Introduction

"The APPG on Agreocology for Sustainable Food and Farming is pleased to have provided a briefing, written in collaboration with Dr Rupert Read of the University of East Anglia, on the importance of maintaining the Precautionary Principle after the UK leaves the European Union.

A collaborative project between Dr Rupert Read of the University of East Anglia (UEA) and Greg Craven, creator of "The Most Terrifying Video You'll Ever See"

One September morning, the Lord Mayor of London was called to inspect a fire that had recently started in the City. Believing that it posed little threat, he refused to permit the demolition of nearby houses, probably due to the expense of compensating the owners. The fire spread and ultimately destroyed most of the city. The Great Fire of London had begun. Only when the fire became too extensive to be readily halted did the full extent of the danger become evident.

As human capability reaches the point where we think we can remould the fundamentals of nature itself, what's guiding us – and how can we avoid becoming the architects of our own extinction? Dr Rupert Read, Reader in Philosophy at the University of East Anglia, argues for the Precautionary Principle: an idea that some claim is limiting and anti-‘progressive’, while others consider it the only logical way to prevent global catastrophe.

This article was first published in UEA.

A video explaining the Precautionary Principle.

Samuel Webb | Research Assistant, The University of East Anglia (Producer) Maren Albrigtsen | Production Assistant (Voice Artist)

In the twentieth century, ideological dispute focussed on the battle between Left and Right, Labour and Capital. That struggle is still very relevant. But it’s become clear that it’s only one part of a much bigger picture. For, over the past couple of generations it’s become clear that the leading forces on both sides of that struggle share much common ground: they are both signed up to ‘growthism’, the belief that endless ‘economic growth’ is possible and desirable.

A swathe of Ecologist articles have recently considered various different aspects of the case against GM crops.