GMO Research
Abstract: The concept of sustainability applied to agriculture has developed mainly as a result of growing awareness of negative impacts of intensive agriculture production systems on the environment and the quality of life. Intensive agriculture systems are based on genetically uniform crops which can be susceptible to various diseases and insect pests. Genetically modified (GM) …
Abstract: A 2-year rat feeding study with genetically modified NK603 maize sparked an international scientific and public debate as well as policy responses by the European Commission. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) evaluated the study as defective based on conceptual and methodological shortcomings by retroactive application of the recommendations of its recent guidance on …
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 …
Abstract: In order to developing a methodology evaluating the alimentary security of transgenic products, it has been done a ninety-days study using thirty-two BALB/c mice aging 6 to 8 weeks, where transgenic with Cry1Ab, an insecticide protein against Lepidoptera bugs was used. The animals were divided in four groups of eight; and received control diet …
Abstract: The risk assessment of genetically modified (GM) crops for human nutrition and health has not been systematic. Evaluations for each GM crop or trait have been conducted using different feeding periods, animal models, and parameters. The most common result is that GM and conventional sources induce similar nutritional performance and growth in animals. However, …
Abstract: Many genetically modified plants have been developed, and four of them (soya, maize, cotton, and colza) representing more than 99% of commercial crops, are widely distributed, mainly in the United States and in America [ISAAA, 2006. Report on global status on biotech/GM crops, Brief 35. International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications organization, …
Abstract: It points out the need to change the mentality of the technologies used in agriculture, default chemicalization, use of pesticides and animal growth biostimulatorilor and beyond.These have to be tempered first under biological laws, and after that under economic criteria and not vice versa as it has been done before. The technologies used to …
Abstract: Introduction of genetically modified crops (GM Crops) has been entranced in severe controversies in India. Following Bt-Cotton, Bt-Brinjal the first genetically modified food crop, has caused a conflict of beliefs and generated heated debates regarding its safety throughout the length and breadth of the country. The Government of India is caught between strong proponents …
Abstract: One of the most divisive debates in modern agriculture concerns the use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). In Europe, the policy debate over GMOs has been met with a persistent attempt to retreat into “sound science” as a potential unifying force. However, environmental risk assessment as an aid to regulatory decision-making is inherently entangled …
Abstract: A culture of denial over the horizontal spread of genetically modified nucleic acids prevails in the face of direct evidence that it has occurred widely when appropriate methods and molecular probes are used for detection. Keywords: genetically modified (GM) crops, gene transfer, antibiotic resistance, denial Citation: Ho, M.W., 2014. Horizontal transfer of GM DNA …
Abstract: We outline important underlying reasons that fuel the decades-long controversy over adverse effects of Bt toxins expressed in genetically modified plants on beneficial, nontarget organisms. Inconsistent evaluation standards and asymmetrical levels of scrutiny applied to studies reporting significant adverse effects compared to those finding no adverse effects are described using the examples of the …
Abstract: The consequences of the invention of DNA-based molecular techniques and their application to agriculture have been pervasive. This review examines the key consequences for farmers and the public. These include widespread commercial applications of agricultural biotechnology in a limited number of countries, a large private-sector investment in biotechnology research, significant economic contributions to farmers, …
Abstract: The question of nutritional quality has arisen in the International Community over the last few years along with other important issues such as population aging, multipopulation societies, and political conflicts. The nutritional issue is questioned both quantitatively and qualitatively. It is well known that the planet faces enormous problems with food that is available. …
Abstract: This evaluation of Bt brinjal studies is based on requirements for a rigorous evaluation of food safety for the people of India and their health. Departures from Indian and international published standards for the 14-day and 90-day studies are a cause for concern 1. The current food safety studies for Bt brinjal were not …
Text: In a lawsuit over genetically modified (GM) modified rice, jury members in an Arkansas circuit court ruled in March in favor of Riceland Foods of Stuttgart, Arkansas, a rice milling and exporting company, and against Bayer CropScience of Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, and Monheim, Germany. The jury recommended that Bayer pay Riceland $136.8 …
Text: As journalists, we have dug into the controversy over the suspected carcinogenicity of the herbicide glyphosate (see B. Url Nature 553, 381; 2018). We searched hundreds of internal documents from its manufacturer, Monsanto, released for pending lawsuits (see go.nature.com/2tfpbwy). We feel that our and others’ findings (N. Ghisi et al. Chemosphere 145, 42–54; 2016) …
Abstract: Virtually all scientists agree that the commonly used methods for inserting new genes into the genome of a crop plant (genetic engineering or genetic modification): (1) are imprecise and uncontrolled, (2) can impact biological functioning unpredictably, and (3) can lead to unintended harm to health and the environment. The intentional use of GMOs (genetically …
Abstract: This paper reviews the many criticisms of the publication by Seralini et al (2012) which has led to so much controversy, was retracted and then republished in this journal. Seralini et al found that a GM maize and its associated herbicide Roundup resulted in numerous chronic abnormalities in rats. The vehemence of the critics …
Abstract: The acreage of genetically modified (GM) crops decreased in the European Union by 12% in 2009, as compared to the preceeding year, corresponding to 0.7‰ of the world GM crop production. Within the EU, national moratoria on sowing given GM crop varieties were announced in Austria (1999), Hungary (2005), Greece (2005), Poland (2006), Italy …
Abstract: Since the beginning of its commercialization in 1996, the global area of transgenic plantations has increased more than fifty times. In the last two decades, governmental and intergovernmental organizations have devised strategies and protocols for the study of the safety of foods derived from genetically modified crops. Safety tests are conducted on a case-by-case …
Text: To the Editor – In August, more than 30 scientists and the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) called on the editors of Nature journals to establish more robust policies for disclosing potentially biasing conflicts of interests among authors of scientific articles and quoted experts (http://www.cspinet.org/new/200308211.html). One of the cases cited as …
Text: To the editor – In their commentary “Liabilities and economics of transgenic crops” in the June issue (Nat. Biotechnol. 20, 537–541, 2002), Smyth et al. make a compelling case that the inability to control gene flow is the Achilles heel of the biotech industry. The authors offer two examples in which the inability to …
Abstract: Background. The health effects of a Roundup-tolerant NK603 genetically modified (GM) maize (from 11% in the diet), cultivated with or without Roundup application and Roundup alone (from 0.1 ppb of the full pesticide containing glyphosate and adjuvants) in drinking water, were evaluated for 2 years in rats. This study constitutes a follow-up investigation of …
Abstract: The Genetic Engineering Approval Committee’s approval of Bt brinjal, the first genetically modified crop for human consumption in India, has sparked off protests across the country. This article questions the so-called benefits of GM crops and highlights some major concerns. These include: inadequately addressed health and environmental risks, inadequate safety guidelines, a lack of …
Abstract: Among the next generation of genetically modified (GM) plants are those that are engineered to produce elevated levels of nutritional molecules such as vitamins, omega-3 fatty acids, and amino acids. Based upon the U.S. current regulatory scheme, the plants and their products may enter our food supply without any required safety testing. The potential …
