uch less a person. The principle objections to GM crops and the food products made from them concern possible harm to human health, damage to the environment and unease about the unnatural status of the technology. Many members of the UK public also object to what they perceive as an imposition of a new and uncertain technology, which in the case of GM soya, does not offer them obvious benefits. Where GM food has been such as cheaper or better-flavored consumers have been more willing to purchase it. Concerns over human health have arisen on several counts. The fact that GM crops can bring together new gene combination, which cannot found in nature, has led to unease about possible effects on health over the longer term. The use of antibiotic-resistance genes in plant genetic modification has focused attention onto the possible risk of increasing human resistance to antibiotics through the food chain. The possibility of increasing and unpredictable exposure to allergens through new gene combinations has also been raised. Environmental concerns have focused on the fear that GM herbicide-tolerant crops might encourage farmers to use more broad spectrum herbicides with a negative impact on insect and bird life. Genes conferring herbicide tolerance might also migrate from crop plants to their wild relatives resulting in herbicide-tolerant weeds. There are also fears about damage to non-target species by insect-resistant crops and the inadvertent creation of new viruses. How much of a risk GM crops are to the environment is difficult to judge at this stage. They might damage it in some circumstances and enhance it in others. Obviously, GM crops should be marketed only when they meet appropriate safety and environmental standards. Although they offer the prospect of significant improvements in human welfare, there are risks that need to be guarded against. GM plant technology is at an early stage of development. So far, the gene...
