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Farming Today: 16/09/19 GM crops, wild fires, rural homelessness

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16/09/19 GM crops, wild fires, rural homelessness

BBC Radio 4 - Farming Today, 16/09/19 GM crops, wild fires, rural homelessness

The future of GM crops, the ecological impact of peat fires and rural homelessness.

Is it time for the UK to rethink its stance on GM crops? A new study to assess the impact of peat fires in Scotland. Rural homeless is up by 85% according to one charity.

Genetically modified crops- globally they're grown by 17 million farmers, but not commerically in the UK or most of Europe. Fans of the technology - like Mark Buckingham who works for Bayer and speaks for The Agricultural Bio-technology Council - say they help farmers and the environment. All week we're looking at the arguments for and against GM crops.

A new study examines the ecological impact of big wildfires in Scotland. A blaze on peatland in Caithness and Sutherland earlier this year burnt for days. The Fire Blanket project will assess what impact it had on Europe's largest peat bog.

Rural homelessness is up 85 per cent in England. An extra 7,900 households - that's families, couples and single people - are without a permanent home. The figures come from the Campaign to Protect Rural England which has analysed the national statistics. It says we need to build more affordable homes in the countryside.

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16/09/19 GM crops, wild fires, rural homelessness

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