There has since been a recommendation for companies to stop using these marker genes. It was agreed at a recent convention on biological diversity, an offshoot of the Rio Earth Summit, that GM foods should be labelled, but there would be a two-year delay to allow all the technical issues to be ironed out. So all this takes a bit of intellectual sorting out. However, it could hurt vegetarian and Muslim communities if they take genetically-modified foods that have DNA from animal sources. In order to avoid unnecessary fears among consumers, it is better to label GM foods so that people can make their own choices.
Consumers have a right to know what they are eating.
Because of the uncertainty, my company has decided to use soya beans that have not been modified genetically. Those beans are commonly used in Japan. In terms of cost, it is a problem because this variety of soya bean is 30 per cent more expensive than the normal grade of soya bean. Our technology eliminates or greatly reduces the use of insecticides. It also reduces the cost of producing food and, in many cases, increases yields, so the farmers' incomes increase.