Excellent interview. The genetically modified foods controversy is a dispute over the use of foods and other goods derived from genetically modified crops instead of conventional crops, and other uses of genetic engineering in food production. The dispute involves consumers, biotechnology companies, governmental regulators, non-governmental organizations, and scientists. The key areas of controversy related to GMO food are whether such food should be labeled, the role of government regulators, the objectivity of scientific research and publication, the effect of genetically modified crops on health and the environment, the effect on pesticide resistance, the impact of such crops for farmers, and the role of the crops in feeding the world population. While there is concern among the public that eating genetically modified food may be harmful, there is broad scientific consensus that food on the market derived from these crops poses no greater risk to human health than conventional food. The safety assessment of genetically engineered food products by regulatory bodies starts with an evaluation of whether or not the food is substantially equivalent to non-genetically engineered counterparts that are already deemed fit for human consumption. No reports of ill effects have been documented in the human population from genetically modified food. Although labeling of genetically modified organism (GMO) products in the marketplace is required in many countries, it is not required in the United States or Canada and no distinction between marketed GMO and non-GMO foods is recognized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Advocacy groups such as Organic Consumers Association, the Union of Concerned Scientists, and Greenpeace say that risks of genetically modified food have not been adequately identified and managed, and they have questioned the objectivity of regulatory authorities. Opponents say that food derived from GMOs may be unsafe, and they propose it be banned, or at least labeled. They have expressed concerns about the objectivity of regulators and rigor of the regulatory process, about contamination of the non-genetically modified food supply, about effects of GMOs on the environment and nature, and about the consolidation of control of the food supply in companies that make and sell GMOs. In India, genetically modified cotton yields in Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu resulted in an average 42% increase in yield in 2002, the first year of commercial GMO cotton planting. There was, however, a severe drought in Andhra Pradesh that year, and the parental cotton plant used in the genetically engineered variant was not suited to extreme dryness, so the state saw no increase in yield. Drought-resistant variants were developed and, with the substantially reduced losses to insect predation, by 2011 88% of Indian cotton was genetically modified.[424] Though disputed, the economic and environmental benefits of genetically modified cotton in India to the individual farmer have been documented. A study from 2002 through 2008 on the economic impacts of Bt cotton in India, published in the journal PNAS in 2012, showed that Bt cotton increased yields, profits, and living standards of smallholder farmers. However, recently cotton bollworm has been developing resistance to Bt cotton. Consequently, in 2012 the state of Maharashtra banned Bt cotton and ordered a socio-economic study of its use by independent institutes. Indian regulators cleared the Bt brinjal, a genetically modified eggplant, for commercialisation in October 2009. After opposition by some scientists, farmers and environmental groups, a moratorium was imposed on its release in February 2010 for as long as it is needed to establish public trust and confidence. On 1 January 2013, a law came into effect that required all packaged foods containing any genetically modified organisms to be labeled as such. The Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011 states that every package containing the genetically modified food shall bear at the top of its principal display panel the letters GM. The rules apply to 19 products including biscuits, breads, cereals and pulses, and a few others. The law faced criticism from consumer rights activists as well as from the packaged-food industry; both sides had major concerns that no logistical framework or regulations had been established to guide implementation and enforcement of the law(Source: Wikipedia) Dr.A.Jagadeesh Nellore(AP),India.
Posted on: Thu, 20 Mar 2014 15:07:15 +0000
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