Editor's note

This group of publications (#1714 to #1722) includes the sad news of the death of our good friend and colleague, Professor Sir John Marsh. John has been a constant source of inspiration to our group and has worked hard for our Journal from the first day in 2003, when the group commenced its activities, to the last.

We are very pleased to record the achievement of Professor Randolph Richards, a colleague also on our Editorial Board, who has been awarded the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons' Queen’s Medal for 2017. Randolph has carried out great work in Scotland, especially for aquaculture.

There are also three editorials and a comment on our two important papers. These papers and the editorials discuss the problems confronting developing countries in the East and Western countries in respect of sustainable production. Finally there is a book review and comment on Genetically Modified Organisms in Developing Countries.