The world of genetically modified foods - the subject of serious controversy in the West - evokes fears that technology is on a topsy-turvy track to ecological disaster.

Others, however, view the roller-coaster ride to be of the more ingenious, exciting variety: GM foods bring hope of purported boundless benefits to humankind. Last week, Agriculture Minister Ivari Padar announced Estonia will not be hopping on any genetically modified food-train, at least not any time in the foreseeable future, the Baltic News Service reported. Padar declared that he favors the traditional farming method, and he does not support production of genetically altered foods. But, he conceded, the possibility could not be ruled out that gene technology may at some point be used in Estonia to make agricultural production more efficient, said the report. Estonia has so far enacted two pieces of legislation covering GM foods: the Food Act, in force since January of this year, and the Act on GM Organisms Release into the Environment, passed last July. Applications to import genetically modified foods are handled by the Veterinary and Food Inspectorate and require final approval by the Ministry of Environment, said Kairi Ringo, head of the Agriculture Ministry_s Food Safety Board. So far, she said, no applications have been received. Hendrik Kuusk, head of the Veterinary and Food Inspectorate, characterized the regulations as rather strict, but said that certainly isn_t the reason there have not been applications to bring GM foods into Estonia. The demand is simply not there yet.