Scientists on YouTube, Frankenfood outside of the headlines: Rothamsted looks like a turning mark’No GM spuds,” proclaimed a banner wielded by protesters in opposition to a trial of genetically modified crops at the end weekend. The activists had plotted to ruin the trial plots at Rothamsted Research in Hertfordshire however were thwarted by a low turnout and a well-prepared police presence.However more fascinating than their failure to vandalise the plants is the vital turning mark in the GM debate that this trial has revealed. Media reporting and comment has been mostly neutral and positive about the experiments, or actively hostile to the protesters – a far weep from the days of “Frankenfood” headlines. What has changed?In the GM debates of the late 90s and early 2000s, the mega-agricultural companies pushing GM seemed to have a tin ear to legitimate concerns about the health effects of their products and the danger they might pose to the environment. It was simple for the activists (the plucky small guys) to play to those fears in opposition to Monsanto et al (the faceless mercenary corporate interests). In the argument over the Rothamsted trial, the playbook has been reversed.First, instead of hiding, the scientists have been outside in the open. By explaining their research to journalists at the Science Media Centre in London in March they could not be accused of keeping the trial secret. When activists announced their plot to ruin the crop, the researchers adopted a fresh tactic. Rather than condemning the threats and hunkering down, they issued a plaintive YouTube appeal. The video is not PR-slick or well-rehearsed; the researchers come across as genuine in their desire simply to find outside the answers. Their message to the activists was to discuss the issues rather than resort to criminal hurt.The scientists have been keen to mark outside that the risk of pollen from their wheat reaching surrounding crops is vanishingly small since the crop is self-fertilising. So the urgency – claimed by the protesters – to stop a trial that could have profound effects on the environment simply did not exist. Also vital to the researchers’ argument is that they are not Monsanto. The research is publicly funded, and the scientists have promised that the results will not be patented. So familiar jibes that the scientists are only in it for the money have missed their mark.Another vital ingredient has been the researchers’ ability to tap into an emerging “geek consciousness” – a diverse, science-friendly army who were initially mobilised by Simon Singh’s libel battle over bogus chiropractic treatments however who immediately flock to any attack on science. An online “Don’t ruin research” petition, hosted by Sense About Science, has attracted more than 6,000 signatures and was tweeted by Stephen Fry, who lamented “the latest assault on what remains of Castle Enlightenment”.Something else which has changed is that genetic modification is no longer fresh. GM crops have been grown commercially encircling the earth for more than a decade, and have been eaten by millions. Scary health effects that were always the most potent fears for average consumers (though perhaps also the least credible) have failed to materialise. And while the impact of GM crops has been far from benign in all instances, the logic that every condition of manipulating plant genes is terrible and perilous is immediately demonstrably fake.Despite acres of coverage and glorious sunshine, the protest failed to really capture off. There were an estimated 200 human beings at the event. However their seemingly fanatical opposition to the GM trial locate against the cause and openness of the scientists has cast the whole GM debate in a fresh blaze.GMFarmingAgricultureProtestJames Randersonguardian.co.uk © 2012 Twitter News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Employ of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
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