Biosafety Issues and the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC)

Genetic engineering makes it possible to introduce a new trait into an organism far more quickly, and in a far more targeted way, than any traditional breeding method could achieve -- but this same power raises genuine questions about the safety of releasing genetically modified organisms into the environment, into the food supply, or into the human body, questions that fall under the broad heading of biosafety.

Concerns commonly raised about GMOs include whether a genetically modified crop might have unintended harmful effects on human or animal health if consumed (for example, whether the introduced protein could act as an unexpected allergen), whether the modified organism could have negative effects on the surrounding ecosystem (for instance, harming non-target beneficial insects, or the introduced gene 'escaping' into wild relatives of the crop through cross-pollination), and, more broadly, whether adequate long-term studies have been carried out before a novel GMO is approved for widespread environmental release or as a food product. Because of these legitimate concerns, most countries, including India, have established a formal regulatory process that any new GMO must pass through before it can be researched extensively, field-tested, or released commercially. …