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Wales eyes prohibitive regulations
Farmers, landowners and the public are being asked for their views on plans to tighten the rules on the planting of genetically modified crops in Wales. Elin Jones, rural affairs minister, told the BBC that "it is not legally possible to declare Wales GM-free", but that the proposed measures would be more restrictive than those proposed in England and Northern Ireland.
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Gloomy report for British organic
A report commissioned by the Soil Association has led Peter Melchett, its policy director, to conclude: "If we want to continue eating huge quantities of cheap chicken, pork and dairy products and other mass produced foodstuffs, organic faming cannot deliver." According to the report, a major shift towards oganic farming in the UK would see food supplies plummet, and a vast increase in farm laborers performing the back-breaking tasks which modern agriculture had made unnecessary.
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Vocal plant growth promoter
Research conducted by Britain's Royal Horticultural Society has demonstrated the efficacy of the human voice as a plant growth promoter. After exposing ten tomato plants to recorded playbacks of the voices of various people for a month, it was determined that female voices were the most effective in stimulating growth. The voice of Sarah Darwin, the great-great grand-daughter of Charles Darwin, was found to be the most stimulating of all. However, experts are unsure whether her choice of text played a role. She read a passage from her great-great grandfather's book, On the Origin of Species.
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