The Western
Daily Press
(Editorial)

Even people who are relaxed about the increase in the amount of genetically-modified food arriving in Britain can understand the concern of others for continued experiments to determine whether it is as safe as claimed.

But for those tests to mean anything they must be carried out in secure areas with guaranteed pollen barriers and isolation areas surrounding them and have the added security of incineration or deep burying of all products tested.

Which is exactly what has not happened as a result of the vandalism at the ARC site in Gloucestershire, where the trampling of the crop is likely to spread genetically-modified material far more widely than would have been the case had it been harvested.

Research organisations can hardly be blamed for secrecy when such attacks happen not long after visits by pressure groups. And Friends of the Earth cannot wash its hands of responsibility by saying it does not get involved in direct action.

Its own members may not have had any direct involvement, but by publishing information on all of ARC's trial sites on the Internet it has handed the ammunition to others with less integrity.

Now we are all in the unacceptable position of ever increasing amounts of modified imports reaching our tables while valuable work to determine its safety has been needlessly compromised.