Ever since the first genetically-engineered (GMO) crop was introduced in 1996, nay-sayers and fear-mongers have busied themselves trying to convince the public that foods produced by such means are, if not deadly, at least bound to have negative health effects. Even though no science supports their position, these folks have forged ahead, and unfortunately have made some headway. Thus we have seen even famine-afflicted countries refuse foods produced by genetic engineering, activists destroying test fields of golden rice, and a consumer right-to-know movement that demands labeling of all GMO-containing foods.
In spite of these occurrences, scientists have not abandoned their efforts to present the facts about GMOs. A review of relevant literature, performed by Dr. Alessandro Nicolia of the University of Perugio in Perugio, Italy and colleagues provides extensive reassurance of the safety of these organisms. The authors reviewed the scientific literature on GE crop safety published between 2002 and 2012 1783 scientific records in all, published in the journal Critical Reviews in Biotechnology. They divided the review by types of topics, including general literature, interaction of GE crops with the environment, and interaction with humans and animals (GE food and feed).
The result of their review was that The scientific research conducted so far has not detected any significant hazards directly connected with the use of GE crops.
We are not at all surprised at this conclusion, commented ACSH s Dr. Ruth Kava. As we have emphasized in our several recent publications on genetically engineered foods, the process is safe, and may provide the only means to feed an ever-expanding world population.