Ireland is proceeding to test a genetically modified potato, but is making certain that the public understands that it is doing so to make sure it’s safe for the environment and so that anti-GM activists will seem less threatened by a public research project that is not associated with the biotechnology industry establishment.
Teagasc, the Irish Agriculture and Food Development Authority, was awarded a license by the EPA to proceed with field research into a GM potato that could resist potato blight, a disease that was responsible of the infamous potato famines in the country. The research is expected to take place over the next four years to determine what environmental impacts the potato could have on Irish agriculture.
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