Michelle Mulherin (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

A lot of issues that are of interest have been covered. I wish to address the issue of genetically modified foods. Obviously, such foods are available for purchase by consumers in developed countries. If I understood her correctly, Professor Doohan mentioned a grey area in the context of whether these foods are safe. What is her view? I understand that such foods are genetically modified so that they are resistant to pathogens, herbicides, and diseases and that farmers can be more assured as regards their crops.

Does that mean that genetically modified crops could be grown organically? That might sound like a contradiction but there would have to be less chemical interventions in farming the crop. A purple tomato that is said to be high in antioxidants and that will help people because it has anti-cancer properties and so on is about to be commercialised in Canada. Is that unsafe? There is a narrative that scientists are more convinced than consumers that GM food is safe but Professor Doohan said that it is a grey area so I would be interested to understand further issues regarding genetically modified crops and whether they are the future. There have been debates at the committee in regard to organic products and members know that from a commercial point of view there are people who will seek out such products, in particular those of a particular socio-economic background who will pay more for organic products, but could they be buying organic genetically modified foods? People get scared about the level of interference involved in genetically modified food but it is being produced in countries where consumer protection is and is not in place and those GM products seem to give a competitive edge to producers there. In view of climate change and because of environmental challenges, it being difficult to rely on food and crops in the way we could previously, are GM products the way forward?