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cannot breed in nature. Thus genes from humans have been put into mice, from fish into tomatoes and from bacteria into cotton producing transgenic organisms.

Till date, GM technology has been most successfully applied to the field of agriculture, giving rise to what are called GM crops or transgenic crops. Some people are concerned that inserted DNA from an engineered crop variety could escape and transfer into another plant, effectively generating ‘super weeds’. A loss of biodiversity would potentially occur where the ‘super weed’ out competes other species or varieties of plants, subsequently affecting other organisms in the local ecosystem.

A further consumer concern is that GM food may result in the formation of new toxins and allergens. There is some concern that GM food may have an unpredictable effect on human health. Allergic reactions occur when the immune system interprets something as foreign, different and offensive, and reacts accordingly. All GM foods, by definition, have something foreign and different. Several studies show they provoke reactions.

GM soy also produces an unpredicted side effect in the pancreas of mice—production of digestive enzymes is dramatically reduced. If fewer enzymes cause food proteins to breakdown more slowly, there is more time for allergic reactions to take place. Thus, digestive problems from GM soy might promote allergic reactions to a wide range of proteins, not just to soy.

Last fortnight, the ministry of environment’s Genetic Engineering Approval committee (GEAC) decided to test corn chips sold by Pepsico for any GM ingredient. As on date, GEAC has only allowed refined soya oil, derived from GM soya for import. No food product with GM ingredients for sale in the country is allowed.

Genetically modified foods are food products whose genetic content has been changed by use of recombinant DNA technology. This genetic change is made so as to give the food crop or food product certain defined, definite characteristics such as increased yield, pest resistance, attractive colour, enhanced taste, increased shelf life, increased nutritional content, etc, says KC Bansal, principal scientist at National Research Centre on Plant Biotechnology. “So far, only GM cotton is approved for commercial cultivation in India. While research is in top gear on other plant varieties, biosafety studies prior to the approval of a new GM plant event are a must here. These are usually followed by a monitoring programme to detect environmental impacts,” he adds.