The Herald (Glasgow) May 29, 2001 

Demonstration staged over GM crops 

BYLINE: David Ross
Highland Correspondent 

OPPONENTS of GM crop trials
staged a demonstration on the Black Isle yesterday by
floating bunches of yellow balloons at the end of strings to
symbolise the threat. Their point was that, while the
balloons could be pulled back, once the GM oilseed rape
pollen got into the wind, there was nothing anyone could do
to prevent it contaminating neighbouring organic farms and
bee-keeping businesses. Last August, Highland councillors
were outraged that, despite a request that they be
consulted, the Scottish Executive announced without any
warning that a GM trial would proceed on the Black Isle,
following an application from Jamie Grant, a farmer from
Roskill. Robin Harper MSP, Green Party, travelled north for
yesterday's demonstration. He said: "I have been trying to
get GM crop trials in the environment stopped for three
years, but the view is that it is not in the power of the
Scottish Parliament and EU regulations appear to stop us
taking any other steps at the moment to have them halted.

 However, we hope that new European rules on consultation
are going to make it more difficult for these trials to
take place in the future. "We are not trying to stop all GM
research, but the proper place is in the laboratory and the
precautionary principle demands we know much more about the
effect these plants have on subsoil systems. But we do know
that bee-keepers and organic farmers feel commercially
threatened."

 Meanwhile, an independently-designed survey of local
opinion on GM crop trials was carried out by Resolis
community council, which covers the area next to where the
trial crop was planted. It showed that almost 79% of those
who replied (41%) felt consultation in advance of the field
trial had been poor or very poor. More than 68% were
against further field trials with just under 15% in favour.
Even among those who supported further field trials, the
majority felt some further safeguards were needed. David
Alston, the Black Isle councillor with the GM field in his
ward, said yesterday: "This is primarily a farming
community, but the survey shows deep dissatisfaction over
the lack of consultation in advance of the GM trial on the
Black Isle, and this dissatisfaction extends to some of
those who support further trials and the commercial growing
of GM crops. The executive has to take note of this. "The
Highland Council is unanimous in wanting to see a halt to
further GM field trials until the government's commission
on agriculture, the environment and biotechnology reports
later this year."