Throughout the European Union, environmental elites have to scramble a bit to rationalize their anti-GMO stance while trying not to sound silly. That's not easy. How can modern GMOs be Frankenfood while the previous generation of genetically modified foods, made using less precise mutagenesis, are not only allowed but considered organic?

So they mumble about something about illegal and policies and the people have spoken. That is the crux of it - they created a legal definition to exempt the GMOs that already existed while still penalizing new ones and claiming that makes them healthier.

Scotland, on the other hand, is downright refreshing in its take on why they don't plan to allow GMOs:

(1) They say they haven't had anyone ask for them except the marketing companies behind genetically modified products and;

(2) They want to protect their ability to market Scottish food as 'clean and green'.

You have to like that. No weird framing of what science is and is not, no secret conspiracy where supposedly ethical researchers try to game the journal system to get stuff banned, just plain old marketing. I appreciate their honesty because marketing is what organic food is all about.

However, there is also a dose of reality that Scots may have to face if they try to engage in protectionism too much. Though they gave birth to Frankenfood hysteria, Brits have begun to see the scientific light. If Scotland tries to block British produce under vague claims about environmental fears, they may quickly realize they only get the prices they get because the British are subsidizing them. Then it is a mystery how long that 'clean and green image' will last.