24th Jul 2009
Studies on Genetically Engineered Foods
As you know, only organic certification guarantees that a pet food is free of genetically engineered (GE) (or ‘modified’) ingredients.
Scientific America’s latest issue just published an interesting article about independent studies on the safety and properties of GE crops.
Proponents of genetically engineered foods state that genetic modification of GE food crops 1. yields higher harvests which are required to feed more people (and livestock), 2. reduce pesticide use and tilling that erodes land, 3. will be superior to survive heat waves and droughts, and 4. are as safe as non-genetically engineered foods.
The problem is that none of these statements can be verified by an unbiased party.
If independent researchers want to work with GE seeds, for example to test for safety, growth requirements or resilience of crops, they need to sign a legally binding agreement “for proprietary reasons” that assures that no research results are published without the agritech company’s approval.
This means of course that any published research about these crops has been filtered by the companies which developed and sell these crops.
This may explain why there is so little negative data about these GE foods available to the public. Not good.
