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Scotland's rural affairs secretary has said that the country will ban the growing of genetically modified crops and opt out of allowing EU-approved GMOs such as MON 810 (corn with an added Bacillus thuringiensis gene):
Richard Lochhead said the Scottish government was not prepared to "gamble" with the future of the country's £14bn food and drink sector. He is to request that Scotland be excluded from any European consents for the cultivation of GM crops. But farming leaders said they were disappointed by the move. Under EU rules, GM crops must be formally authorised before they can be cultivated. An amendment came into force earlier this year which allows member states and devolved administrations to restrict or ban the cultivation of genetically modified organisms within their territory.
[...] Mr Lochhead added: "There is no evidence of significant demand for GM products by Scottish consumers and I am concerned that allowing GM crops to be grown in Scotland would damage our clean and green brand, thereby gambling with the future of our £14bn food and drink sector. Scottish food and drink is valued at home and abroad for its natural, high quality which often attracts a premium price, and I have heard directly from food and drink producers in other countries that are ditching GM because of a consumer backlash."
[...] The move has also been broadly welcomed by environment groups. But Scott Walker, chief executive of farming union NFU Scotland, said he was disappointed that the Scottish government had decided that no GM crops should ever be grown in Scotland. "Other countries are embracing biotechnology where appropriate and we should be open to doing the same here in Scotland," he said. "These crops could have a role in shaping sustainable agriculture at some point and at the same time protecting the environment which we all cherish in Scotland." Huw Jones, professor of molecular genetics at agricultural science group Rothamsted Research, said the announcement was a "sad day for science and a sad day for Scotland. He said that GM crops approved by the EU were "safe for humans, animals and the environment".
The European Parliament voted to give member states the ability to opt-out of allowing the cultivation of EU-approved GMOs in January.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 11 2015, @12:38PM
That's a nice prediction. How did you come up with it?
Do you have a potential mechanism in mind or did you just make it up?
Let me guess. You don't have any data on the topic, you haven't read any scientific literature on the topic, and you don't have much of an understanding of cancer neogenesis. If my guess is incorrect then please respond with some reasoning at least if you don't have any references.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 12 2015, @04:04AM
The BT toxin "food" is registered with the FDA as a *poison*-- every last cell in it. I'm pretty sure the FDA found cause to do this, and that the companies behind these GMO products fought hard against this, yet the evidence was so clear that even the bought and paid for US government and regulatory agencies like the FDA still classified this "food" as a pesticide.
Your implied hypothesis that consuming poison, and holding poison in contact with mucus membranes will cause no harm is the hypothesis that requires deviation from expected behavior and consequences.
GI cancers are rising (especially in younger people) and the timing does correlate with GMO, but the cause is still unknown.
So, we have an increase in cancers with a plausible cause that correlates, and this probable cause is *poison* that is being consumed as food. While not certain, it, seems reasonable that my prediction has a chance to turn out correct.
What do you have? Just sticking your fingers in your ears and saying, "Nah nah nah nah!!! I'm not listening!" doesn't make you correct. IMO you are confusing science with industry funded propaganda. The point of science is to try to prove that your idea is incorrect, and after repeatedly failing at that, and only then, begin to have some confidence that your idea has merit. These industry studies repeatedly are shown to cherry pick, even repress negative results, etc. The fact is nobody knows if this stuff is safe, and common sense says eating poison probably isn't.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 12 2015, @04:07AM
tired...
s/repress/suppress
s/probable/plausible
maybe others