Rice, now with human liver
In the first modification of its kind, Japanese researchers have inserted a gene from the human liver into rice to enable it to digest pesticides and industrial chemicals. The gene makes an enzyme, code-named CPY2B6, which is particularly good at breaking down harmful chemicals in the body. Environmentalists say that no one will want to eat the partially human-derived food because it will smack of cannibalism. But supporters say that the controversial new departure presents no ethical problems and could bring environmental benefits. This continues the heated debate over Frankenfood, a term applied to the use of genetically modified organisms in food production, common in the US but largely frowned upon in Europe.
Frankenstein Foods: GM Industry Puts Human Gene into Rice, GNN.tv