Humbug. Christmastide would not be the same without the word. But while it is usually Scrooge’s denouncement of the festivities, this year the gloriously unrestrainable Owen Paterson has beaten that arch-apostle of austerity to it.
Not that, as far as I know, the new(ish) Environment Secretary has anything against the season of goodwill. His outburst – in an exclusive interview with The Daily Telegraph this week – was directed at opponents of genetically modified crops and foods. And it seems set to revive a row which for a decade has appeared as dead as Marley himself.
There is still a lack of really good studies [on the safety/effectiveness of GM foods] either way. So there is much to debate, if only we can have a mature exchange, avoiding the false certainties of either side. Mr Paterson may have “no doubt whatever” as Scrooge did of Marley’s demise. But without a more sophisticated approach, the issue looks like once again coming back to haunt a government.
View the original article here: The seeds of another GM row are sown