Philip J. Dale Public-good plant breeding: has, for the past 14 years, been a research group leader at the John Innes Centre, working on What should be done next? geneflow, transgene expression and stability, and several other Philip J. Dale research projects relevant to Date received (in revised form): 2nd December, 2003 assessing the safety of GM crops for health and the environment. He is Deputy Abstract Chairman of the Advisory Plant breeding has played a major role in improving crop production during the past century. Committee on Novel Foods From the birth of genetics to the early 1980s plant breeding was driven in the UK mainly by and Processes and a member of the Agriculture and objectives directed primarily to the public good. Since that time most plant breeding has been Environment Advisory transferred to the private sector, which must define objectives more narrowly in terms of Commission. In the recent UK commercial success. There were significant changes in agriculture over the 20th century, debate and review of GM including the use of production subsidies to stimulate increase in crop production. Associated crops, he was a member of the Public Debate Steering Board with these changes was a growing public unease about the impact of agriculture on the and of the Science Review environment and an increasing dissociation between agriculture and food supply. It is within Panel. this context that the UK has recently decided to review whether to proceed with the commercial cultivation of genetically modified (GM) crops. To aid this decision the UK Government has supported a review of the science, economics and public attitudes associated with the decision. As part of this review there has been vigorous campaigning on the topic, which has become polarised and politicised. In considering a future for plant breeding, it is Keywords: public-good important that we take stock of breeding aims that are directed primarily at meeting public- breeding, public debate, agricultural strategies, good and needs-led objectives. Various examples of public-good breeding objectives are environmental impact, discussed. But in meeting future public-good objectives it is important that there is greater breeding technologies honesty and openness in a discussion that values all constructive contributors.

INTRODUCTION issues related to food production and its Over the past century scientific plant impact on the environment around us. breeding has made a very significant GM issues have become a lightning rod contribution to satisfying the needs of for wider concerns in society. people for food, feed, fibre and The aim in this paper is to propose a pharmaceuticals. It is estimated that if we future for plant breeding that is directed had not had innovative scientific plant- primarily at meeting the diverse needs of breeding programmes in place since the people and of the environment. Before early 1900s, we would now need extra reflecting on a future for plant breeding land about the size of India to produce that is principally needs-led, it is first our current world food supply.1 Over the necessary to recall its past. past 20 years plant-breeding methods have also made astonishing advances in BRIEF HISTORY knowledge through molecular genetics, Plant breeding relies heavily on the making it possible to modify crops in science of genetics, a term that was coined novel ways. This has provided important only in 1905. Over the following decades, opportunities for plant breeding, but has there were dramatic advances in also raised anxieties of a more general understanding the principles of Philip J. Dale, PhD nature about agriculture, the inheritance. Crop improvement to that John Innes Centre, environment, world food supply and time had been carried forward largely by Colney Lane, Norwich NR4 7UH, UK international trade The recent public empirical selection from what were debate about the commercialisation of originally wild food plants. Selection and Tel: +44 (0) 1603 450000 Fax: +44 (0) 1603 450045 genetically modified (GM) crops in the domestication led to the deliberate E-mail: [email protected] UK has highlighted the emotive nature of cultivation of desirable plants in cleared

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areas. These early crop improvements plant characters judged at the time to be were achieved with little knowledge of of value to farming and the public. the underlying scientific principles. With Objectives were continually evolving, increasing knowledge of genetics, people with new programmes adopted and old began to appreciate the enormous ones phased out. The UK was also at that potential to improve crops by managed time a major training country for plant hybridisation, along with mass screening breeding, attracting students and visiting and evaluation. During the evolution of scientists from across the world, including breeding methods there have been many many from developing countries. advances in methodology.2 For example, In the 1980s it was considered over the past two decades it has become politically desirable to move services from possible to isolate DNA sequences from the public to the private sector. As a many different organisms that normally consequence, most plant breeding was do not cross-hybridise, and to incorporate privatised. As part of this exercise the them into crop plants. The merit of this Plant Breeding Institute (PBI) in approach is that it provides a wider source Cambridge was sold to the private sector of genes for plant breeders to improve at the time when about 80 per cent of the crops.3,4 wheat varieties grown in Britain were Concurrent with these scientific bred there.6 The sister plant-breeding advances have been major changes in the institutions in Scotland and Wales were incentives for plant breeding and in the not sold, but the plant-breeding In the early 20th organisations engaged in it. In the early programmes that continued were mostly century, plant breeding 20th century plant breeding was seen funded by public–private partnerships or was seen principally as a principally as a public-good activity in the terminated. public-good activity in UK. The science of genetics was young, Plant breeding left to survive by market the UK and two world wars emphasised the forces has undergone a marked change in crucial importance of national self- character. The principal revenue from sufficiency. The need for food security, breeding is from the royalties paid to The need for food and cheap food for a population breeders from plant variety rights, and security and cheap food struggling to rebuild and recover, became from seed sales. As an indication of the became an important an important policy objective. Publicly revenue available for plant breeding, the policy objective supported plant-breeding institutions, total gross income from royalty payments often associated with universities, were on all crop varieties sold in the UK (from established in the UK and across the about 18 different crops) is in the region world.5 These organisations adopted a of £34m per annum.7 For comparison, wide range of breeding objectives for all Tesco, the leading UK supermarket, the principal crops grown in the UK, and makes a pre-tax profit of around £2bn various unfamiliar crops were also per annum. In broad terms, therefore, Cross communication evaluated and developed for cultivation. royalties provide an average gross income and collaboration were The period from the1950s to the 1980s of around £2m per crop in the UK. easy because was the heyday of publicly supported Orphan crops, ones for which there is multidisciplinary groups plant breeding in the UK and insufficient income to fund breeding, are of scientists were found under the same roof internationally, with very close ties those with incomes falling significantly between basic research, strategic research below this threshold. The low income has and practical plant breeding. Cross- been further aggravated by loss of revenue communication and collaboration were for breeders from farmers saving their easy because multidisciplinary groups of own seeds, rather than buying new seeds scientists were found under the same roof, each year. The consequence is that much Plant breeding left to survive by market mixing formally and informally, and of private sector breeding is not very forces has undergone a mostly with a common primary purpose profitable, and increasingly is only viable marked change in of improving crops for the public good. financially by concentrating on breeding character Priorities were directed to the crop and crops and crop characters that have global

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importance. Varieties of crops adapted to surplus, and prices have become so local environments, regional pests and depressed that even with subsidies, diseases, minority farming systems and farmers are struggling to earn a living. specialised public needs, have largely This is adding further pressure on farmers Crop varieties bred by become uneconomic or at least very to drive down costs of production by the private sector are difficult to sustain. Crop varieties bred by economies of scale and reduction of for the public good, but the private sector are of course used for labour, and to increase yields by chemical their breeding targets the public good, otherwise they would inputs. must be commercially not sell, but their breeding targets and viable production are defined much more CONCERNS AND EVENTS narrowly according to national and IN AGRICULTURE international commercial constraints. Concurrent with these changes has been It was expected that GM varieties an increasing concern among would increase the profitability of the campaigning groups and among seed industry. Income has been obtained interested members of the general public from GM varieties in other countries about the impact of agriculture on the (especially the USA) from one or more of environment, the decline in certain the following sources: farmland birds and wildlife, and the increase in use of chemical sprays and • by patenting genes introduced into fertilisers. Even though these inputs are crops and by licensing their use to overseen and approved by other commercial plant breeders; comprehensive regulation, there has been growing public dismay about the course The drive for abundant • by marketing packages of GM crop of agriculture and the wider cheap food was varieties and associated herbicides for environment. Over 70 per cent of the supported by EU subsidies weed control; and land area in the UK is farmed in some way, so changes in agriculture inevitably • by requiring farmers to pay a fee impact on the wider environment. (Technology Transfer Fee) when seeds Countries with substantial resources of are purchased, to cover the extra uncultivated land (eg USA, Canada) can performance derived from the GM set aside natural parks to help support crop character. wildlife. But in the UK, we largely live and farm in our natural parks.9 Associated with these changes in the These dramatic changes in agriculture science and practice of plant breeding, were recognised last year in a report for and its financial support over the last 80 the UK Government10 (chaired by Sir Farmers were years, there have been deliberately Don Curry), which argued that a encouraged to remove associated and coincidental changes in disconnection has arisen between trees, hedges, etc and agriculture in Europe. The drive for agriculture and food supply. It reap benefits from the abundant cheap food was facilitated by recommended that in order to safeguard economies of scale and subsidies in agriculture through the EU the future course of agriculture, major mechanisation Common Agricultural Policy in order to review and reform were essential, provide more efficient agricultural including significant changes in the produce from land.8 Farmers were financial incentives and subsidies for encouraged to remove trees, hedges and farmers. A substantial review of the walls, to pipe-up ditches, to fill in ponds Common Agricultural Policy in the EU and to reap benefits from economies of has been initiated, and the indications are A substantial review of scale and mechanisation. Farmers were that measures to favour wildlife and the the Common (and still are) given production subsidies agricultural environment will be given Agricultural Policy in to encourage them to grow ever more higher priority in the future.11 the EU has been produce. The consequence is that many Largely coincidental with these events initiated crops in the UK and the EU are in in agriculture was the devastating

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outbreak of BSE (bovine spongiform crops in the UK.18 The report also encephalopathy) and the associated CJD acknowledges that concerns about GM (Creutzfeldt–Jakob Disease) that causes an crop commercialisation have to some untreatable, invariably fatal illness in extent become a proxy for broader humans. Over 100 people are confirmed anxieties and perceptions in society,19 to have died so far from this disease,12 about the environment, influence of big although the final numbers will certainly business, mistrust of regulation and be higher and probably spread out over authority and about plant breeding being the next 20 years. There was also a major driven by profit rather than for the outbreak of foot and mouth disease in the public good. Some members of the Within this context, the UK in 2001 that devastated many public expressed concern that decisions UK launched a public livestock farmers. The consequence of all affecting UK food, agriculture and the debate on the of these events in agriculture has been to environment are being made by powerful commercialisation of raise social and political awareness of organisations abroad. Opposition from GM crops problems in agriculture, food production some members of the public to the and the environment within a significant recent war in Iraq20 has not helped to proportion of the UK population. calm anxieties about the international influence of the USA and the apparent NATIONAL GM DEBATE lack of response from the UK It is within this context that in 2003 the Government to public opposition to it.21 UK held a national public debate on the As a result of this background, it is fair to possible commercialisation of GM crops say that modern GM methods of plant in the UK.13 The UK Government breeding have taken on a social and High-profile campaigns sponsored two further strands of enquiry political profile far beyond a rational by activist groups and associated with this debate: a review of assessment of their direct impact and the press accompanied significance. the public debate the economic impact of the commercialisation of GM crops,14 and a A major ongoing source of review of the science associated with the disagreement has been that the ‘sides’ in assessment and possible impact of GM the GM debate often use a different crops.15 The public debate strand ‘currency’ in their reasoning. The involved a series of meetings across the scientific community largely uses country where people discussed the issues scientific analysis and reasoning of the and were able to register their views. kind adopted by the scientific advisory High-profile campaigns by activist committees to judge the impact of GM The report on the GM groups, and the press, accompanied the crops on human health and the debate acknowledges public debate, both groups being largely environment. Many of the activists, that concerns about GM however, are concerned about who has crops have to some opposed to commercialisation. Activists extent become a proxy have organised vandalism of the scientific power over food supply and the for broader anxieties in trials designed to evaluate the environment. The latter often argue that society environmental impact of the herbicide an imbalance has developed, which gives treatments applied to the GM crops too much power to multinational currently being considered for companies, and decisions are often made commercialisation.16 on purely commercial grounds. This There was no attempt in the report of significant difference in ‘currency’ makes the national debate17 to say whether the it difficult to reach a common public were right or wrong about any understanding because neither ‘side’ Calm, rational dialogue GM issue, even on matters of fact. The places the same value on the other’s is difficult because ‘currency’. Calm, rational dialogue is also issues are often report acknowledges that a significant presented in a manner number of people participating in the difficult because, in argument, issues that has the greatest public debate were associated with (including the science) are often presented political and judicial campaigning groups, most of which were in a manner that has the greatest political impact against the commercialisation of GM and judicial impact.22

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WHERE DOES THIS LEAVE is not uncommon to see figures in THE FUTURE OF PUBLIC- particular crops and regions much higher GOOD PLANT BREEDING? than this, even up to 100 per cent. It is fair to say that public-good plant Chemical sprays are widely used for breeding is in crisis. This is not least control, but the methods used to apply It is fair to say that because farmers, the buyers of plant them in developing countries can often be public-good plant breeders’ seed, are also in crisis from harmful to operators. There are well- breeding is in crisis falling incomes. Some radical thinking is documented instances each year of people called for, beginning with reminding being poisoned and even killed by the ourselves why most of us first became application of these substances.24 Three interested in plant breeding – it was for examples of breeding for crop pest and the public good. Our aim is to provide disease resistance are highlighted below. food, feed, raw materials and specialised products. Novel thinking is needed to Wheat rust resistance review plant-breeding objectives. Either In recent years, a race of leaf rust we conclude that all future plant-breeding developed in durum wheat that virtually objectives must depend on the vagaries of wiped out the CIMMYT breeding market forces, or that a principal driver programme in Mexico. There are new for plant breeding is the public good, and races of rust developing continually in all explore the current means to facilitate countries, which have the potential to this. wipe out substantial areas of crops. It is first important to examine what Infection is occasionally serious in the kind of objectives would qualify for the UK, but at present we have fungicides to status of contributing to the public good. control it. Resistance genes have been Views vary considerably and individual cloned, principally to understand how breeders will have their own preferred they work, so that breeders can list. To catalyse the process of thinking, a incorporate more robust and resilient Either we conclude that meeting was held in May 2003 at the genetic resistance. Breeding for fungal all future plant breeding Natural History Museum in London to resistance will reduce the need to control objectives must depend stimulate discussion on plant-breeding yellow rust by fungicides in developed on the vagaries of objectives.23 At that meeting I described countries. In developing countries there is market forces or that the public-good is a my personal list of primary public-good rarely the opportunity to apply fungicides, principal driver objectives, and I will present them again so genetic resistance would meet an here. important need.25

PROPOSED OBJECTIVES Rice yellow mottle virus resistance FOR PUBLIC-GOOD This is a serious disease in West and East BREEDING Africa, and sometimes leads to total crop I have highlighted five broad areas failure. A form of resistance has been relevant to both developed and introduced in a collaborative research developing countries. The knowledge programme involving UK scientists, and base needed to address plant-breeding the efficiency of resistance is being objectives in developed and developing evaluated. Resistance has been countries is basically the same even demonstrated against low and high doses though the ways of applying knowledge of virus inoculum. Research is needed to may be different in the various evaluate the performance of the genetic applications. resistance mechanisms under African agriculture.26 Resistance to pests and diseases This is an important objective. Pests and Striga in maize diseases destroy more than 25 per cent of Striga is a parasitic weed that attaches to world crop production annually, while it the crop plant and extracts its nutrients.

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The weed makes a significant An estimated 400 million people suffer The weed Striga is contribution to poverty in Africa and is from iron deficiency and anaemia. estimated to affect estimated to affect about 100 million Breeding lines of wheat have been about 100 million people. It can cause 20–100 per cent crop selected at CIMMYT with enhanced people yield reduction and is a problem on 20– micronutrients. It is hoped that the much 40 million hectares in sub-Saharan Africa. publicised Golden Rice will provide Breeding lines of maize have been enhanced levels of dietary vitamin A and selected that are tolerant to a specific iron.32 These plant-breeding lines are herbicide. Use of the herbicide currently being evaluated. Mustard crop (Imazapyr) applied to the maize seed coat plants with enhanced Vitamin A in the kills the Striga but allows the tolerant extracted cooking oil (Golden Mustard) maize to survive. Control of Striga by this are also being evaluated. It is important low-cost herbicide is estimated to cost that these enriched crops are soon tested about US$4 per hectare and give a under realistic conditions in developing benefit-to-cost ratio of about 25:1.27 In countries. order to provide robust and sustainable solutions to this very significant Striga Anti-cancer properties problem, it is important to develop other Brassicas naturally contain glucosinolates control strategies by crop breeding.28 that protect against a wide range of Tolerance to stressful cancers (lung cancer, stomach cancer, environments (salinity, colon cancer and rectal cancer). Genes drought, acid soils, high and controlling relevant glucosinolates have low temperatures) been identified in broccoli and breeding lines are being enriched 80 times for anti- Soil salinity cancer properties.33 It is estimated that a Over 6 per cent of the world’s land has third of the world’s saline soil. Salt tolerance genes have been arable land is affected identified in wheat, and tolerant lines are Introducing apomixis into by drought being developed in a collaborative crops programme involving UK scientists.29 Apomixis is a process by which some plants have evolved to produce seeds Drought tolerance without relying on pollination Research on this topic is crucial because (colloquially called ‘seed without sex’). Its one-third of the 1.5 billion hectares of the introduction into crops would provide a world’s arable land is affected by potential way of allowing farmers to save drought30 and over half of the 40 million hybrid seeds, where the seeds of a crop hectares of rainfed lowland rice in South- would be genetically identical to the East Asia is affected by drought hybrid parent. Hybrids can have 30 per annually.31 Genes have been mapped for cent or so higher yields, so apomixis tolerance and advanced breeding lines are would be a way of providing farmers, being developed. A set of genes that perpetually, with the advantage of hybrid control the production of trehalose, a varieties. With conventional hybrid drought-protecting sugar, is also being varieties, farmers must buy new seeds introduced into Indica rice which from the breeders or seed producers each represents 80 per cent of the rice grown year. Interestingly, over 400 plant species worldwide. are naturally apomictic, but this includes very few crop plants, and there are Human nutrition and health attempts to transfer this character from Enhanced vitamins and minerals Tripsacum to maize. There are also parallel Approximately 250 million people programmes in wheat, rice and cassava. (WHO figures) suffer from vitamin A Apomixis is a complex plant character and deficiency, which can lead to blindness. various research groups have been

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working on understanding it for several proposed, including plant architecture and years. yield, nutrient use and nitrogen fixation, This plant-breeding objective raises an bioremediation, biofumigation,35 removal important issue of financial support for of allergens from food (eg peanut public-good plant breeding. If apomixis is allergies), plant architecture, dwarfing, successfully transferred into crops, farmers water efficiency, production of high- will be able to save their own high- value compounds and so on. The yielding seeds for many years and, intention is that views will be canvassed therefore, the revenue from seed sales will from different people and organisations be limited. This objective fits well, over the coming months to develop and therefore, into the public-good category refine ideas on opportunities and but would probably not be attractive to a constraints. private company. TECHNOLOGY Pharmaceuticals from plants This paper has deliberately avoided Infectious diseases kill About 300 million children born every discussing details of the technology being 13 million children and year are not adequately immunised. used to approach these public-good young adults in the Infectious diseases kill 13 million children breeding objectives, because it is believed Third World annually and young adults in the Third World that the crop improvement debate has annually. Cholera, dysentery and typhoid become preoccupied more by method fever kill almost 2 million children under than mission. For those interested in 5. The ideal vaccine should be safe, easy method, about a third of the examples and cheap to produce, temperature-stable quoted are derived from conventional and easy to deliver and administer. breeding, about a third by conventional Fortunately, plants are able to make and GM breeding in parallel, and about a vaccines correctly and efficiently, and third by GM methods alone. The plants are naturally very efficient production of novel pharmaceuticals in producers of protein. One hundred plants, for example, can be achieved only hectares of greenhouse could potentially by GM breeding. provide enough Hepatitis-B vaccine for South-East Asia every year.34 FUTURE CHALLENGES This application raises questions about AND CONCLUSION The crop improvement the practicalities of producing vaccines in To regain interest in public-good plant- debate has become plants and whether such plants would breeding objectives that are primarily preoccupied more by need to be grown in contained needs-led will demand radical thinking plant breeding method glasshouses or could be cultivated and challenging decisions by all players. than mission outdoors. It also raises issues of the plant This will require some important species used to produce vaccines and ingredients: whether vaccine-producing crops and food-producing crops can coexist. These • Greater honesty and openness in issues will need to be examined very discussion. One of the major carefully. There is also a challenging issue casualties in the GM debate, and the of how the dose of a vaccine might be events leading to it, has been open and controlled. If the vaccine is extracted and honest discussion. The different sides administered in the conventional way, have become imprisoned by their The different sides have this should not be difficult. But campaigning positions. This has not become imprisoned by controlling dose is likely to be more been helped by issues that demand their campaigning positions challenging if the plant material (eg fruit) careful description and analysis being is eaten. presented in campaigns and in the In discussions with a range of plant media as soundbites, and in ways scientists and breeders, many other deliberately aimed to have maximum public-good objectives have been political and judicial impact. The

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A review of the public- author suspects if the different sides is that there are few centres of learning good needs of plant genuinely recognised their different with a wide diversity of skills and breeding and an ‘currency’ in debate (as discussed experience, including skills and first- assessment of how the earlier), rather than hiding it, there private sector can meet hand experience in plant breeding. them are needed may be a greater measure of There is also a gap in the development agreement. Whether or not the UK from basic and strategic research commercialises GM crops next year through to the stage of ‘proof of has become the overriding matter of principle’, so that it can find principle and the sole purpose of the application in practical plant breeding. campaigns. Measured and rational debate is the casualty. Above all, there is a need for respect for the different contributors. This is, without • Support for public-good breeding. doubt, difficult with the highly polarised There is virtually no plant breeding in and sometimes acrimonious exchanges. There are few the UK that is supported entirely by commercial incentives But the responsibilities are too great to be to improve crops for the public sector. Many plant- deterred by this. The current desperately poor and breeding programmes that were in the disagreements cannot be allowed to malnourished people public sector in the early 1980s are overshadow the needs of humanity. now entirely in the private sector, in Drawing desperately poor people out of public–private partnerships or have grinding poverty will demand attention to been closed. In the UK we need to many things, including: providing land, review this balance urgently: first, by water, markets, credit and also seeds to reviewing the major public-good grow productive crops. All constructive needs, and then by assessing how far contributions to achieving this goal are the private sector can meet those important and need to be recognised. needs. It is important to note that the objectives of plant breeding can be Acknowledgments influenced by the kinds of varieties I thank Eddie Arthur, Derek Burke, Jonathan Jones given regulatory recommendation for and John Snape for their comments on the paper, A casualty of the use in agriculture and by the provision Helen Ghirardello for help with preparation of the dispersion of plant of financial incentives to encourage manuscript and the John Innes Centre and the breeding in the UK is Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research that there are now particular farming practices. Claims Council for support. more limited that modern private sector breeding opportunities for will feed the world need to be multidisciplinary tempered by commercial and References and notes training in plant ideological realism. In reality, there are 1. Conway, G. (1997), ‘The Doubly Green breeding Revolution – Food For All in the 21st few commercial incentives to improve Century’, Penguin, London. crops for desperately poor and 2. Advances in plant-breeding methods have malnourished people in the world. included embryo culture and the hybridisation Only by placing all the issues and of crops with different plant species or genera, realities on the table will we make real induced polyploidy, induced haploidy, progress. chemical and irradiation-induced mutagenesis, plant tissue culture, virus elimination, an array of mass screening tests to identify superior • Centres of learning. A significant plant types, and marker assisted breeding. Drawing desperately further casualty of the dispersion of Evolution of breeding methods is still ongoing, such as TILLING (Targeting Induced Local poor people out of plant breeding in the UK is that there Lesions IN Genomes) which involves the grinding poverty will are now limited opportunities for directed identification of random mutations require attention to multidisciplinary training in plant controlling a wide range of plant characters many things, including (GM Science Review First Report; URL: access to seeds to grow breeding. This is to some extent a http://www.gmsciencedebate.org.uk/report/ productive crops function of the greater sophistication pdf/gmsci-report1-pt1.pdf). of methods now used in handling and 3. Haywood, M. D., Bosemark, N. O. and analysing plants, but a major problem Romagosa, I. (1993), ‘Plant Breeding –

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Principles and Prospects’, Chapman & Hall, 14. Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit Report – ‘Field London. work: Weighing up the costs and benefits of GM crops’, July 2003 (URL: http:// 4. GM Science Review Panel (2003), Third www.number-10.gov.uk/su/gm/index.htm). Chapter, GM Science Review (URL: http:// www.gmsciencedebate.org.uk/report/pdf/ 15. GM Science Review Website (URL: http:// gmsci-report1-pt2.pdf). www.gmsciencedebate.org.uk). 5. In the UK the Plant Breeding Institute was 16. Elliott, V. (2003), ‘GM vandals force science established in Cambridge in 1912 initially firms to reduce research’, Times Online (cited within the Cambridge University School of 16th October, 2003) available from URL: Agriculture, but Rowland Biffen began wheat http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/ breeding before this following his appointment 0,,8122-856400,00.html to Cambridge University in 1896. The Welsh Plant Breeding Station was founded in 17. GM Nation Public Debate Report, URN Aberystwyth in 1919 and the Scottish Plant number 03/1292 (URL: http:// Breeding Station in Edinburgh in 1921. www.gmpublicdebate.org/ut_09/ ut_9_6.htm#download). 6. The PBI was sold to Unilever in 1987. It was then resold to Monsanto in 1998. During the 18. GM Nation report quotations: Paragraph 91 time of private ownership, the range of crops ‘Both meeting goers and observers commented bred has been rationalised several times, some on the number of people who went to programmes were terminated completely, meetings with established views on GM, and others sold. At the time of writing only winter who felt themselves well informed about it, wheat and spring barley are bred on the former which prompted comments that meetings PBI site. An announcement has recently been might be missing the general public. People made (October 2003, ‘Monsanto retreats from complained that some local meetings were Europe’; URL: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/ strongly polarised and dominated by partisans business/3198312.stm) of the intention of for and against GM (generally against). Pro- Monsanto to sell the former PBI site and the GM meeting goers and platform speakers remaining breeding programmes. suggested that some meetings had been hijacked by anti-GM campaign organisations, 7. Approximately 10 per cent of this gross and at others there were complaints of income is used by plant-breeding organisations excessive proselytising by individual anti-GM to fund the official testing of new varieties campaigners’. Paragraph 96 ‘We believe that (British Society of Plant Breeders: personal some organisations, including the National communication). Trust, Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace and 8. Joint Nature Conservation Committee (2002), the Soil Association encouraged their members ‘Environmental Effects of the Common to participate in the debate.’ Agricultural Policy and Possible Mitigation 19. GM Nation report. Quotation from Paragraph Measures’ (URL: http://www.defra.gov.uk/ 45: ‘As was noted above, GM is a very broad farm/sustain/envimpacts/envimpacts.pdf). issue. It is not only an issue in its own right but 9. Hails, R. (2002), ‘Assessing the risks associated acts as a proxy for many other current concerns with new agricultural practices’, Nature, Vol. which provoke strong feelings’. 418, pp. 685–688. 20. GM Nation report. Quotation from paragraph 10. ‘Farming & Food – a sustainable future’ (2002) 183: ‘Many were puzzled by the national (URL: http://www.cabinet-office.gov.uk/ debate. Why had GM produced one (a farming/pdf/PC%20Report2.pdf). national debate) when other big issues, including the war in Iraq, had not?’ 11. CAP reform is taking place in the context of other significant developments, including 21. GM Nation – the findings of the public debate enlargement of the EU from 15 to 25 (URL: http://www.gmnation.org/docs/ countries, negotiations on international trade at GMNation_FinalReport.pdf). the World Trade Organization and unprecedented shipment of agricultural 22. Comments for an AEBC discussion on the produce worldwide. paper by Grove-White, R. (2001), ‘New wine, old bottles? Personal reflections on the 12. The UK Creutzfeldt–Jakob Disease new biotechnology commissions’, Political Surveillance Unit, University of Edinburgh. Quarterly, Vol. 72(4), pp. 466–472 (URL: These figures show the number of suspect http://www.aebc.gov.uk/aebc/meetings/ cases referred to the CJD surveillance unit in papers/aebc0124.htm). Edinburgh, and the number of deaths of definite and probable cases in the UK, up to 23. Link to website presentation of the ‘Public- 3rd November, 2003 (URL: http:// good plant breeding: What are the www.cjd.ed.ac.uk/figures.htm). international priorities?’ meeting held on 22nd May, 2003, in association with the Natural 13. GM Nation Public Debate Website (URL: History Museum, the BBSRC and the John http://www.gmnation.org). Innes Centre (URL: http://www.nhm.ac.uk/

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