GE pastures coming to a farm near you

"It is 17 years since legislation first proscribed a system of research approvals that is so prohibitive no GM plants have made it into the public arena.

But Dunbier senses a change of mood."

Do you indeed, Mr Dunbier! I'm picking you are more interested in engendering a change of mood and your article, here, is designed to further harden the conventional farming industry's hunger for genetically-engineered anything and everything. As for this tripe:

"Dunbier asked: "Do you know the hop industry in Nelson will become illegal because the hops produced there are triploids bred to be seedless?" and saw a flicker of interest.

"And I said, 'Do you also know all the malting barley varieties that we use are produced by mutation breeding, so we wouldn't be able to grow them either'. All of a sudden they twigged - no hops, no malt, no beer!"

Later that reverberated around the debating chamber. "If this bill passes there won't be a celebration because they won't be able to have any beer," was the cry."

You've just gotta take a deep breath and forgive the stupid in them. "Bred" and "genetically-engineered" are NOT the same thing, though already the attempt to meld the two terms is well under way. Soon, we'll hear, "But they're the SAME thing! We've all been doing it for years! Centuries! Since agriculture began!"

"All of a sudden they twigged - no hops, no malt, no beer."

TUI

"We imagine we will meet some opposition and we want to have all our ducks in a row.", says Mr Dunbier.

QUACK, as solkta would say.