GM foods — miracle or madness?
By Les Hearn The debate about genetically modified (GM) foods exploded in August 1998 when research scientist Arpad Pusztai, of the Rowett Research Institute in Aberdeen, announced that GM potatoes harmed experimental rats by making their livers and brains smaller and their spleens larger. A colleague showed that the gut lining was inflamed too. Responses fell into two categories: Pusztai’s boss and representatives of GM food companies criticised his work as not supporting his claims and Pusztai was suspended and silenced; opponents of GM foods seized on his statements with enthusiasm...