The highly acclaimed film has been fiercely criticised by environmentalists and vigorously defended by scientists.

The campaign against genetically modified crops has been immensely successful.  Food retailers have banished GM produce from their shelves, GM farmers struggle to find buyers, politicians who once defended GM scientists have publicly distanced themselves.  And yet there is no scientific case to make against genetic modification.  It is a safe and immensely useful technology which promises to save the lives of many millions of people. The Rise and Fall of GM describes what happens when irrational prejudice stifles the development of a much-needed new technology; when fashionable, self-indulgent, anti-modern feeling shapes public policy.  This is a tightly argued, emotional film which tells the story of genetic modification and makes an impassioned plea for progress and reason.

'The one programme all of you should have watched last week was The Rise & Fall of GM, which was one of the cleverest, hardest, most complete repudiations of a commonly held prejudice you'll ever see. Almost everything you think you know about GM is wrong, not just wrong but vauntingly selfish, criminally neglectful and ultimately murderous.' - AA Gill, Sunday Times

'This epic documentary was a hugely challenging piece of television.  It didn't so much advocate genetic modification or defend multinational biotech companies as illuminate how little we know about GM, how our gut reaction is all we consider in this debate. Perhaps that's because our bellies are full.' - The Guardian

'This was an intelligent, unhysterical documentary. Pilger without the piousness.' - The Times