Then Lanworth knits in observations made at ground level by four pairs of people who travel the back roads of America taking notes on how far along crops are or how wet or dry the fields might be.

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There has been a lot of testing on crops as to what happens when certain pests or weeds get into fields or how new varieties perform with different management practices.

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In the fields, in the shadow of giant billboards giving motivational advice or productivity targets, women in headscarves bend over crops of maize, corn and rice.

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Mrs Justice Rafferty ruled that the public order laws cannot be used against campaigners who damage or destroy GM crops if there is nobody who might be intimidated by their activities present in the fields.

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