Mark Lynas, a prominent environmentalist and anti GMO activist, reversed his opinion on GMO’s in 2013 at the Oxford Farming Conference, extolling the virtues of the revolutionary technology while fervently apologizing for his past behavior. He was considered one of the most ardent critics of genetically modified organics and his campaign against them during the 1990’s largely influenced public opinion on the matter for decades, swaying even some national governments to ban GMO’s to this day.

The stated reason for his drastic change of opinion is that he had not been examining GMO’s through the same scientific lens as he had been with his other areas of research. He had been unfairly and impartially judging GMO’s without researching them appropriately. He also mentions Norman Borlaug and how he helped saved millions from starvation through genetically modifying food.

Lynas stresses the importance of GMO’s today, with rising populations and increased environmental stressors demanding innovation in the field of agriculture.