GMO DANGERS SUBSTANTIATED
GMO proponents’ cavalier attitude toward
safety has caused great concern among
environmental groups and the general
public. Now the respected US National
Academy of Sciences (NAS) has substantiated
this concern. Their April 2000 report on
biotech foods proposes safety testing to
address GMO risks that range from new
allergens to lost nutritional value.
Health, the environment and agriculture
could all face risks from GMOs, according
to the report.
Health Concerns
GMO foods may introduce new allergens into
foods, according to the NAS. People with
allergies might unwittingly expose
themselves to allergens when they eat foods
that contain new or foreign proteins
introduced by genetic engineering. A second
human health concern is toxicity. GM foods
might contain completely new toxins, or
higher levels of existing toxins. Genetic
modifications may also move toxins to new
locations, for example into the part of a
plant that is eaten.
Genetic manipulation makes the presence
of allergens and toxins very hard to
predict due to an effect called pleiotropy,
which refers to a multiple effect arising
from single genes. For example, a new gene
that causes a tomato to ripen early may
also produce an allergen that never existed
before. There is currently no adequate way
to test for these "difficult to predict"
but serious, even life-threatening effects,
the NAS states, emphasizing that new tests
are needed.
Still another GMO health concern is less
deadly, but of broad concern: genetic
modifications might reduce foods'
nutritional content, the NAS warns.
Environment and Agriculture
GMOs also have serious implications for
the health of the environment and
agriculture. Some GM crops contain genes
that code for pesticides. However, these
toxins might kill organisms beside the
target pest. "Nontarget effects are often
unknown or difficult to predict," states
the NAS. The target pests' own predators or
parasites could be killed, and the loss of
these natural enemies could cause the
original pest to proliferate. Other kinds
of beneficial insects might also be wiped
out.
In addition to engineered pesticides,
new and unpredictable compounds in GM
plants could also have serious implications
for biodiversity and food chains. Insects
and other animals may be adversely
affected. Predicting the effect of new gene
products on thousands of different animal
species is an impossible task.
Soil and the organisms it harbours are
also at risk, says the NAS. New compounds
in GM plants could alter the chemistry of
soils when their leaves or other plant
parts fall onto the earth and decay. This
might even make the soil harmful to
organisms living in it.
Another alarming and unavoidable outcome
of GM crops is gene flow.
"
Total
containment of crop genes is not considered
to be feasible when seeds are distributed
and grown on a commercial scale," states
the NAS. This means that genes from GM
crops will escape and enter wild species,
possibly harming human health and the
environment.
The language of the NAS may be reserved,
for example referring to risks as
"uncertainties" and the lack of vital
research as "minimal data sets", but the
report drives home the same points that
have caused so much public concern. GM
products are unpredictable, largely
untested or un-testable, and impossible to
contain.
Janice Wormworth
, FoEI
Source: Rachel's Environment &
Health Weekly, #696, 11 May 2000.
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