In 1999, at the hands of the British Press, Genetically modified (GM) crops became one of the most controversial applications of modern technology. Instigated by Dr. Arpad Pusztai’s declaration that GM potatoes negatively affected the health of rats consuming them (Durant and Nicola 7) on the TV show World In Action, the press failed both to recognize the flaws in the study and to separate the experiment results from the generalization that GM food was harmful. The story spread, receiving no further scientific scrutiny, until it erupted into the ‘The Great GM debate’ in February 1999. This…