There's been much debate concerning the safety of GM food and the focus has been on whether they're safe for human consumption, with Tony Blair saying he would not hesitate to eat them. I agree, they are probably totally safe to eat.

However there is a wider issue here other than our own health. There is a real and uncertain possibility that the growing of modified crops could affect our natural environment. Cross breeding with wild species may lead to the expression of undesirable characteristics and imagine the consequences of weed species becoming herbicide tolerant. It's irrational in a period when we are realising the benefits of farming in a more ecologically friendly way, we should accept the use of GM foods as progress. The development of drought resistant crops for third world countries sounds like a sure way to decrease independence and increase profits of the biotech industry. Stopping research is impossible and Hilton Dawson's right to say there's many important scientific discoveries to be made but we should not accept blindly the value of discoveries without being certain of the consequences.

Stuart Turner, Hest Bank

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.