Jonathon Harrington
Jonathon Harrington is a biologist who hit the headlines in January 2009 when a Guardian article reported that he had planted GM maize on his Welsh farm, against the declared GM-free policy of the Welsh Assembly government.[1]
The article states:
- An unrepentant Harrington said he had resorted to the secret planting after the Welsh assembly, which voted unanimously for GM-free status in 2000, refused to have any meaningful discussions over its policy.[2]
Harrington is quoted as saying he wanted "to facilitate the introduction of a new and valuable technology [GM] into Welsh agriculture". He states of GM:
- It can of course be used for a variety of purposes: to give plants immunity from pest attack or resistance to disease or more recently the ability to withstand drought. There are a number of potential benefits the technology could offer Welsh farmers if the assembly government showed a more positive attitude towards it.[3]
But just how this GM maize is supposed to save Welsh agriculture given that even Harrington admitted it performed badly is unclear. He told The Guardian of his GM maize plants: "It was a poor summer, so they didn't do terribly well."[4]
Harrington is described in The Guardian as an agronomist and farmer.[5]
Harrington is a member of the biotech industry-funded lobby group CropGen.[6]
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Questions about Harrington
Questions arose among some of Harrington's neighbours in Wales as to whether he is a farmer at all, and if so, whether he actually planted the GM maize as he claimed. Western Mail journalist Steve Dube wrote in his blog:
- it appears that Mr Harrington himself may not be all he claims to be. He lives so high up a mountain that even conventional fodder maize (let alone a Mediterranean GM hybrid) would not produce a decent crop. And as he is also sadly disabled, he cannot have planted or harvested the crop himself.
It makes you wonder whether the whole episode was a con by Harrington and CropGen, in order to embarrass the Welsh Government. Has Mr Harrington actually grown GM plants at all? His neighbours think not.[7]
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Notes
- ↑ Caroline Davies, "Farmer's secret GM crop defies green rulebook", The Guardian, 25 January 2009, accessed 27 April 2009
- ↑ Caroline Davies, "Farmer's secret GM crop defies green rulebook", The Guardian, 25 January 2009, accessed 27 April 2009
- ↑ Jonathon Harrington, "Why I planted genetically modified maize on my Welsh farm", The Guardian, 28 January 2009, accessed 27 April 2009
- ↑ Caroline Davies, "Farmer's secret GM crop defies green rulebook", The Guardian, 25 January 2009, accessed 27 April 2009
- ↑ Jonathon Harrington, "Why I planted genetically modified maize on my Welsh farm", The Guardian, 28 January 2009, accessed 27 April 2009
- ↑ Jonathon Harrington, "Why I planted genetically modified maize on my Welsh farm", The Guardian, 28 January 2009, accessed 27 April 2009
- ↑ Steve Dube, "Farmer or faker?", UpCountry: An insider's view of Welsh rural life, 4 February 2009, accessed 27 April 2009
