Sir, – It’s not often these days that one finds oneself in agreement with virtually anything said by a government minister, but it would be difficult to argue with the respective comments of the Minister for Agriculture and his Minister of State (Dáil Report, May 11th) on the importance of building a brand based on “clean, green high-quality food for the export market” and that “anything that would harm the brand and image of Irish agriculture would be detrimental”.
It is all the more puzzling, therefore, that the Minister of State, Shane McEntee, is then reported as saying that Teagasc’s involvement in the GM potato trial “will not in any way put Ireland’s image at risk”.
Pardon my confusion, but are government ministers now taking their speaking notes from the ghost of Lewis Carroll? GM food is the very antithesis of clean, green food, as demonstrated by the current US popular movement demanding the clear labelling of GM food.
How can a minister who recognises that “the GM-free food label [is] one of the fastest growing in Europe and the US” be so blind to the dangers of Irish involvement in this GM trial? – Yours, etc,