Safety Track Record and Benefits
Safety Affirmed by the Experts
Regulatory authorities around the world have reviewed the commercial use of biotech crops according to well-established, internationally-accepted standards of risk assessment and have determined that biotech crops pose no more risk than crops produced through traditional crop breeding methods.
- The risk assessment approach has been affirmed by the United Nations
Codex
Commission.
- Numerous international organizations have endorsed the health and environmental safety of
biotech crops, including the Royal Society (UK), National Academy of Sciences (USA), the
World Health Organization (WHO), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United
Nations, the European Commission, the French Academy of Medicine, and the American Medical
Association.
- Plant biotech crops are among the most studied and reviewed food and food ingredient
products in the world today.
The 2001 European Commission report on the safety of plant biotech summarizing 15 years of research by 400 scientific teams stated: "Research on GM plants and derived products so far developed and marketed, following usual risk assessment procedures, has not shown any new risks on human health or the environment… indeed, the use of more precise technology and greater regulatory scrutiny probably make them even safer than conventional plants and foods."
The American College of Nutrition "supports the use of biotechnology to develop food crops that
contribute to global food security and enhance the safety and nutritional value of food."
The American Medical Association has stated their recognition of the "many potential benefits
offered by genetically modified crops and foods… and encourages ongoing research developments
in food biotechnology."
25 Nobel Prize winners and more than 3,400 additional scientists have expressed their support
for plant biotech techniques as a "powerful and safe" way to improve agriculture and the
environment.
The International Society of Toxicology says "there is no reason to suppose that the process of
food production through biotechnology leads to risks of a different nature than those… created
by conventional breeding."
Solid History of Safe Use
Food and feed products containing ingredients derived from plant biotech crops will have a solid 10-year history of safe use.
- Several billion meals containing biotechnology-derived foods or ingredients have been
consumed by people around the world.
-
There is no reliable documentation of any food safety issues resulting from the introduction
of genes, proteins or traits through the use of plant biotech.
- Experience to date supports the conclusion that the regulatory process for plant biotech
products has been successful and resulted in the marketing of products that are at least as
safe as conventionally bred equivalents.
Emerging Evidence of Safety Benefits
A growing body of evidence demonstrates that plant biotech has real potential to improve food
and feed safety and the safety of food production practices.
- Research data supports the conclusion that the use of insect-protected biotech crops
not only decreases insecticide use*, but also improves farm-worker safety in the
developing world.
-
A recent study reported a 57 percent decrease in pesticide applications by Chinese
farmers growing Bt cotton in 2000, and corresponding reductions in reported pesticide
poisonings, resulting in improved human health (Hossain, 2004).
- Improved insect resistance is a useful tool in helping to reduce contamination of food
with fungal toxins (mycotoxins) associated with human and animal disease.
- Field analysis comparison trials conducted in the United States in 2001 demonstrated
a 47 percent reduction in fumonison levels with YieldGard® Corn Borer corn compared to
non-Bt corn (Hammond, et al., 2002).
-
Research demonstrates that the major allergenic proteins in food could be eliminated or modified
through modern plant biotech, with the potential to reduce the risk of food allergy.
