After much debate, in late 1996 the European Commission decided to allow the corn to be sold in Europe. The role of big business It is expensive to develop the potential that gene technology offers and it requires a long-term financial commitment to research. While large and well-funded corporations are able to provide this amount of money, there is some concern that the results of this research will not be readily accessible to small companies or developing countries. Some people are also concerned about placing responsibility for the world's food supply into the hands of a few large companies. Tampering with nature Critics of gene technology suspect that we still know too little about the systems that we are tampering with.
Most researchers argue that there is no evidence of such unexpected changes.
They point out that gene technology is much less likely to have unwanted effects on a plant than traditional selective breeding methods. These traditional methods, which have been carried out for thousands of years, involve the movement of thousands of genes from one organism to another. Modern gene technology, on the other hand, moves only a few targeted genes. In Australia there is public debate on the use of genetically modified organisms. Other bodies are involved in decisions about genetically modified organisms.