Genetically Modified Food

Source: USA Today and National Geographic, 17 May 2016

Link: Academies of Science finds GMOs Not Harmful to Human Health

Scientists Say GMO Foods are Safe, Public Skepticism Remains

Summary: “Genetically engineered crops are safe for humans and animals to eat and have not caused increases in cancer, obesity, gastrointestinal illnesses, kidney disease, autism or allergies, an exhaustive report from the National Academies of Science released Tuesday found” after reviewing hundreds of previous research studies on the topic.

Statistics:

• Two years in the making, the report reviewed more than 900 previous studies which covered 20 years.
• Genetically modified crops were introduced in 1996.
• “There are only 12 genetically modified (GM) crops grown commercially grown worldwide.”
• “The vast majority of GM acreage is concentrated in cotton, soybeans, corn, sugar beets and canola.”
• “In 2015, 99% of sugar beets, 94% of soybeans, 94% of cotton and 92% of feed corn grown in the United States were genetically engineered to either be herbicide or pest resistant, or in some cases both.”
• Globally, 12% of all cropland is planted with genetically engineered plants.
• “57% of Americans were concerned that genetically modified foods posed a health hazard.”
• “Total U.S. sales of food and beverage products labeled “non-GMO” reached $10 billion during 2014.”
• “Overall, genetically engineered (GE) crops saved farmers in the United States money but didn’t appear to increase crop yields. They have lowered pest populations in some areas, especially in the Midwest but increased the number of herbicide-resistant weeds in others. There’s also no evidence that GE crops have affected the population of monarch butterflies.”
• “To gauge whether foods made from genetically modified crops were safe for human consumption, the committee compared disease reports from the United States and Canada, where such crops have been consumed since the mid-1990s, and those in the United Kingdom and western Europe, where they are not widely eaten. No long-term pattern of increase in specific health problems after the introduction of GE foods in the 1990s in the United States and Canada was found. There was no correlation between obesity or Type II diabetes and the consumption of GE foods. Celiac disease, which makes humans intolerant of gluten, increased in both populations. Patterns in the increase in autism spectrum disorder in children were similar in both the United Kingdom and the United States.”
• “The report found no adverse affects on biodiversity or danger from interbreeding between GE crops and wild relatives.”