Corporations and scientists in the pockets of big pharma are always on the lookout for a perfect opportunity to peddle their creations to an unsuspecting public. Both Brexit and the pandemic have given these capitalist opportunists a perfect situation to push for the loosening of legislation controlling the quality and safety of our food, both locally grown and imported from abroad. Westminster is hell-bent on removing environmental and health safeguards that environmentalists fought for in this country for decades.

So, what is happening now at Westminster?

The Tory government in London has introduced a Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Bill which would set different rules from the EU following Brexit and has asked all devolved nations, including Scotland, to allow gene-edited crops to be grown. The Scottish government's environment secretary, MSP Mairi McAllan, dismissed the idea, saying that Scotland will set its own food standards under devolution and will not accept any constraints placed on its food policies.

What is gene-editing?

Gene editing basically allows scientists to change a plant or animal's DNA. Many experts would consider it one step before GMO’s (Genetically Modified Organisms), which are currently banned in Europe and the UK as a whole. Since Brexit, the UK government has been hell bent on eroding all our food and environmental safety laws that we as a country have fought so hard to achieve over the past many decades. I have previously in my columns highlighted the need for citizens to be vigilant against corporations, lobbyists, and greedy politicians who are now convinced that the only way to grow and feed the population in the UK post-Brexit is via gene-edited or GMO foods!

Under the UK's internal market legislation, introduced by the Tory government at Westminster, anything approved for sale in one part of the UK must be available across the whole of the UK. This legislation basically undermines "devolution" in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. We are already seeing the chaos caused by the "Northern Ireland Protocol Bill" and its hasty signing off as an election promise in their manifesto by the Tories in the 2019 general elections. MSP Mairi McAllan has written to her Westminster counterpart saying: "If the UK government is determined to press ahead with this legislation, it must take steps to ensure that its revisions to the definition of a GMO (genetically modified organism) do not force products on Scotland which do not meet standards here without the consent of the Scottish Parliament." simultaneously raising concerns about the impact of the bill on Scotland’s food exports to the European Union, which currently still has a ban in place for GMO’s.

So, what can we do in Scotland to stop this mad onslaught on our food and its impact on Scottish soil and water in the coming decades if this bill is passed?&nbsp; Once again, be informed about the technology that is being promoted, ask questions to your elected MSP/MP and try to understand the link between corporations like Monsanto, politicians and large-scale food producers. The citizens always pay the price when things go wrong. Let’s make sure this does not happen to Scotland’s land, water, air, and health of its population.

Corporations and scientists in the pockets of big pharma are always on the lookout for a perfect opportunity to peddle their creations to an unsuspecting public.

Corporations and scientists in the pockets of big pharma are always on the lookout for a perfect opportunity to peddle their creations to an unsuspecting public. Both Brexit and the pandemic have given these capitalist opportunists a perfect situation to push for the loosening of legislation controlling the quality and safety of our food, both locally grown and imported from abroad. Westminster is hell-bent on removing environmental and health safeguards that environmentalists fought for in this country for decades. So, what is happening now at Westminster? The Tory government in London has introduced a Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Bill which would set different rules from the EU following Brexit and has asked all devolved nations, including Scotland, to allow gene-edited crops to be grown. The Scottish government's environment secretary, MSP Mairi McAllan, dismissed the idea, saying that Scotland will set its own food standards under devolution and will not accept any constraints placed on its food policies. What is gene-editing? Gene editing basically allows scientists to change a plant or animal's DNA. Many experts would consider it one step before GMO’s (Genetically Modified Organisms), which are currently banned in Europe and the UK as a whole. Since Brexit, the UK government has been hell bent on eroding all our food and environmental safety laws that we as a country have fought so hard to achieve over the past many decades. I have previously in my columns highlighted the need for citizens to be vigilant against corporations, lobbyists, and greedy politicians who are now convinced that the only way to grow and feed the population in the UK post-Brexit is via gene-edited or GMO foods! Under the UK's internal market legislation, introduced by the Tory government at Westminster, anything approved for sale in one part of the UK must be available across the whole of the UK. This legislation basically undermines "devolution" in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. We are already seeing the chaos caused by the "Northern Ireland Protocol Bill" and its hasty signing off as an election promise in their manifesto by the Tories in the 2019 general elections. MSP Mairi McAllan has written to her Westminster counterpart saying: "If the UK government is determined to press ahead with this legislation, it must take steps to ensure that its revisions to the definition of a GMO (genetically modified organism) do not force products on Scotland which do not meet standards here without the consent of the Scottish Parliament." simultaneously raising concerns about the impact of the bill on Scotland’s food exports to the European Union, which currently still has a ban in place for GMO’s. So, what can we do in Scotland to stop this mad onslaught on our food and its impact on Scottish soil and water in the coming decades if this bill is passed? Once again, be informed about the technology that is being promoted, ask questions to your elected MSP/MP and try to understand the link between corporations like Monsanto, politicians and large-scale food producers. The citizens always pay the price when things go wrong. Let’s make sure this does not happen to Scotland’s land, water, air, and health of its population.

UK government pushing for GMO's via gene-editing technology

More than 100 Nobel laureates called on the international environmental group Greenpeace on Thursday to end its opposition to genetically modified crops, saying there is a scientific consensus they are safe and can benefit society. 
 
At a news conference, the scientists cited in particular the value of a genetically modified rice used to prevent some illnesses related to vitamin A deficiency in much of the developing world.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;Golden Rice&quot; produces beta carotene in the grain, which rice does not in the natural world.&nbsp; 
 
The laureates called on Greenpeace specifically to stop opposing the grain, as well as related biotechnology that they say has a positive impact across the globe.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;The time has come that we now know these things are safe,&quot; Nobel laureate Sir Richard Roberts said. &quot;The basic method does not necessarily lead to a bad thing.&quot; 
 
He said the group could influence other organizations and parties opposing genetically modified organisms (GMO). 
 
Greenpeace officials called the event a publicity stunt. 
 
It contends that Golden Rice could contaminate non-genetically engineered rice and make it hard for people in developing countries to avoid such products. It said other efforts to address nutrition needs in developing areas of the world should be funded and implemented. 
 
&quot;We&#39;ve been attacked in countries around the world because we&#39;re working with farmers and communities on the threat they face from GMOs,&rdquo; said Charlie Cray, a senior researcher with Greenpeace. &quot;The real issue here is: why are they doing a press conference in Washington DC a week before there is a major vote in GMO labelling?&quot;&nbsp; 
 
The US Senate is scheduled to take a procedural vote next week on a bill that could pre-empt Vermont&#39;s GMO labelling law, set to take effect on July 1. 
 
The laureates say science backs them and urged Greenpeace to re-examine which findings the group uses in its advocacy. 
 
&quot;They are willing to dismiss the views of the vast majority of scientists,&quot; said Randy Schekman, who won a Nobel in physiology or medicine in 2013. &quot;What I fail to understand is their acceptance of science and the scientific process when it serves their purposes, but in their opposition, they oppose the view of scientists.&quot; 
 
(Reuters)

Greenpeace called the declaration a publicity stunt, stressing that GMOs contaminate the environment

More than 100 Nobel laureates called on the international environmental group Greenpeace on Thursday to end its opposition to genetically modified crops, saying there is a scientific consensus they are safe and can benefit society. At a news conference, the scientists cited in particular the value of a genetically modified rice used to prevent some illnesses related to vitamin A deficiency in much of the developing world. "Golden Rice" produces beta carotene in the grain, which rice does not in the natural world. The laureates called on Greenpeace specifically to stop opposing the grain, as well as related biotechnology that they say has a positive impact across the globe. "The time has come that we now know these things are safe," Nobel laureate Sir Richard Roberts said. "The basic method does not necessarily lead to a bad thing." He said the group could influence other organizations and parties opposing genetically modified organisms (GMO). Greenpeace officials called the event a publicity stunt. It contends that Golden Rice could contaminate non-genetically engineered rice and make it hard for people in developing countries to avoid such products. It said other efforts to address nutrition needs in developing areas of the world should be funded and implemented. "We've been attacked in countries around the world because we're working with farmers and communities on the threat they face from GMOs,” said Charlie Cray, a senior researcher with Greenpeace. "The real issue here is: why are they doing a press conference in Washington DC a week before there is a major vote in GMO labelling?" The US Senate is scheduled to take a procedural vote next week on a bill that could pre-empt Vermont's GMO labelling law, set to take effect on July 1. The laureates say science backs them and urged Greenpeace to re-examine which findings the group uses in its advocacy. "They are willing to dismiss the views of the vast majority of scientists," said Randy Schekman, who won a Nobel in physiology or medicine in 2013. "What I fail to understand is their acceptance of science and the scientific process when it serves their purposes, but in their opposition, they oppose the view of scientists." (Reuters)

Nobel laureates urge Greenpeace to stop opposing genetically modified crops

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