Top scientists back high-yield farming

Three hundred top scientists have signed a petition backing high-yield farming as a means of protecting uncultivated land.

Among the signatories are two Nobel peace prizewinners, Norman Borlaug and Oscar Arias; James Lovelock, author of The Gaia Hypothesis ; Christopher Leaver, head of plant sciences at Oxford University; and Michael Wilson, head of Horticulture Research International. The petition, organised by the Center for Global Food Issues, can be viewed at www.highyieldconservation.org .