The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has approved a new round of genetically modified potato research trials. What this means is that GM potatoes will be grown in the UK at selected sites, despite the fact that the British public consistently reject GM food. The trials will be to test similar traits to tests currently underway in other European countries, and as such will not add to human knowledge despite the risks of contaminating the main British potato crop.
Tom Heap, the BBC’s rural affairs correspondent, said:
“This will be the first GM crop to be planted outside the lab for the last three years. Similar scientific tests are already underway in Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands. The company, BASF, wants to grow potatoes that are resistant to blight. One of the things that some people are worried about is how you stop GM contamination. The British Potato Council is worried about the image of potatoes if in the co