Ireland Minister of State for Agriculture Andrew Doyle says the island nation should have a status as GMO-free to maintain biodiversity. The Irish Times reports that the comments by Doyle were expressed as his personal opinion, and not that of the nation’s Agricultural and Food Development Authority, which takes the “follow the science” approach. Doyle claims the island could be a “reservoir” of non-GMO seed varieties in the event of an international food scare. Doyle says he believes Ireland could be a seed bank for mainstream arable crops such as wheat, oats and barley, all crops that are not commercially available as GMO products. His comments came as he also says Ireland is “not going to be an organic island” and that he thinks the nation should not try to be, adding that “organic has its place, but it is not mainstream.”
From the National Association of Farm Broadcasting News Service.