A growing tide of hate mail being received by British government advisers on
genetic engineering could make it difficult to find scientists to deliver the
expert advice the government needs. So claims Janet Bainbridge of the University
of Teeside, who chairs the Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes,
which considers the safety of genetically modified food. 鈥淚f the campaign
continues, and it鈥檚 getting quite militant, scientists are going to say `I don鈥檛
want to be on an advisory committee鈥�,鈥� Bainbridge told the British Association.
鈥淭here鈥檚 nothing in it for them, and they don鈥檛 get paid.鈥�
Bainbridge adds that even the most indirect links with industry are being
used by campaigners to argue that government advisers are inherently biased. By
these criteria, she says, it鈥檚 just about impossible to identify independent
experts. Bainbridge says she has a student on placement with Nestl茅, the
food company. 鈥淒oes this compromise my independence?鈥� she asks.