Its work must be fully open to public scrutiny and involve a much greater degree of public participation than is presen tly the case. Commercial confidentiality in the private sector was also seen as a barrier to public accountability. Genetically Modified Food and Risk Many people object to the genetic modification of food, for religious or other deep-seated reasons, or due to doubts over its safety, which it would be wrong merely to dismiss. UK and EU regulations show serious flaws in this respect. There is little empirical evidence that genetically modified organisms are causing serious problems in the environment.
First signs suggest that some developments can lead to less chemical input on the land.
But in this still young technology it would be irresponsible to relax the precautionary principle too far. As more are releases take place, increasingly complex ecological relationships are set up, which may prove difficult to analyse. A balance needs to be struck between a due concern for possible da ngers which in hindsight were obvious, and an aversion to risk that demands minimising every conceivable hazard, no matter how tiny the probability. It seems appropriate at present to concentrate on applications that are restricted in scale, and which conf er strong human or ecological benefits. The study challenges the ethical claim is that genetic engineering offers the only serious hope for addressing future world food needs.