The Dangers posed by GMOs

GM Crops & Food, 2014

The global regulation of products of biotechnology is increasingly divided. Regulatory decisions for genetically modified (GM) crops in North America are predictable and efficient, with numerous countries in Latin and South America, Australia and Asia following this lead. While it might have been possible to argue that Europe's regulations were at one time based on real concerns about minimizing risks and ensuring health and safety, it is increasingly apparent that the entire European Union (EU) regulatory system for GM crops and foods is now driven by political agendas. Countries within the EU are at odds with each other as some have commercial production of GM crops, while others refuse to even develop regulations that could provide for the commercial release of GM crops. This divide in regulatory decision-making is affecting international grain trade, creating challenges for feeding an increasing global population.

Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv, 2001

Trends in Food Science & Technology, 2008

All over the world, authorities responsible for the assessment and surveillance of foods and feeds derived using gene technology and the environmental impacts of genetically modified organisms (GMO) have chosen specific strategies to assess their safety. Although different regulatory frameworks are in place, almost all adopted risk assessment strategies are based on a common set of principles and guidelines. Here we provide some examples of these strategies and we compare them to highlight areas where an international consensus exists. Our hope is that even if limited, this short review can represent a first step towards the recognition of an international consensus and a broader dialog on GMOs regulation worldwide.

Agrofor International Journal, 2019

Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) have been contentious for more than three decades. Only 24 countries grow GMOs commercially. Four countries (USA, Canada, Brazil and Argentina) account for 85% of the global GMO hectares. Four crops (soy, corn, cotton and canola) account for 99% of GM hectares. Despite the veneer of social validity that regulators cast, the GMO sector has failed to gain a social licence. Where GM labelling is required, food manufacturers avoid GM ingredients. GMOs have failed to gain price parity with their non-GM counterparts, and they attract price penalties. Segregation of GMOs and non-GMOs has failed (with a tolerance of 0.9% GM contamination in so-called non-GM canola). GM has failed the coexistence test with a GMO growers contaminating neighbouring farms. GMOs are a biosecurity fail, with test plots of GM canola planted in the late 1990s still monitored two decades later for rogue canola plants. Most GMO crops are glyphosate dependent. Glyphosate is globally subject to massive litigation claims and awards, and is implicated in the causation of multiple cancers. Mechanisms for compensating farms contaminated by GMOs are lacking. The GMO industry has taken no responsibility for contaminations. GMOs are a threat to the organic sector and the maintenance of certification and price premiums. Most countries (88%) do not grow GMO crops. This paper considers the global experience of GMOs and the Australian experience as a microcosm of the global experience and as a case study.

GMO contamination around the world, 2001

EMBO reports, 2008

2007

Agriculture and Forestry, 2019

Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) is a topic of intense debate across the globe since they are widely used in several commercial products and the GMO industry counts for billions of US dollars. Genetically modified crops can assist to mitigate problems in commercial agriculture with proven case studies in Indian cotton and Australian canola [1]. The success of the GMO industry has been impeded by negative information concerning health and environmental risks. The aim of the paper is to assess the current research (from 2010-2019) on the health risk of GMOs (with a special emphasis on genetically modified plants). EBSCOhost (including Medline) and ScienceDirect databases were used for review of the literature. The paper concludes that research on GMO health risk is still lacking in sound methodology, complexity, continuity, objectivity and remains inconclusive.

The Global Food System: Issues and Solutions, W. Schanbacher, ed. , 2014

2003