Understanding genetically-modified food

FOOD is one of the basic needs for survival and good health. As such, any debate on food is bound to attract interest.
For a Muslim, any discourse on food is considered important. This is because Muslims stress on the importance of the permissibility of the food to be consumed. In other words, the food must be halal. In truth, Islam outlines two important criteria in choosing the types of food. The first is of course the most well-known, that is, it must be halal or lawful. The other criterion, equally important but ironically not given much attention by many, is tayyib or good quality.
In short, food consumed must meet the criteria of halalan tayyiban (lawful and good).
Many Muslims are sensitive to the halal requirement. As such, we find that this criterion plays a very important role in choosing the types of food to be consumed by Muslims. In Malaysia, problems pertaining to halal food are not apparent as we have a regulatory framework to oversee issues pertaining to halal and haram.
Sadly though, not many give due attention to the tayyib requirement as stated in the Quran. Some foods may be halal, but it may not be good for consumption.
A good example of this is junk food. The contents of junk food may be halal, but from the health perspective, it is not good for consumption. Therefore from the Islamic perspective, the food should not be consumed by Muslims as it does not meet the criteria of halalan tayyiban. Both criteria, halal and tayyib, must be addressed. These days, food-related issues are many, but the one that has been given the most spotlight is genetically-modified food or GM food, for short. GM food has become a polemic among many quarters, particularly between those in favour and those against the production of GM food.
When we say GM food, we mean types of food that have been altered genetically through genetic engineering. In many cases, genetic manipulation involves the insertion of a foreign gene into a different species. Most GM food are plants, because it is much easier to manipulate plant genes as compared to animal genes. Nonetheless, foreign genes inserted into plants may originate from either plants or animals. Food plants as gene donors may not be controversial, but problems arise when DNA from animals is used to manipulate genes of crops.

More：http://www.ikim.gov.my/index.php/en/new-strait-times/6870-understanding-genetically-modified-food