Genetically Modified Crops Are Safe

Genetically modified crops (GMOs) have been produced for the past 11 years.Yet we still have the anti-GM lobby claiming, without any substantiated medical or scientific evidence, that GM crops:

• Pose a health risk to man and beast.
• Threaten the environment.
• Will cross-pollinate with non-GM varieties.

As far as health risks and the safety of GM food are concerned, after 11 years on the market, there is no medical or scientific evidence available anywhere in the world to prove any adverse effects of GM food/crops on humans, animals or the environment.

The most recent study from leading scientists of the Swiss Expert Committee for Biosafety (SCEB) reports: "The safety of GM crops is generally assessed more intensely than that of conventionally bred crops. In addition to the selection process performed during classical breeding, a thorough pre-market risk assessment of potential unwanted effects of the GM crop on the environment is a prerequisite to obtain permission to market any GM crop variety."

The Royal Society of London, one of the world’s leading and most respected academies of science, says: "There is no potential harm from GM technology."

This report was endorsed by eight of the world's leading academies of science.

The European Union Commission funded 81 scientific research projects on GMOs over a period of 15 years and came to the conclusion: "GM food is both safe for humans and the environment."

The French Academy of Science concurs. After intensive research it came out in support of GMOs: "There is no evidence to date showing that GMOs pose potential health or environmental risks."

France’s Academy Medicine says: "There is no evidence that GMOs pose a risk to humans."

As the old saying goes: The proof of the pudding is in the eating. In 2005 some 8.5 million farmers in 21 countries on all six continents planted 90-million hectares of GM crops, up 11 percent over the previous year.

As far as cross-pollination is concerned, plants can only cross-pollinate with plants of the same species. Maize cannot cross-pollinate with Soya or cotton plants, or vice versa.

As far as maize is concerned, farmers have learned long before the advent of GM crops to plant neighbouring yellow and white maize at least 100 meters apart to avoid the two varieties cross-pollinating. If this management discipline is maintained, no cross-pollination can occur.

Benefits of GM foods include:

• Higher crop yields to feed a hungry world
• Higher profits because GM foods need fewer herbicides and insecticides
• Longer shelf life
• The ability to withstand wider fluctuations in climate