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Alan Rusbridger / The Guardian, Friday 7 June 2002.
A BBC drama about a GM crop that goes wrong has come under fire from some scientists who say it distorts the facts. But, asks co-writer Alan Rusbridger, could the criticism have more to do with the interests of the biotech industry?
Every so often, British intelligence officials do a tour of our universities to drop a quiet word of advice about foreign nationals who want to enrol on certain science courses. You would expect them to take a keen interest in anyone studying nuclear fission. But more recently they have begun to express concerns at, for instance, Libyans or Iraqis wanting to study plant sciences. Did you know that? And do you find that knowledge reassuring, alarming, alarmist or merely interesting?
You probably know that antiobiotic resistance in humans and animals is causing great concern in the scientific, veterinary and medical communities. Some doctors fear we are one drug away from a public health disaster. But did you also know that biotech companies have been in the widespread habit of using antibiotic resistance marker genes in plant trials? Reassured? Alarmed? Interested?
Most of us do not spend our lives reading scientific journals or the reports of parliamentary select committees on such matters. The latest advances in biotechnology are way beyond our comprehension. The speed at which things have moved since the first genetically modified plant was approved for marketing in May 1994 is bewildering.
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