New study discounts GM crops gene flow theory
The Council for Agricultural Science and Technology (CAST) posted a new report on their Web site that found genetically modified crops pose no threat to the environment. GMO Africa blogger James Wachai just posted an entry on the report. Read more below.
C.S. Prakash
New study discounts GM crops gene flow theory
GMO Africa
December 16, 2007
There has been an explosive debate on the effects of genetically modified (GM) crops on human health and the environment. Critics, especially the Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth, have sought to cast GM crops as posing great threat to conventional farming methods. They contend that GM crops haven’t been tested enough and, therefore, threaten the environment and the health of consumers.
There are arguments out there, which haven’t been scientifically verified, that gene flow from GM crops can harm the environment. They have gained traction, courtesy of one or two reports affirming so, but which have been discredited by the scientific community. In 2002, for example, the journal Nature published an article that claimed genetically modified maize under field trials in Mexico had “contaminated” their conventional varieties. Anti-biotech groups celebrated the news, but one year later Nature backtracked on the report. In a statement, the journal said:
In the light of the criticisms and advice from referees, Nature has concluded that the evidence available is not sufficient to justify its publication of the original paper.
Since then, more and more research reports have been published that show the superficiality of the the so-called GM crops gene flow theory. Last week, for instance, researchers at the University of California - Davis, published a report that shows genes from GM crop plants pose no threat to the environment. The report by Kent Bradford and Pat Bailey appears on the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology (CAST) web site. CAST is an international consortium of scientists and scientific organizations that promote public understanding of science and technology. A news article on this highly significant report is available on the UC Davis web site.
