Original URL: https://www.theregister.com/1999/06/14/gm_food_martyr_publishes_web/

GM food martyr publishes Web defence

Mashed potato

By Lucy Sherriff

Posted in On-Prem, 14th June 1999 16:30 GMT

Britain’s first GM food martyr, Dr Arpad Pusztai, has gone to the Web to defend his reputation as a scientist. Pusztai was forced to resign from the Rowett Research Institute in the so-called GM Potato Scandal. He had conducted research into genetically modified potatoes which indicated that they could be toxic. But a panel of Royal Society scientists said his research was flawed. Since then, other scientists have leapt to his defence. Dr Pusztai says his site web site is "primitive and under construction". The site contains comments on his research by the Royal Society and his response to its criticism. Credited by some with starting the current argument about the safety of GM foods, Dr Pusztai makes an unlikely hero for the anti-GM food brigade. He is a strong believer in GM technology -- provided it is handled correctly and transparently.