I Used to Work as a Scientist with GMOs—Now I'm Having Serious Second Thoughts About The Risks [View all]
I believe that GMO crops still run far ahead of our understanding of their risks.
By Jonathan Latham, PhD September 2, 2015
By training, I am a plant biologist. In the early 1990s I was busy making genetically modified plants (often called GMOs for Genetically Modified Organisms) as part of the research that led to my PhD. Into these plants we were putting DNA from various foreign organisms, such as viruses and bacteria.
If that salad dressing in your fridge
contains soybean oil it's probably GMO
I was not, at the outset, concerned about the possible effects of GM plants on human health or the environment. One reason for this lack of concern was that I was still a very young scientist, feeling my way in the complex world of biology and of scientific research. Another reason was that we hardly imagined that GMOs like ours would be grown or eaten. So far as I was concerned, all GMOs were for research purposes only.
Gradually, however, it became clear that certain companies thought differently. Some of my older colleagues shared their skepticism with me that commercial interests were running far ahead of scientific knowledge. I listened carefully...snip
The Flawed Processes of GMO Risk Assessment...snip
The Dangers of GMOs
Aside from grave doubts about the quality and integrity of risk assessments, I also have specific science-based concerns over GMOs. I emphasise the ones below because they are important but are not on the lists that GMO critics often make.
Many GMO plants are engineered to contain their own insecticides. These GMOs, which include maize, cotton and soybeans, are called Bt plants. Bt plants get their name because they incorporate a transgene that makes a protein-based toxin (usually called the Cry toxin) from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis. Many Bt crops are “stacked,” meaning they contain a multiplicity of these Cry toxins...snip
Most candy in the US contains GMO products
The True Purpose of GMOs
...The commercial purpose of GMOs is not to feed the world or improve farming. Rather, they exist to gain intellectual property (i.e. patent rights)...snip
Read More: http://www.alternet.org/food/i-used-work-scientist-gmos-now-im-having-serious-second-thoughts-about-risks
Bioscience Resource Project
The Bioscience Resource Project is a public interest organization that describes itself as providing independent research and analysis in the agriculture-related biosciences since 2006. In 2011, they started Independent Science News, a website providing news and critical comment on topics where food, agriculture, and biotechnology impact human health and the environment.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bioscience_Resource_Project
Jonathan R Latham, PhD Co-founder and Executive Director of the Bioscience Resource Project; Editor of the Independent Science News website. Dr. Latham holds a Masters degree in Crop Genetics and a PhD in Virology. He was subsequently a postdoctoral research associate in the Department of Genetics, University of Wisconsin, Madison. Prior to heading the Bioscience Resource Project he published scientific papers in disciplines as diverse as plant ecology, plant virology and genetics. He regularly presents at scientific conferences on papers published by the Bioscience Resource Project. He is also a fellow of the 21st Century Trust.
http://www.bioscienceresource.org/about-us/our-staff/
Obama in 2007: "We'll let folks know whether their food has been genetically modified because Americans should know what they're buying"
64 Countries require labeling of GMO foods
Green: Mandatory labeling Red:Ban on import and cultivation of GMOs 64 countries as of 10 May 2015. Source: Center for Food Safety
http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org/issues/976/ge-food-labeling/international-labeling-laws
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