The Prince of Wales's latest confrontation with modern science over the ethics of biotechnology and genetically modified foods earned him praise from environmental campaigners yesterday but some medical researchers have criticised his "extremely unhelpful" comments on the direction of scientific development.
In a Reith lecture broadcast on BBC Radio 4 last night, Prince Charles argued that humanity's inability or refusal to accept the existence of "a guiding hand" meant nature had come to be regarded as "a system that can be engineered for our own convenience . . . and in which anything that happens can be fixed by technology and human ingenuity".
Prince Charles said that the balance between rational scientific analysis and instinctive wisdom must be restored. Only by rediscovering the order of the living and spiritual world and bridging the gap between "cynical secularism" and traditional religion could humanity avoid the disintegration of the environment.
The expression of his fears over GM foods and economic globalisation, a theme on which he has spoken on many occasions, was welcomed by Mr Tony Juniper, policy and campaigns director for Friends of the Earth, who said the prince's speech was important. "While most mainstream commentators have lost the plot, the Prince of Wales has hit the nail firmly on the head," he said.
However, the professor of medical genetics at Cambridge University, Prof Martin Bobrow, accused Prince Charles of presenting an impression of antagonism toward scientific progress.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Agriculture in Britain yesterday announced tighter controls on the supply of crop seeds after it was revealed that an agriculture supplier mistakenly sold a batch of GM rapeseed mixed with non-GM seeds to British and EU farmers.
Advanta Seeds UK informed the British government that some of its rapeseed "sold and sown" in the EU during the past two years contained GM seeds.
The Food Standards Agency said there was no risk to public health or the environment.