The need for a closer look at pesticide toxicity during GMO assessment

Journal or Publishing Institution: John Wiley & Sons

Study: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/9781118474563.ch10/summary

Author(s): Mesnage, R. and Séralini, G.E.

Article Type: Report

Abstract: In the matter of health issues, public policy is regularly shaken by health crises or unexpected scientific discoveries. This chapter overlooks pesticide toxicity, focusing on agricultural genetically modified organisms (GMOs) because they are essentially pesticide‐plants, designed to tolerate and/or produce new pesticide residues in food and feed. It also describes links between agricultural GMOs and pesticides. The application of genetic engineering in agricultural practices was advocated as the most important recent advance in plant protection for the last decades. The industry claimed to reduce the use of pesticides by introducing genetically modified plants. The chapter also describes how formulated pesticides are mixtures which have not been investigated for their long‐term toxicities. Long‐term and multigenerational testing in vivo often appears essential. This can be accomplished within two years on rats with raw data being transparent to the scientific community to allow healthy debate before the next health crisis.

Keywords: Health Crises, Toxicology, Agriculture, Genetically Modified Organisms, GMOs, Pesticide, Pesticide Residues, Pollutants, Biotechnology, Health Crisis, Toxicity

Citation: Mesnage, R. and Séralini, G.E., 2014. The Need for a Closer Look at Pesticide Toxicity during GMO Assessment. In Eds., Bhat, R., and Gómez-López, V.M., Practical Food Safety: Contemporary Issues and Future Directions. John Wiley & Sons: Chichester, UK.