June 27, 2005 – Authors of a preliminary report1 recently published by the World Health Organization (WHO) believe that genetically modified plants could help improve agricultural yields and food quality, but they stress the need for further environmental risk assessment and human health.
“Genetically modified foods currently on international markets have been subjected to assessments and they do not appear to present any risk to human health,” reads the report. However, the authors point out that “conflicting results and insufficient evidence regarding the benefits, risks and harms associated with GM foods are fueling the controversy around genetically modified organisms (GMOs)”.
Among the possible benefits that the WHO report attributes to GMOs, note the possibility of producing foods richer in vitamins or minerals, or whose protein or lipid profile would be improved. The report says, however, that these benefits have not materialized to date. We can read: “since the beginning of the establishment of agricultural GMOs (1996), tolerance to herbicides has been the dominant characteristic of genetically modified crops. In 2004, plants resistant to herbicides represented 72% of the areas planted with GMOs. Next came GMOs designed to resist certain insects, which comprised around 20% of cultivated areas, while 8% of areas were occupied by GMOs combining both tolerance to herbicides and resistance to harmful insects ”.
It should be remembered that the environment ministers of the European Union rejected last Friday the request to lift national bans on GMOs, which relate to various varieties of corn and rapeseed. These bans allow Austria, Germany, Luxembourg, France and Greece to ban the marketing on their territory of certain genetically modified seeds, even if they are approved by the EU. The United States, Argentina and Canada are contesting the validity of these safeguard clauses and have filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization (WTO). An interim judgment from the WTO is expected in August 2005.
According to the WHO report, 99% of areas planted with GMOs are found in the seven main producing countries: the United States (59%), Argentina (20%), Canada (6%), Brazil (6%), China (5%), Paraguay (2%) and South Africa (1%).
Pierre Lefrançois – PasseportSanté.net
According to Reuters, AFP and The duty.
1. Modern food biotechnology, health and development: study based on concrete examples, World Health Organization, Food Safety, Switzerland, 2005. [Consulté le 26 juin 2005]. www.who.int
