Vic Robertson

Vic Robertson is an agricultural journalist based in Bedford, UK, whose fervently pro-GM and anti-organic pieces are published in the Scottish press (The Scotsman, The Herald) and the UK agricultural press.

Here are some headlines:

The Good Side of GM Revealed - The Scotsman, Vic Robertson, June 6, 2002

Consumers and environmentalists have as much to gain from genetically modified (GM) crops as farmers, say scientists at Reading University.

Scientists Call On Organic Farmers To Bury Biotech Hatchet - The Scotsman, Vic Robertson, August 16, 1999

A leading Scottish scientist has called on organic farmers and biotechnologists to bury the hatchet and realise the mutual benefits of genetic modification.

BIOTECH INDUSTRY BULLISH ABOUT GM CROP TRIALS - The Herald, Vic Robertson, July 18, 2001

Geneticist calls for broader GM debate - The Herald, Vic Robertson, March 15,2001

A PLEA for more reason in the debate on biotechnology and genetic modification was issued by one of the world's leading authorities on the subject yesterday... Professor Channapatna S. Prakash, director of the Centre of Plant Biotechnology Research at Tuskegee University in Alabama, US.

Attitudes to GM see UK miss out - The Scotsman, Vic Robertson, March 7th, 2002

ORGANIC LOBBY COMES UNDER FIRE - The Scotsman, Vic Robertson, February 26, 2002

ROW BREWING AMONG RIVAL ORGANIC GROUPS - The Scotsman, Vic Robertson, 27th November 2001

GREAT GM DEBATE READY FOR THE OFF - The Scotsman, Vic Robertson, November 28, 2001 Monsanto and other leading GM exponents have caught their second wind to launch a more considered attack on public sense and sensibility in accepting the products of this new - well 20-30-year-old - technology. Behind them they have gathered millions of dollars of worth of scientific investigation to show that there is not a scintilla of evidence of ill health - physical or mental - that can be attributed to GM foods; that far from damaging the environment, it can actually enhance diversity; and that it has a positive role in helping overcome world hunger.

Although, in the latter piece, Robertson claims 'millions of dollars' of research evidence providing 'not a scintilla of evidence of ill health', there's paucity of research into the health effects of GM foods. For a comprehensive review see: Genetically Modified Foods: Are They a Risk to Human/Animal Health?

In another Robertson article in the Scottish press, based on an interview with Prof Michael Wilson, Wilson cited 'an independent U.S. survey, carried out by Cornell University' which 'showed that the use of GM crops in Northern America... encouraged more wildlife.' Robertson, apparently, had made no attempt to check on the report in question. In reality, the report was based not on work not by Cornell researchers, as Wilson claimed, but by the industry-funded ISAAA. The report contained no information about wildlife.