Electric food - magic bullet or magical thinking? | Letters

Readers are divided over whether food made using electricity can ease the ecological burden the world population places on our planetGeorge Monbiot makes a strong case for how our ecosystem might survive (Electric food - the new sci-fi diet that could save our planet, 31 October). He thinks it is imperative that we eliminate meat in favour of plant-based agriculture. He also wants us to explore the possibility of using electricity instead of photosynthesis to convert sunlight into food. Since this would be 10 times more efficient, farming and fishing need take up much less space and biodiversity could flourish.But I must protest at the absurdity of his claim that the destruction of forests and wetlands along with "the slaughter of predators and the massacre of turtles ... is done at our behest". The felling of rainforest in Brazil is no more done at my behest, even if (knowingly or unknowingly) I happen to buy toiletries or food containing palm oil, than is the laundering of dirty money because I have a mortgage with a high street bank. Continue reading...