ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to bring the debates about genetically modified (GM) food into the social and criminological arena. It discusses the findings of the world's first Royal Commission on Genetic Modification conducted in New Zealand and reveals that there are potential social, ecological and economic risks created by genetically modified foods that require closer criminological scrutiny. The Commission examined the findings of international research that pointed to the possibility of DNA transfer from a genetically engineered organism to a human chromosome through food digestion. The Commission also examined a range of issues relating to the environment, including invasiveness of genetically modified organisms or xenotransplantation on other living matter, more commonly referred to as genetic pollution. The commission concluded that GM technologies were both risky and yet provided great potential for nutritional and price benefits to consumers. The development of GM foods is a rapidly expanding industry where new issues and conflicts emerge almost on a daily basis.
