Bitter harvest. Pt. 2, Seeds of Anger.

Having largely overcome opposition in the United States, the agricultural biotechnology industry was not prepared for the antagonism it was to meet in Britain. The trouble arose when Monsanto began exporting genetically modified grain to Europe. This was sold mixed into non-gm products and the lack of labelling annoyed the public while supermarkets became anxious that shoppers might exercise a boycott. Greenpeace activists used all kinds of tactics to prevent Monsanto's products reaching Britain, including blocking European ports and digging up experimental genetically modified crops. Dr. Arpad Pusztai (Rowett Research Institute) claimed to have discovered that rats fed on gm products had slight growth retardation and a weakened immune system, and while he did not condemn genetic modification of crops he thought more research was necessary before such products were marketed. The debate over genetically modified food dominated the news and Sainsbury's decided to eliminate all such products from their stores. Farm scale trials continue in Britain, with the results expected in 2003, but this country has not followed the US in accepting genetic modification of crops. The British food chain is still gm-free.