Routinely, it seems, politicians base their views on which scientific work should be suppressed and which supported on unfounded scare stories and conspiracies.
This would appear to be the case when it comes to the genetic modification of crops. There is strong evidence that world hunger can be alleviated by the creation of new strains of grains, fruits and vegetables, yet many politicians feed and support fears about “Frankenstein foods”. The Scottish government opposes genetic modification not because of compelling scientific evidence but because ministers believe their stance helps market Scottish produce as “clean and green”.
Mainstream politicians of every hue are convinced of the need to tackle climate change and it is widely accepted that this can, in part, be achieved by an increase in plant-based diets. With this in mind, Scottish government ministers should see gene editing as an opportunity rather than a political attack. Instead of attempting to suppress gene editing, the SNP could be promoting Scotland as a world leader. Too often, it seems, the SNP wishes to do things differently in Scotland not because evidence tells the party it should but because it wishes to create conflict with the rest of the United Kingdom. This approach contributes nothing to good government.
