The GM issue is evidently firmly back on the political agenda, re-opening a popular and familiar battle ground for the food and farming industry - and all the signs indicate that this time, the debate will not simply fizzle away.
In the 1990s, when food scares were making daily headlines and the western world had a surplus of food on its hands, it is little wonder that the technology was not seized upon.
But with worries about food security on the rise, and many UK consumers feeling the pinch from increasing food inflation, the debate has now caught the attention of the very top echelons of government. The prime minister has thrown his penny’s worth into the ring, and endorsed the launch of a new EU study into whether GM crops could play a part in reducing food costs.
The organic lobby has responded with predictable alacrity, accusing Gordon Brown of being blinded by PR from the biotech lobby. But I think it is encouraging to see the government prepared to at least test out new technologies in an attempt to muster up some kind of solution to a problem that will not solve itself.
This week also saw a tasting test among 120 consumers rate conventionally grown strawberries as tasty and visually appealing as their more expensive premium and organic counterparts (p4). Nothing like hearing it straight from the horse’s mouth.