Nature modified

Published on Monday 2 November 2009 19:56

I am frequently astounded by the ignorance of our politicians but rarely have I been so flabbergasted as when reading the piece about GM crops by Roseanna Cunningham (Platform, 2 November). Her assertion that "thankfully, no GM crops are currently grown (in Scotland]" is incredible.

The tomatoes I grow in my greenhouse and the potatoes I dig from my garden are all genetically modified strains, engineered in laboratories to produce heavier or earlier cropping, enhanced flavour or resistance to disease. The fresh "Scottish" trout I catch in my local loch are "blue trout", a Frankenstein species unknown in nature, as are the "loganberries" produced by crossing two different fruit species. Look a little deeper, Ms Cunningham, and you will discover that virtually all the food produced in Scotland is the result of genetic engineering – yet another area in which Scottish scientists and innovators have been pre-eminent for over a century.

JAMES D BROWN

Burnside Road

Elgin, Morayshire