Letter: Genetic red herring

Sir: Science cannot "decide what we are to be fed" (letter, 15 February), but it can answer questions about how useful, or how harmful, particular genetically modified crops might be in particular circumstances. Armed with those answers, governments and consumers can decide for themselves.

But the BSE tragedy has already shown us that sticking our heads in the sand, and not carrying out appropriate research in an atmosphere of openness, is a recipe for disaster.

Publicly funded scientific research by independent scientists is essential for informed decision-making at the end of the 20th century.

Dr PETER COTGREAVE

Director, The Save British Science Society

London WC1