Scientists Oppose Scotland’s GM Crop Ban

Researchers from across the U.K. draft a letter criticizing the recent decision to keep genetically modified crops out of Scotland.

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Following an announcement that Scotland would not embrace genetically modified (GM) foods, representatives from 28 scientific institutions across the U.K. have released an open letter in disagreement with the decision. The letter, dated August 17 and signed by institutions such as the Royal Society of Edinburgh, the Roslin Institute, and the European Academies Science Advisory Council, noted the decision is strictly “political and not based on any informed scientific assessment of risk.”

“There’s quite a bit of anger and disbelief,” Chris Peters, an activist at Sense About Science, the London nonprofit that organized the letter, told Science Insider.

The letter stated that the country’s announcement, “risks constraining Scotland’s contribution to research and leaving Scotland without access to agricultural innovations which are making farming more sustainable ...

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