The October ministerial reshuffle of the UK government has sidelined two of the most vociferous supporters of genetically modified food. Jack Cunningham, the "Cabinet Enforcer" charged with the responsibility of aligning policy across the different government departments, has resigned and been replaced by Mo Mowlam, formerly the Northern Ireland secretary. Although Cunningham is a member of the Soil Association—the UK's organic farming umbrella—he had nevertheless held the government's supportive line that GM food was safe and that large-scale tests to assess environmental safety should continue unhindered. The other loss is Jeff Rooker, formerly the food minister at the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, who has now been transferred to the Department of Social Security. He was a staunch defender of science-based approaches to the regulation of GM foods.

One of Cunningham's last acts was to back a "peace plan" over the issue of GM food and crops. Monsanto, a number of environmental and consumer groups, and the Cabinet Office have agreed to enter a dialogue chaired by the Environmental Council, a charitable organization that aims to bring stakeholders in controversial green issues together. That dialogue is likely to be a slow process: preparatory meetings held in the last few weeks have done little more than pave the way for a bigger meeting in the spring.