University of Nebraska Forum Promotes Benefits of Genetically Modified Foods
Researchers and scientists want the public to know that genetically modified crops don’t harm humans. In fact, genetically modified foods can actually help.
That was the message conveyed by a panel of five researchers and scientists from the University of Nebraska who took part in a citizen forum on genetically modified foods on August 20, 2005 (Fears of Genetically Modified Crops are Unfounded, Panel Says, Lincoln Journal Star, 8/21/05).
The citizen forum was sponsored by Leadership Lincoln and the University of Nebraska Public Policy Center. It consisted of fifty randomly selected Lincoln and Lancaster County residents who were asked to read up on the topic of biotechnology and genetically modified foods and then come to the forum to discuss the subject with the University of Nebraska panel.
The citizens who participated in the forum included individuals from all walks of life, including individuals who gave little thought to genetically modified foods until asked to participate in the forum and farmers who already raise genetically modified crops.
According to the University of Nebraska Public Policy Center, sixty percent of the total acres of corn and ninety-two percent of soybeans planted in Nebraska in 2004 were genetically modified. In 2003, genetically modified crops accounted for twenty-five percent of the cultivated acreage worldwide, according to the center.
The panel of researchers and scientists explained to the forum participants that genetically modified plants have gone through a much more rigorous testing process than foods that have not been genetically modified. Eating products made with genetically modified crops is not a risky venture, despite fears such scientific tinkering can generate. The panel explained that because a person’s body breaks down foods, any problems with such foods would happen quickly, not over the long term.
“There is no example of anyone in the world being hurt of becoming sick, no documented case,“ explained Michael Fromm, director of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Center for Biotechnology during the citizen forum. “It’s one thing to worry about it, but it helps to put it against that fact...the record is actually perfect.”
The biggest danger, according to the panel’s scientists and researchers, is taking a gene from a highly allergenic food such as peanuts and putting it into another food. It is a practice that is highly regulated, according to the panel.
Labeling genetically modified food would be a costly proposition to both manufactures and consumers, as such labeling would force companies to use only genetically modified or non-modified food in their products because of the costs of ensuring there is no contamination during processing, according to the panel.
This citizen forum, in my opinion, is a great step toward acceptance of biotechnology and genetically modified foods. Such opportunities open up the door for people who know little or nothing about biotechnology to learn more. It also gives farmers and those involved in producing genetically modified foods to share information on the benefits and the safety of such foods with others, allowing the participants to make an informed decision on the subject. I hope that more citizens’ forums like this one in Nebraska can be held in more towns across the United States. It could lead to a stronger acceptance of genetically modified foods by a greater part of the public in the future.
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