Do foods containing GMOs pose a risk to the consumer? According to a report from theAmerican Academy of Sciences, crops of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) would not represent more risks than conventional crops, both for health and for the environment.
‘No conclusive proof’
To reach this conclusion, the experts of the Academy of Sciences have peeled nearly 900 scientific studies that looked at the impact of GMOs. Their aim was indeed to clarify the debate that has taken place since the launch of GMO crops 20 years ago, between groups concerned about the ethics of this agriculture and the potential effects on human health and the environment and those wishing that technology such as GMOs occupy a more important place in our societies. “Overall, the committee found no conclusive evidence of a causal relationship between GMO crops and environmental problems.“, particularly in terms of the impact on the insect biodiversityor plants. Same conclusion with regard to health risks: whether by analyzing scientific articles or by collecting citizens’ concerns about the safety of foods from GMO crops, no link has been established between GMOs and chronic diseases.
Uncertainties about the long-term effects
But the experts of the American Academy of Sciences remain cautious, and recognize that it is not because no association could be demonstrated that the risks are zero. In particular because GMOs have only been used in agriculture for about twenty years, which is not enough to properly assess the long-term effects. Transfers of genes between modified organisms and natural organisms have already been observed, but scientists do not know for the moment whether this represents a danger for the species concerned: “the complexity of assessing long-term environmental change is complex making definitive conclusions difficult to reach“, emphasize the committee of experts.
In France, concerns about GMOs exist and, last April, an Ifop poll showed that a majority of French people were ready to pay more to consume food with GMO-free certification.
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