- Lack of studies in regards to safety of GM foods
- Long-term effects near impossible to study
- GM crops persist in the environment, posing possible health risks in the future
Hasn't research shown GM foods to be safe?
No. While only a pitifully small number of animal feeding safety studies have been conducted, several showed evidence of problems.Rats fed an experimental GM potato developed potentially pre-cancerous cell growth, damaged immune systems, smaller brains, livers, and testicles, and partial atrophy of the liver. ...
Since no one is monitoring the human health impacts of GM foods, it might take years to discover most reactions.
In comparion to other food dangers (pesticides, radiation, preservatives, etc.):
Since so little research has been done on the safety of GM foods, it is not possible to rank its risks. Unlike the others, GM crops persist in the environment, and may continue to pose risks to health for centuries....
The biotech industry says that millions have been eating GM foods without ill effect. This is misleading. No one monitors human health impacts of GM foods. If the foods were creating health problems in the US population, it might take years or decades before we identified the cause.
Technology, Institute for Responsible. "Genetically Modified Foods Are Unsafe to Eat." Current Controversies: Genetic Engineering. Ed. James D. Torr. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2006. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale. West Seneca West Senior High School Lib. 19 May. 2010
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Main points:
- Genetic modification may result in undesired genetic alteration apart from target genes
- Few safety studies--one study describes many complications caused by genetic modification
- Human trial caused genetically-engineered genes to transfer to digestive tract bacteria
While scientists originally assumed that the inserted genes would only add a particular desired trait to the crop, new evidence suggests that the host's normal natural genes can get switched off, turned on permanently, damaged, or altered in the process.
...
Unfortunately, there have been very few safety studies. Of the 10 published animal feeding studies, the most in-depth one showed evidence of damaged immune systems, digestive problems, excessive cell growth, and stunted organ development in rats fed an experimental GMGM food on the market. potato. The scientist identified the process of genetic modification as the probable cause—the same process used in creating most GM foods on the market.
...
The only human feeding trial ever conducted confirmed that genetically engineered genes from soy burgers and a soy milkshake transferred to the bacteria inside the digestive tract after only one meal, making the bacteria resistant to herbicide.
Smith, Jeffrey. "Genetically Modified Foods Are Dangerous and Unneeded." Opposing Viewpoints: Global Resources. Ed. David M. Haugen. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2008. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale. West Seneca West Senior High School Lib. 19 May. 2010
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Environmental Hazards
Main points:
- Gene transfer to other species
- Development of resistance to pesticides, possibly rendering pesticides useless
Besides threatening monarchs and other wildlife, the crops could spread their engineered genes to nearby wild plants, critics warn. The same genes that allow engineered crops to fend off insect pests might transform wild plants into "super weeds" that could overrun the landscape.
...
Others warn that insect pests may quickly build resistance to crops engineered to produce natural pesticides. This may not only render the pesticides useless—it could touch off an agricultural arms race between insects and humans, in which scientists would constantly have to design new pesticides in order to stay ahead of insects' ability to adapt to them.
"The Promise and Perils of Plant Biotechnology." Today’s Science On File: n. pag. Today’s Science. Facts On File News Services, 31 July 1999. Web. 19 May 2010.
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