I'm not sure which debate they were talking about, but it doesn't sound like the one I took part in. The anti-GM lobby didn't hijack that debate, we ORGANISED it! The feeling in the run-up to and during the debate was that the government were just announcing the debate to pretend that the public had been consulted, and that they didn't really want a proper debate at all. They certainly didn't go out of their way to help organise ours.

There wouldn't have even BEEN a debate in Swindon if it wasn't for the hard work put in by local environmental campaigners to get a venue and the official survey forms etc. We tried desperately to find pro-GM speakers to make sure it was a balanced debate, but despite having the HQ of some of the Research Councils in town, no-one was willing to come forward, and in the end an Friends of the Earth campaigner ended up having to play devil's advocate and put the pro-GM point of view! Where were those scientists when we were looking for a pro-GM speaker, or even someone with professional knowledge of the subject? They were welcome to come along and put their views across, but they didn't, so of course everyone who attended was either dead against commercial growing of GM crops or was at least nervous about the whole thing.

Rant over, I just wanted to get this off my chest.