By Ned Stafford
The Scottish government has announced that it intends to ban the cultivation of GM crops approved by EU regulatory authorities within its borders. Scotland’s GM crop ban became feasible legally earlier this year after the European parliament approved a new law that allowed EU member nations to ban GMOs for reasons ‘other than science’, including country planning and socio-economic impact. The new law also extends to devolved administrations, such as Scotland’s, as well as member states.
The announcement was welcomed by environmental groups opposed to GMOs, but unleashed a torrent of criticism from scientists, agribusiness leaders and farm organisations.
Huw Jones, head of cereal transformation at agricultural science institute Rothamsted Research, UK, said: ‘This is a sad day for science and a sad day for Scotland.’
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