John Spink is head of crop research at Teagasc, the Irish food development authority that has applied for the licence. ”We need to do this trial in Ireland because our environment is different from other parts of the EU,” Mr Spink told BBC News. ”It's not about commercialising GM potatoes. We're looking at impacts on the environment and on the pathogen itself.” But campaigners believe that the trial is risking Ireland's reputation as a green, clean food-producing island. The Organic Trust in Dublin says that this approval has ”grave ramifications for Irish food and farming”.