Scots farmers turn their backs on mutant crops and turn instead to natural methods of raising food.(News)

SCOTLAND is leading the backlash against GM food.

The number of test sites for such crops north of the border has fallen by more than half since last year, according to Government figures.

And a separate survey shows Scotland's farmers are turning to organic methods far more eagerly than their counterparts in England and the rest of Europe.

Environmental pressure group Friends of the Earth Scotland say they have information from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food that the number of Scots GM test sites has gone from 43 to just 16 in the last 12 months - a drop of 62 per cent.

Director Kevin Dunion claims farmers are reluctant to plant GM crops for trials because they fear they will pollute the countryside.

He said: "Thankfully, many Scottish farmers are making a stand to protect our countryside. They recognise that, unlike an oil spill, genetic pollution cannot be cleaned up.

"The systems currently in place to protect the environment and police GM test sites are inadequate."

Friends of the Earth say the GM test sites still active in Scotland are mostly being used for trials of crops that can withstand doses of weedkiller.

Dunion is angry that people living close to these sites are not being given the chance to speak out officially against their presence.

He said: "If your neighbour wants to build an extension to his house, you have the right to object and be heard.

"But when it comes to growing genetically engineered crops, the public have no influence. Real public consultation has been non-existent."

The National Farmers Union in Scotland has warned its members off growing GM crops, labelling any such moves "commercial suicide".

And according to a survey by the Welsh Institute of Rural Studies, many farmers here are going the opposite way by turning to organic methods.

Of 200,000 hectares which were converted or under conversion to organic farming in Britain last year, more than 100,000 were in Scotland.

That means 2.5 per cent of the Scottish land mass - twice the UK average - is now organic. The average figure in Europe is 1.6 per cent.

The findings pleased Kevin Dunion, who insisted: "Scotland's farmers are turning their backs on GM crops. Unlike the Government, they are listening to consumers.

"They now lead the way in Europe in attempts to go organic. It is often the case that consumer demand for organic food outstrips supply."

The Green Party yesterday formally launched its bid to have GM crops outlawed in Scotland.

Their only MSP, Robin Harper, lodged a motion at the Edinburgh Parliament demanding that all growing of such crops be outlawed by the Scottish Executive.

Afterwards, he said: "Genetically- modified oilseed rape from test sites is already flowering in the Scottish countryside.

"If we don't act soon, this genetic pollution will be happening on a commercial scale, followed by more and more different genetically- engineered species.

"Butterflies risk being wiped out in north America by gene crops. We can't let that happen in Scotland."

Ian Hudghton, the SNP's Euro MP for North-East Scotland, called for a halt to the development of GM food. He said: "We need a moratorium until we are absolutely certain about the long-term consequences.

"The SNP, Lib Dems and Tories all included this policy in their Scottish Parliament manifestos. Since Westminster has failed to deliver, the SNP are calling for the Scottish Executive to take a different line from London and act."

Observers say the Lib Dems' coalition pact with Labour, which made no mention of a GM ban, may wreck any bid to ban such crops here.

Scots farmers turn their backs on mutant crops and turn instead to natural methods of raising food.(News)

SCOTLAND is leading the backlash against GM food.

The number of test sites for such crops north of the border has fallen by more than half since last year, according to Government figures.

And a separate survey shows Scotland's farmers are turning to organic methods far more eagerly than their counterparts in England and the rest of Europe.

Environmental pressure group Friends of the Earth Scotland say they have information from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food that the number of Scots GM test sites has gone from 43 to just 16 in the last 12 months - a drop of 62 per cent.

Director Kevin Dunion claims farmers are reluctant to plant GM crops for trials because they fear they will pollute the countryside.

He said: "Thankfully, many Scottish farmers are making a stand to protect our countryside. They recognise that, unlike an oil spill, genetic pollution cannot be cleaned up.

"The systems currently in place to protect the environment and police GM test sites are inadequate."

Friends of the Earth say the GM test sites still active in Scotland are mostly being used for trials of crops that can withstand doses of weedkiller.

Dunion is angry that people living close to these sites are not being given the chance to speak out officially against their presence.

He said: "If your neighbour wants to build an extension to his house, you have the right to object and be heard.

"But when it comes to growing genetically engineered crops, the public have no influence. Real public consultation has been non-existent."

The National Farmers Union in Scotland has warned its members off growing GM crops, labelling any such moves "commercial suicide".

And according to a survey by the Welsh Institute of Rural Studies, many farmers here are going the opposite way by turning to organic methods.

Of 200,000 hectares which were converted or under conversion to organic farming in Britain last year, more than 100,000 were in Scotland.

That means 2.5 per cent of the Scottish land mass - twice the UK average - is now organic. The average figure in Europe is 1.6 per cent.

The findings pleased Kevin Dunion, who insisted: "Scotland's farmers are turning their backs on GM crops. Unlike the Government, they are listening to consumers.

"They now lead the way in Europe in attempts to go organic. It is often the case that consumer demand for organic food outstrips supply."

The Green Party yesterday formally launched its bid to have GM crops outlawed in Scotland.

Their only MSP, Robin Harper, lodged a motion at the Edinburgh Parliament demanding that all growing of such crops be outlawed by the Scottish Executive.

Afterwards, he said: "Genetically- modified oilseed rape from test sites is already flowering in the Scottish countryside.

"If we don't act soon, this genetic pollution will be happening on a commercial scale, followed by more and more different genetically- engineered species.

"Butterflies risk being wiped out in north America by gene crops. We can't let that happen in Scotland."

Ian Hudghton, the SNP's Euro MP for North-East Scotland, called for a halt to the development of GM food. He said: "We need a moratorium until we are absolutely certain about the long-term consequences.

"The SNP, Lib Dems and Tories all included this policy in their Scottish Parliament manifestos. Since Westminster has failed to deliver, the SNP are calling for the Scottish Executive to take a different line from London and act."

Observers say the Lib Dems' coalition pact with Labour, which made no mention of a GM ban, may wreck any bid to ban such crops here.

Scots farmers turn their backs on mutant crops and turn instead to natural methods of raising food.(News)

SCOTLAND is leading the backlash against GM food.

The number of test sites for such crops north of the border has fallen by more than half since last year, according to Government figures.

And a separate survey shows Scotland's farmers are turning to organic methods far more eagerly than their counterparts in England and the rest of Europe.

Environmental pressure group Friends of the Earth Scotland say they have information from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food that the number of Scots GM test sites has gone from 43 to just 16 in the last 12 months - a drop of 62 per cent.

Director Kevin Dunion claims farmers are reluctant to plant GM crops for trials because they fear they will pollute the countryside.

He said: "Thankfully, many Scottish farmers are making a stand to protect our countryside. They recognise that, unlike an oil spill, genetic pollution cannot be cleaned up.

"The systems currently in place to protect the environment and police GM test sites are inadequate."

Friends of the Earth say the GM test sites still active in Scotland are mostly being used for trials of crops that can withstand doses of weedkiller.

Dunion is angry that people living close to these sites are not being given the chance to speak out officially against their presence.

He said: "If your neighbour wants to build an extension to his house, you have the right to object and be heard.

"But when it comes to growing genetically engineered crops, the public have no influence. Real public consultation has been non-existent."

The National Farmers Union in Scotland has warned its members off growing GM crops, labelling any such moves "commercial suicide".

And according to a survey by the Welsh Institute of Rural Studies, many farmers here are going the opposite way by turning to organic methods.

Of 200,000 hectares which were converted or under conversion to organic farming in Britain last year, more than 100,000 were in Scotland.

That means 2.5 per cent of the Scottish land mass - twice the UK average - is now organic. The average figure in Europe is 1.6 per cent.

The findings pleased Kevin Dunion, who insisted: "Scotland's farmers are turning their backs on GM crops. Unlike the Government, they are listening to consumers.

"They now lead the way in Europe in attempts to go organic. It is often the case that consumer demand for organic food outstrips supply."

The Green Party yesterday formally launched its bid to have GM crops outlawed in Scotland.

Their only MSP, Robin Harper, lodged a motion at the Edinburgh Parliament demanding that all growing of such crops be outlawed by the Scottish Executive.

Afterwards, he said: "Genetically- modified oilseed rape from test sites is already flowering in the Scottish countryside.

"If we don't act soon, this genetic pollution will be happening on a commercial scale, followed by more and more different genetically- engineered species.

"Butterflies risk being wiped out in north America by gene crops. We can't let that happen in Scotland."

Ian Hudghton, the SNP's Euro MP for North-East Scotland, called for a halt to the development of GM food. He said: "We need a moratorium until we are absolutely certain about the long-term consequences.

"The SNP, Lib Dems and Tories all included this policy in their Scottish Parliament manifestos. Since Westminster has failed to deliver, the SNP are calling for the Scottish Executive to take a different line from London and act."

Observers say the Lib Dems' coalition pact with Labour, which made no mention of a GM ban, may wreck any bid to ban such crops here.