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| Europe |
| MACBETH AND THE BAD SEEDS |
| by John Mangan |
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23-Apr-2001 The Age |
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There is something rotten in Macbeth's manor. The Cawdor neighborhood has never really got over the fuss created by their local
king, Macbeth, way back in the 12th century. A few centuries later, just when things seemed to be settling down at last,
Shakespeare stirred up the pot again with his crackingly popular stage tragedy. Now Lord Colin Cawdor, 27th Thane of
Cawdor, is reviving memories of the bad old days thanks to a battle royal with his raven-haired stepmother Angelica, Lady Cawdor. The
problem: genetic engineering of course. Young Lord Colin started the fuss by unveiling a scheme to plant genetically modified
seeds on his estate near Inverness. You must be joking, was the response of Lady Cawdor, a passionate tartan Greenie. Reuters reports that controversial GM seeds caused an angry standoff between the 27th Thane and Lady Cawdor, with the green stepmother threatening to pull out of the family business if the planting went ahead. The decision was finally made to can the genetic project after the Cawdor farm manager's family received anonymous threats. "We have been astounded by the amount of intimidation and the levels to which people will stoop in order to prevent this important work from being carried out," said farm manager Steven Barclay. The intimidation has included threats against Barclay's two small children. Reuters says that a shadowy and hitherto unknown group calling itself Nairnshire Against GM is understood to be behind the campaign. For the time being, victory is sweet for Lady Cawdor, a long-time member of Friends of the Earth. "I am delighted that these trials are no longer going ahead, but I would be even more glad if there were no GM trials in the Highlands," she said. "They are a very wonderful place and we should do everything within our power to protect the area." Meanwhile, farm manager Barclay refuses to accept that the final act has been played out. "We won't be sowing this spring, but I hope to get things cleared up and be in a stronger position to carry out a trial in the future," he said. |
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