ABSTRACT
The use of genetic modification of our food has been around for centuries, since the
first crossings and selections by our own predecessors of the wild ancestors of our
agricultural animals and crops. With the developments in molecular sciences during the 1980s, our ability to genetically modify plants and animals took a giant leap forward. It
was now possible to move genetic material between organisms that were not sexually compatible and even between kingdoms, i.e. between animal, plant and bacteria. This
opened up a wide vista of opportunities for new and improved animal breeds and crop varieties. However, this technology, its utilisation and commercial-isation (over the past decade), although accepted in some parts of the world, has caused great concern and a polarisation of views within Europe and particularly the UK.
