There are many legitimate and articulate opponents of genetically modified products and, for that matter, of conventional medicine itself.

NEWYORKER: The Operator

Copa-Cogeca singled out meat production by Mercosur, saying it tolerated growth hormones banned in the EU, poor labour conditions and genetically modified products.

BBC: EU eases trade with Latin America at Madrid summit

In 1992 the country's Food and Drug Administration decided that genetically modified products would have to meet the same standards as all other foods, but no new ones.

ECONOMIST: Food fights

Outside, protesters paraded up and down with placards scrawled with "Frankenbucks", and "Say No to GMO" - dire warnings of the perceived dangers of genetically modified ingredients in Starbucks products.

BBC: Starbucks takes on its critics

Even when firms such as Unilever manage to find a source of, say, non-modified soya to put in their products, it tends to get contaminated with genetically modified stuff since there is so much of it about.

ECONOMIST: Sticky labels

And it was strange that there was no place for the ban on genetically-modified contents in Asda's own-brand products, the government's announcement of right-to-roam legislation and withdrawal of soyabean oil breast-implants, or the extension for the Northern Ireland peace process.

BBC: By BBC News Online's Giles Wilson