Potatoes All Out For Nought As Heroes Dig In

In Britain’s first NVDA on a Genetically Manipulated-test site, the Super Heroes against Genetix First XI donned their outfits again for a game of cricket on a potato test field site just outside Cambridge this month. Due to the nature of a somewhat muddy and sticky wicket potatoes replaced the traditional red ball. Fielders had a difficult time of it - most of the batting resulted in the 'balls' being smashed to pieces or else being lost amongst upturned soil. The entire crop of the test site was destroyed.

Whilst similar actions have been ongoing in Europe for some time this is the first in a series on British sites and marks a further development in the campaign against GM produce.

A Super Heroes spokesperson, Captain Chromosome, said: “The Test Match proved a huge success if somewhat one-sided - we fielded a team of some thirty Super Heroes whilst the Cambridge team didn’t even show up. It simply isn’t cricket.”

When contacted the Development Director at PBI (Plant Breeders Institute) in Cambridge was initially stumped by the scoreline claiming that he couldn’t see how it was possible. On checking the site on Monday morning, Mr Killiam predictably denied that the destroyed potatoes had been Genetically Manipulated saying instead that they had been “normal”.

The particular potatoes targetted contain an antibiotic resistance gene which is also contained in Ciba Geigv’s (now Novatis) Bt maize. This does not have the support of any country in the EU and is actively opposed by Austria, Luxembourg, Italy and France.

And There’s More...

In the same week as the shenanigans in Cambridge German activists were also busy as a field planted with GM potatoes was destroyed. After the plants had been pulled out the field was covered with a 'white powder', which was rumoured to be a herbicide. This is not the first time that a field of Genetically Manipulated Organisms has been visited by anti-genetics activists in Germany. In 1996 at least 12 fields were destroyed and at present a further four fields are being occupied to prevent the planting of GMOs.