International Environmental Law: Concerns and Legal Measures on Genetic Modification

INTERNATIONAL
ENVIRONMENTAL
LAW

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................2
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................2
What is technology of Genetic Modification:.............................................................................2
Health and Safety related aspects of GM organisms to Consumers and Environment:..............4
Ethical aspects of GM organisms:...............................................................................................5
Trade related aspects of GM organisms:.....................................................................................6
What is Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety:..................................................................................6
Legal measures adopted under the Cartagena Protocol by INDIA:............................................7
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................11

INTRODUCTION
New and emerging technologies on the international level pose different challenges like
Biotechnology. Genetic Modification has become famous in the recent time with more and more
countries making different and novel variety of organisms with this technology. This technique
of modifying genes started with experiments and eventually led to the successful implementation
of it in some sectors. It involves the process of modifying the DNA gene of an organism or the
insertion of a gene of one organism into another. In today's time, scientists are mostly working
towards making food with GMO technique(Abushal, 2021). This is thus largely governed under
the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety which provides in detail information and knowledge about
this technology. This project further will cover in detail about GM technology, the concern it
raises relating to the safety, ethical and trade related aspects of it to consumers and environment.
It shall also talk about the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety and legal measures within it.
MAIN BODY
What is technology of Genetic Modification:
With the increasing experiments of scientists in this field, there are still a lot of people
who are not aware about the GM food with animals and plants but its production on a large scale
is increasing its concern about its safety.
The technique of Gene Modification involves transfer and insertion of DNA between
different species for taking particular traits from each other. It was first found in the 1990s by the
United States when they created a GM crop. It can be done in plants, animals, food or different
organisms for the purpose of mixing genes in a laboratory and thus it successfully creates
organisms which are not naturally available in the environment (Cheng, 2018). Most of the
products consumed today on the day to day basis are genetically modified. In this process, the
new gene or DNA is inserted into the genome of the organism which is taken in the lab. All
living organisms have different characteristics which is usually determined by their hereditary
makeup and its role within the environment. The proteins in these genetic makeup give different
organisms their contrast characteristics.
For example a GM crop in which DNA is inserted into the plant's genome which gives it
a different character and then the seed it produces comes with the new desired variant. This is