Sir - It is planned to sow a crop in Ireland which presents such serious hazards that conditions imposed on the cultivation require that the site be defined "so that it can be identified in subsequent years", that bolting plants "must be removed before flowering and destroyed by breaking the stem in two and by covering the flower buds with soil", that the crop be eventually destroyed to prevent dispersal of its genes and that the equipment used must be thoroughly cleaned after sowing.
The crop in question is genetically modified (GM) sugar beet and the conditions imposed by the EPA on the crop's owners, Monsanto, are to prevent transfer of its genes to the normal crops to be planted alongside. Given the vagaries of nature it is quite possible that the EPA's conditions amount to little more than pious aspirations.
The conditions raise many questions, primarily whether we really need and can afford a crop which is clearly considered by the EPA to pose such a serious threat. Bravo to John McKenna for his article highlighting the unknown consequences for health attached to eating GM food.
GM organisms may have their place in medicine, but the GM genie should be kept firmly bottled in the laboratory, never released to a Teagasc field in Carlow or allowed to become part of our daily diet until, if ever, there is absolute certainty about its safety. Yours, etc.,
Ferrypoint,
Youghal,
Co. Cork.