GM debate rumbles on

While the 117th Malton Show marked a triumphant return to its former rural glory, Ryedale councillors agreed to declare the region free of genetically modified crops.

What a clash of the old and the new - the traditional, friendly-faced world of the agricultural show running up against the more faceless future of a globe governed by GM crops.

Much heat and little understanding has been raised by this debate. The anti-GM stance taken by Ryedale councillors in the traditional farming heart of Yorkshire is in accord with the general feeling throughout Europe. The US, on the other hand, is a firm believer in the benefits of GM, with President George Bush speaking up for the multinational corporations who produce these new-technology crops.

Earlier this week, Mr Bush turned up the heat in the trade war between Europe and America over GM food, insisting that "unfounded" suspicion was responsible for famine in Africa. He argued that the European resistance to biotechnology was leading many African countries to shun a plant technology that could help to reduce famine.

Opponents argue that GM technology can be used to create unnatural organisms. Some believe that even eating GM crops may prove to be harmful. Yet around the world, it is estimated that at least six million farmers in 16 countries are already growing GM crops.

The debate in Ryedale follows the European-wide agenda of suspicion, with Councillor John Clark saying that "we want more science before we risk our environment". Meanwhile Councillor Brian Maud put his finger on the most tender spot, saying "there are convincing stories by scientists on each side".

There are indeed, and many of us are left puzzled and anxious as the debate blackens the skies without imparting much in the way of general knowledge.

So while Ryedale may well have taken the right decision for now, the door must be left open for further scientific advances and understanding on GM crops.

Updated: 10:50 Friday, June 27, 2003