Biotech
Primer

Genetically modified organisms may not be released into the environment without approval. In the UK, the environmental aspects of new foods are regulated through an EU directive. Initial laboratory work is controlled by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) who consult the Advisory Committee on Genetic Modification (ACGM). Advice on the development of these crops is given to the government by a scientific committee, the Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment (ACRE).

Many hundreds of field trials have been approved in the UK. Before approval for these trials can be given, a strict environmental risk assessment must be carried out under the auspices the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), and approval has to be given by the Secretary of State. Approval to grow the crops commercially will not be given until the trials have been completed and the regulators are satisfied.

In other parts of the world, such as Canada and the USA, genetically modified crops are now grown extensively after the regulatory authorities there concluded that there was no threat to the environment. Many thousands of field trials with genetically modified crops have taken place worldwide since 1987 and by 2001 commercially grown plants covered an area in excess of 100 million Acres.(www.isaaa.org)