Prince of Wales' attack on GM food

IN ONE of his most outspoken attacks ever, Prince Charles has today come out with an explosive defence of the small farmer against the threat of annihilation at the hands of the major GM food companies.

He says that GM is a “gigantic experiment that has gone seriously wrong” and claims that worldwide planting of such crops threatens the existence of small farms which, in turn, could lead to long-term food shortages.

The Prince, a passionate organic farmer at his Highgrove home, is a strong supporter of the hill farmers in the Yorkshire Dales and a regular visitor here. He is often criticised for getting too involved in politics but today’s outburst, in an interview with the Daily Telegraph, is his most outspoken yet.

He says that the GM experiment, if it goes wrong, could threaten the security of the world’s food supplies – hinting at widespread starvation at a time when millions are going hungry in the developing world because of soaring food prices.

a gigantic experiment that has gone seriously wrong

Prince Charles

By putting small farmers out of business, they make that threat even more serious, he contends. And because GM crops have been developed to be treated with chemical pesticides, the manufacture of those pesticides is adding to global warming.

The Telegraph report says that his intervention will “put him on a collision course with the international scientific community and Downing St, which has allowed 54 GM crop trials in Britain since 2000.”

The fight back has already started. Lord Haskins, former chairman of Northern Foods and a strong Labour party supporter, went onto the BBC Radio’s Today programme this morning to accuse the Prince of “throwing the kitchen sink” at the GM food industry.

Lord Haskins, who has a farm in Yorkshire’s East Riding, said that GM science should go ahead but should be very carefully monitored.

The Prince’s attack will split opinion in the Government. Whilst Gordon Brown is likely to be angered by yet another political outburst, many other party members are in favour of organic farming and the policy of the food and environment department Defra has been to encourage small, environmentally friendly farms.