. Some biofuel production may have potential. But producing biofuels from areas suitable for producing food does not stack up either environmentally or economically. In recent months even the all-powerful EU has stepped back from strongly promoting such production.
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