Consternations over Genetically Designed Products : A Recap

There has been a widespread concern in public regarding the hazards of Genetically Designed Food. The introduction of wonder products such as DDT & PCBs and their subsequent withdrawal after encounter with unforeseen problems has undermined public trust in companies that introduce products and in those government agencies which regulate them. There is also a widespread sense that social and technological change is speeding up and people feel powerless to affect this change. Apprehensions on an issue get magnified when the product is food that is being changed.

Though there is a broad scientific consensus that GE crops on the market are safe enough to eat, yet some scientists and advocacy groups such as Greenpeace and World Wildlife Fund have concerns that GM food may not be safe enough and that contemporary testing regimes are not adequate to ensure sufficient safety. The current communiqué put forth a construal of scientific confab on this international concern.