This book came about initially as a result of informal discussions between the authors, all of whom are involved directly, to a greater or lesser extent, with agricultural science and research. With the public’s perceptions in the United Kingdom (UK) fuelled strongly by media hype surrounding the issues of biotechnology, genetic modification (GM), bovine spongiform encephalitis (BSE), swine fever and foot and mouth it has become apparent that the level of debate in relation to agricultural research is becoming not only more and more polarized, but also increasingly politically charged and poorly informed
