Journal or Publishing Institution: Environmental Health Perspectives
Study: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3440124/
Author(s): Dahl, R.
Article Type: Journal Publication
Record ID: 435
Text: Since they were first commercially grown in the mid-1990s, genetically engineered (GE) crops have expanded across the globe, offering farmers the advantages of genetically enhanced resistance to drought, herbicides, and insects. According to the International Service for the Acquisition of AgriBiotech Applications (ISAAA), a crop biotechnology advocacy organization, farmers in 29 countries grew nearly 400 million acres of commercial GE crops in 2011, an 8% increase from the previous year. An estimated 60-70% of processed foods in the United States contain GE ingredients,2 and GE corn and soybeans make up the majority of the U.S. crop.3.
But while GE crop acreage has been steadily increasing, so have concerns in some quarters that producing and eating GE foods may pose unexpected environmental and health hazards. In the absence of strong health and safety data, many national governments across the world have taken steps to minimize the presence of GE food within their borders. In Europe, six nations (Austria, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, and Luxembourg) have enacted bans on the cultivation and import of GE products,4 and nearly 50 nations worldwide require that all GE foods be labeled as such.5
In the United States, consumer concern about G E foods has been slower to surface. But that’s changing-and a ballot question this fall in Galifornia has the potential to radically alter the GE landscape throughout the rest of the United States. On 6 November 2012 California voters will decide whether foods containing genetically modified organisms (GMOs) must be labeled…
Keywords: genetically engineered (GE) crops, labeling, California, environmental hazards, health hazards
Citation: Dahl, R., 2012. To label or not to label: California prepares to vote on genetically engineered foods. Environmental Health Perspectives, 120(9), a358.
