Any Baggage around Everything Genetically Modified!

Being a biotechnologist is fun when the discussion is just about lac operon, cosmid vectors, growing some organ in a lab or what it's like to be in tomorrow's business but not when I am asked why people are averse towards genetically modified food.

- Dr Elsa Lycias Joel

Genetic modification must be lauded because it saves lives. From therapies using monoclonal antibodies to an array of life-saving insulin products, the successes of somatostatin, insulin and human growth hormone and the concept of bugs as drugs', genetic modification dumbfounds the world. But when it's used to produce food, we hear an outcry. Three main concerns being the possible escape of an alien gene from GM plant into a wild population of a related species, the impact of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) on biodiversity and technologies that enslave farmers.

Even though the vast majority of the research on genetically modified (GM) crops suggests that they are safe to eat, many people appear to hold soft views about the health effects of GM foods. India has always been reluctant to bring GMOs in because we strongly believe GM plants are very likely to bring problems for the environment along with health problems for the population as a whole. Protests were also held outside the Environment Ministry in 2017 when initial approval was granted to allow the commercial introduction of India's first GM food crop, Dhara Mustard Hybrid-11, otherwise known as DMH - 11.

As the prevalence of GMOs continues to rise, we hunt for information concerning the safety of these products. Even scientists appear divided over the safety of GM foods. Not just fruits and vegetables, but also food grains, pulses, tea, spices and even oilseeds were on people's radar screens. A round green label or five-digit codes starting with an eight are causes for alarm. Decades of monitoring by countries and researchers around the world to address the suspicions surrounding the effects of GMOs on human health, environment, and our DNA have not slowed down people from returning to how things used to be-old fashioned way.