Genetically engineered food is an issue close to the stomachs of green groups in Europe - so close that they have taken to razing test crops and picketing firms producing them.
In the latest protest, groups pressing the European Union to ban such farming claim genes from poisonous scorpions could be introduced into crops to protect them from insects.
Pressure is building for a freeze on the commercial cultivation of genetically engineered plants after widespread protests across Europe.
Big agricultural firms have been pushing to introduce new crops into European farms once they have been successfully grown in the United States. Genetically manipulated soya beans from the US are already being used to make foods from ice cream to pasta, which are being sold in European stores.
Consumer pressure has lead the EU to introduce rules requiring foods to be clearly labelled if they contain genetically manipulated crops.
But green groups want a ban on the cultivation of these crops in Europe until more is known about the impact they might have on the environment.
A spokesman for Greenpeace in Amsterdam warned the new plants could cross-pollinate and produce 'monster weeds' which might be immune to any known insecticide.