Sir, - I am sure Kevin Myers enjoyed being provocative in his Irishman's Diary OF October 6th, and I thought he was a little over the top until I read the rabid response from John Seymour (October 18th). Mr Seymour asserts that the "good Lord" has supplied us with all the plants and animals humanity needs without us having to play God and "invent a whole lot more".
Well, I'm sure the "good Lord" would not recognise the produce of Mr Seymour's farm - or my local supermarket - as his original creations. Furthermore, he would be delighted to witness the good use to which we have put the intellectual ability he gave us, in selectively breeding high-yielding varieties of foodplants and domestic animals. Mr Seymour is right in asserting that we can grow plenty of food for everyone, but that would not be the case if it weren't for sober, methodical, "scientific" enhancement of productivity.
By all means let's debate the merits or otherwise of GM crops (I believe the technology will ultimately be vindicated); but let's not pretend that all would be hunky-dory for humanity if we reverted to crops and farming methods from an earlier era. That really would be a "fantastically dangerous experiment". - Yours, etc.,
Prof Philip J. Dix, National University of Ireland, Maynooth, Co Kildare.