Just before Christmas last year we heard the sad news that the eminent scientist Dr Arpad Pusztai had passed away. Dr Pusztai and his experimental work had, more than any other factor, woken up the world to the dangers of GM foods.

To mark Dr Pusztai’s passing, GMWatch published some extracts from the definitive account of what happened to him after he revealed his results on British television. But now, we are delighted to say, we have been given exclusive permission to publish the full account.

The extraordinary drama that unfolded is described by the author and investigative journalist Andy Rowell in two carefully referenced chapters of his book, Don’t Worry, It’s Safe to Eat. And nobody was better placed to tell that story. That’s because the most revealing and explosive reporting on the Pusztai affair, which helped it to make headlines around the world, was done by three journalists, one of whom was Andy Rowell.

The reporters who first broke the news of Dr Pusztai’s research – in an August 1998 World in Action report on British television – were two investigative journalist colleagues of Andy Rowell’s, Michael Gillard and Laurie Flynn. Flynn and Gillard’s exposé of Pusztai’s experimental findings, as well as how poorly GM foods were being regulated, caused an immediate media sensation. In its aftermath, a savage backlash quickly got underway, aimed at silencing Dr Pusztai and destroying his career as well as his public reputation.