Soybean oil processed from biotech (transgenic) soybeans does not contain either protein or DNA and thus is free of genes that may have been introduced via biotechnology methods because neither DNA nor protein is found in refined oil declared by the UK Food Safety Agency (FSA).This fact has lead the United Kingdom to exempt oil from transgenic crops as being labeled that they contain genetically modified ingredients. The same scientific principal of substantial equivalence (as recommended by World Health Organization) of biotech soybean oil to conventional soybean oil has been adopted by the government of Japan.According to the UK regulations, the requirements of the current labeling rules are triggered by the presence of novel DNA or protein in the final food. This approach to the labeling of GM foods was agreed to unanimously by European Union (EU) member states and endorsed by the European Parliament. Products such as extracted oil obtained from GM crops (like Bt Canola oilseed, Bt Cotton oilseed, Bt maize etc) but which do not themselves contain novel DNA or protein does not have to be labeled, as they are indistinguishable from those obtained from conventional crops.The use of modern biotechnology to create genetically modified organisms (GMOs) through agricultural research has generated exuberance by those looking forward to a new 'green revolution'. Although it is still challenging for certain species such as wheat, many crops can be routinely genetically modified.During the early to mid-1990s, the research translated into commercial reality, and transgeniccrops such as tomatoes, soya and cotton were available in several countries. Outside research, commercial and regulatory circles, the productionand consumption of transgenic crops attracted little interest and relatively limited controversy until 1997. However, between 1997 and 1999, the issue rose to prominence in the popular media, and to a key issue of social debate in Europe, Australia and many other parts of the world.Central to the debate on genetically modified foods is the safety of genetically modified crops and their potential environmental effects, and whether mankind, especially developing countries, can secure the benefits of genetically modified crops while most effectively avoiding any risks they may present. The major issues raised by those opposed to genetically modified crops are undetected effects on human health, a myriad of potential environmental effects and a less definable sense that genetically modified crops are unnatural.Issues that follow are labeling of genetically modified foods (whether to label, which genetically modified products to label and whether such labeling should be voluntary or compulsory), and whether labeling should be backed up by testing.Genetic engineering or modification of crops or modification can most simply be defined as the transfer of genetic material from a different species (plant, bacterial or animal) or from a chemically synthesized gene into a target plant. The first successful genetic engineering of a plant was reported in 1983. Broad-leafed plants such as tobacco and tomato were easiest to transform, and reliable transformation of cereals such as riceand maize were not reported until the late 1980s. Reliable transformation of barley and wheat only commenced in the mid- 1990s.Genes (as parts of chromosomes rather than individual genes) have been spontaneously transferred from grasses such as Agropyron into wheat and the derived varieties used for human food with no controversy. Other techniques such as use of plant tissue culture, induced mutations, doubled haploids and F1 hybrids also involve interference with natural breeding but have not raised controversy.The distinguishing feature of genetically modified plants is the targeting of the genes to be used and the fact that the target gene is not restricted to being in the same species. Indeed, the potential to be able to use human or animal genes in plants was earlier utilized by scientists as an example of the potential of the technology. However, it is likelythat use of these examples had negative impact onpublic perceptions of genetic engineering. The balance of genetically modified crops that are grown on a commercial basis has changed significantly in the last 3 years, with soybean and maize now dominating, in the mid-1990s major crops were cotton, tobacco and tomato.Soybean (Glycine max) is grown as a commercial crop in over 80 countries with a combined harvest of 162 million metric tones. The major producers of soybeans in 2000 were the United States, Brazil, China, Argentina, India, Canada and Paraguay. Soybean is grown primarily for its seed, which hasmany uses in the food and industrial sectors, and represents one of the major sources of edible vegetable oil and of proteins for livestock feed use.A major food use of soybean in North America andEurope is as purified oil, used in margarines, shortenings, and cooking and salad oils. It is also a major ingredient in food products such as tofu, soy sauce, simulated milk, meat products, and is a minor ingredient in many processed foods. Soybean meal is used as a supplement in feed rations for livestock.Currently there are four Biotech soybean seeds, which are been successfully cultivated in the world, but the pioneer of them is Soybean variety GTS 40-3-2 produced by Monsanto Company. Biotech soybeans were planted in 1996 on less than 5% of the United States soybean acres. In the 2000 growing season, 54% of the soybeans - approximately 40 million acres of the 75.4 millionacres of the soybeans grown in the United States. In Argentina, where the adoption rate is estimated at 95%, glyphosate tolerant soybeans were grown on over 20 million acres in 2000. Globally, glyphosate tolerant soybeans made up 58% of all transgenic crops grown in 2000. The United States Department of Agriculture reported that glyphosate tolerant soybeans were planted on approximately 68% of the soybean acres in the United States in 2001.Weeds are a major production problem in soybean cultivation. The biotech soybean line GTS40-3-2 was developed to allow for the use of glyphosate, the active ingredient in the herbicide Roundup®, as a weed control option. Biotech soybean has been tested in field trials in the UnitedStates, Central and South America, Europe, Central Europe and Canada since 1991. Data collected from over 150 field trials conducted over a three-year period prior to commercialization in the United States demonstrated that biotech soybean did not differ significantly from conventional soybeans in morphology, seed production (yield), agronomic characteristics (such as time to flowering and pod set, or vigor) and tendency to weediness. It did not negatively affect beneficial ornon-target organisms, and was not expected to impact on threatened or endangered species.A Genetically Modified Organism can be distinguished from a non-GMO by the fact that it contains either unique novel deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) sequences and/or unique novel proteins not present in its conventional counterpart. In Pakistan there is facilities available to test GMO, the two well acceptable methods are, the Polymers chain reaction (PCR) and ELISA tests.Conclusion:Despite the fact that Pakistan is overwhelmingly an agrarian economy, it is unable to produce edible oil sufficient for domestic requirements andsubstantial amount of foreign exchange is spent on the import of soybeans, canola and palm oil. Our total requirement of edible oil is estimated at 1.65 million tons against the domestic productionof various types of edible oil is around 600,000 tons annually and, therefore, the shortfall of about 900,000 tons is met through imports of soybean oil.In order to save an average outflow of foreign exchange of about $800 million on account of import of edible oil, there is a strong need to accelerate efforts in the agriculture sector to steadily increase the local production of oil seeds. Keeping in mind the oil content in biotech crops seeds and non biotech crops seeds are similar in nature and there would be no DNA or protein of any gene which meant to be use on b
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