Angelika Hilbeck, The Ecologist
A broad community of independent scientific researchers and scholars challenges claims of a ‘consensus’ that genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are ‘safe’ to grow and eat. The claims – which continue to be widely and often uncritically aired – are a false and artificial construct that have been misleadingly perpetuated through diverse media. For decades, the safety of GMOs has been a hotly controversial topic that has been much debated around the world. Published results are contradictory, in part due to the range of different research methods employed, an inadequacy of available procedures, and differences in the analysis and interpretation of data.
Such a lack of consensus on safety is also evidenced by the agreement of policymakers from over 160 countries – in the UN’s Cartagena Biosafety Protocol and the Guidelines of the Codex Alimentarius – to authorize careful case-by-case assessment of each GMO by national authorities to determine whether the particular construct satisfies the national criteria for ‘safe’. (Read More…)