Introduction

Scientific advances have enabled biotechnology to play an increasingly large role in the development of new products that enhance all areas of our lives. 'Consumers enjoy continual improvements to the quality and quantity of our Nation's food supply.' The beneficiaries are now 'consumers'; the phrase 'our Nation's food supply' introduces a note of strategic, even military defence planning. Many food producers and retailers have clearly felt the same overwhelming anxiety from their consumers who are demanding a choice in what they eat. A number of them have banned Genetically Modified (GM) ingredients from their own-brand products. One summarises concisely the case for the environmental benefits of GM technology. GM technology is the same kind of thing because it is a new discovery, so opposition to it must also be the same. 'Fear' of GM crops must be irrational, founded on religious dogma, like opposition to Galileo or Franklin. Blair shares with Bush an unqualified support for GM.