Genetically modified food
The issue of genetic engineering has always been a very controversial one. The cloning of "Dolly" the sheep was hailed as a revolutionary breakthrough by scientists while many groups were sceptical about its repercussions. Only recently however has the topic of genetically creating and modifying foods come to public attention. Despite the relative youth of the issue, it has caused much debate among various groups worldwide. As of now, there is no legislation in Australia prohibiting the selling of genetically modified or produced food. This is greatly due to the numerous and varied arguments in favour of and against genetically modifying foods. There is however legislation pertaining to GM foods by way of the Food Standards Code. The Australia New Zealand Food Authority (ANZFA) completed in 1998 its assessment of the proposal to establish a standard to regulate food produced using gene technology. ANZFA recommended to the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Council (ANZFSC) that it adopt the standard into the Food Standards Code. In Australia, the standard (Standard A18) was gazetted as Amendment #40 to the Food Standards Code published on the 13th of August 1998. This standard made it illegal to sell any food
The standard prescribes mandatory labelling for foods that contain new and altered genetic material and which are not substantially equivalent to their conventional counterparts in a characteristic or property of the food. Where the standard specifies that a food produced using gene technology must be labelled, the label must indicate the biological origin and nature of the characteristic modified. This last regulation has proved to be very controversial in Australia as much debate still surrounds the issue of the mandatory labelling of GM foods. What is probably closer to the truth is that genetic modification will produce some good results and some that are disturbing or of inconclusive benefit before there is agreement on what is aesthetically acceptable, environmentally responsible and ethically permissible in the application of this type of biotechnology. One thing is for sure; knowledge, once learnt, can never be unlearnt. Once the technology has been harnessed, a whole new argument about control, providing safeguards and responsibility begins. Although labelling is one way to exercise control, provide safeguards and encourage responsibility, it alone obviously does not solve all problems associated with GM foods. Ultimately a balance must be struck not only between academic freedom, commercial interest and the wellbeing of consumers, but also between human knowledge and human wisdom. ANZFA had several reasons for recommending the standard. The main reason was that it felt that the then regulatory framework was inadequate to ensure that foods produced using gene technology underwent a safety assessment before they were released onto the market. The standard also establishes a mechanism whereby consumers can be confident that the safety of foods produced using gene technolog
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1214
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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