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GM crops to be grown at military sites
Ellen Widdup17.11.08
THE Government is drawing up plans to grow genetically modified crops in top secret military locations to thwart saboteurs.
The campaign may see crops grown at sites such as Porton Down in Salisbury, which carries out military research and includes a science park.
The police could also be asked to target opponents of GM crops in the same way they have clamped down on some animal rights protesters.
Ministers intend to scrap a rule that says scientists must disclose the location of GM crop trials on a government website. Hilary Benn, the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Secretary, and Business Secretary Lord Mandelson are also demanding a review of security arrangements.
Mr Benn said: "We need to see if they [GM foods] have a contribution to make and we won't know the answer about their environmental impact unless we run controlled experiments."
Reader views (5)
Here's a sample of the latest views published.
I agree with Ralph,GB.
They can conduct the experiment on themselves and their families!
- Ellen, Key Largo, Florida USA
If the impact on the environment, which has already been established in numerous research papers, is Mr. Benn's only concern, then the good man should vacate his posts on grounds of ignorance, incompetence and sheer stupidity. South Africa has a similar moron sitting in our Department of Health, who - after one of our newspaper revealed that one infants' cereal contained a staggering 97.5% GMOs - declared in all seriousness that GM foods ONLY contain one bacterial gene which makes them "substantially equivalent" to non-GM foodstuffs. Two recent studies with MONSANTO maize confirmed that GMOs cause a) infertility (Austrian government study) and immunodeficiency (Italian study), particularly a drop in the CD4+ count, the latter being the criteria and decisive factor for putting all these allegedly HIV-positive people on toxic anti-retroviral drugs. South Africa grows its staple food (white maize) in genetically modified form which is force-fed to the poorest of the poor, containing viral promoters and antibiotic-resistant marker genes. Makes one wonder to what all these allegedly HIV positive people are reacting when undergoing HIV testing! Not one single human safety study has ever been conducted and we are the human guinea pigs sacrificed in a global premeditated genocide exercise for corporate greed. SAY NO TO GMOs, demand mandatory labeling and a moratorium on all toxic GM concoctions. In fact, the world needs a new Nuremberg trial!
- Ingrid Blank, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa
Ahhhhh Monsanto, Donald Rumsfelds baby....the American FDA is riddled with ex and current Monsanto board members and advisors. Its no suprise we see this GMO Monsanto making policy that suites their modified seeds. These GMO seeds have a suicide gene in them which after the first growth the seed terminates itself so that the farmers CANT save the seed and have to go back to Monsanto to PURCHASE more GMO seeds......by the way Monsanto also put ASPARTIM [suger sweetener replacement] in products like Coke Zero and look into aspartim and its brain affecting side effect
- Unmovable, sydney
Why not do an experiment of GM foods, by having MPs - and bliar and his family - force fed ONLY GM produce, say for 20 years, and then we'll decide if we want it or not.
- Ralph, GB
This shows how desperate the pro-GM lobby are - resorting to growing their rubbish in secret on military land, used to test germ warfare and the like. It doesn't inspire confidence in the impartiality and objectivity of the results of yet another "controlled experiment". Will the resulting crops be fed to unsuspecting squaddies?
- Austen, London
