The International Center for Technology Assessment
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Center for Food Safety
Fact Sheet on the Dangers of Genetically Engineered Food
Why is genetically engineered food dangerous?
Genetically engineering plants and animals for food is risky and
unsafe. Biotechnology is too young of a science to be able to fully
assess or understand the potential problems that can come from
altering the genes of living creatures. There is numerous potential
for problems on many different levels. From the unpredictable
occurrence of toxins and allergens, to environmental hazards, to
ethical issues, biotechnology poses a serious threat.
Toxins
One problem with genetic engineering is that it can cause unexpected
mutations in an organism, which can create new and higher levels of
toxins in foods. In 1989, a genetically engineered form of the
dietary supplement, L-tryptophan, produced toxic contaminants that
caused 37 deaths and 1,511 nonfatal cases of a disease called
eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome (EMS).
Allergic reactions
Genetic engineering can also produce unforeseen and unknown
allergens in foods by altering the context of a gene pattern so that
gene products are mixed in novel configurations. It is nearly
impossible to predict whether these new genetic configurations will
cause allergic reactions.
Another problem regarding food allergy is that without proper
labeling, millions of Americans who suffer from food allergies will
often have no way of knowing what is in their food and therefore
which foods to avoid. A study from the University of Nebraska showed
that soybeans genetically modified to contain a gene from a Brazil
nut caused an allergic reaction in people known to be allergic to
Brazil nuts.
Lack of safety testing
Currently, there are no requirements to safety test genetically
engineered foods before they are released on the market. The
argument is that the risk from genetically engineered food is small
and that it is unnecessary to carry out stringent safety testing.
This view is based on unscientific assumptions and is irresponsible.
The small risk that a product will produce unanticipated effects
becomes virtual certainty of harm when many new genetically
engineered foods have become part of the diet of large populations
over extended periods of time.
Genetic engineering uses material from organisms that have never
been part of the human food supply. Without long-term testing no one
knows if these foods are safe.
Increased pesticide use
Herbicide-tolerant crops are engineered to contain new genes that
help plants avoid the harmful effects of particular weed killers.
Scientists estimate that plants genetically engineered to be
herbicide-resistant will actually triple the amount of herbicide
use. Currently, a crop's sensitivity to herbicides limits the amount
that growers can apply. Farmers, knowing that their crops can
tolerate the herbicides, will be persuaded to use them more
liberally.
The biotech industry has developed and field tested tomato, tobacco,
cotton, walnut, and potato plants genetically engineered to contain
an insect-killing toxin from Bacillus thuringiensis (B.t.). B.t. is
a soil microorganism that has been used for twenty years as a
commercial biocontrol agent against certain insect pests. Widespread
use of crops genetically engineered to contain the B.t. toxin poses
a potentially significant problem: accelerated evolution of pest
resistance to B.t.. If this were to happen, agriculture would lose
one of its safest, most valuable pest control agents.
Biological pollution
When genetically engineered plants and animals are taken out of the
laboratory and introduced into the environment, ecological havoc
could result. In one survey, the top 100 environmental scientists in
the United States warned that genetic engineering's "imprudent or
careless use...could lead to irreversible, devastating damage to the
ecology of the planet." Major environmental risks include
cross-pollination of transgenic plants with genetically original
plants and the unpredictable ecological effects of altering the
balance of nature.
The industrialization and monopolization of agriculture
Biotechnologists claim that genetic engineering will solve all kinds
of problems, from agricultural pests to world hunger. However, when
one reads through the propaganda, the facts point to a more powerful
motive for the biotechnology industry: profit. Biotechnologies are
controlled by a small number of corporate powers, and are protected
by patents, which means that farmers must pay royalties to the
patent holder each time they breed their stock, and must buy fresh
patented seed each year.
Ethical problems
Many consumer, animal welfare, religious, and environmental groups
worry that biotechnology promotes a view of life as mere chemical
manufacture and invention with no greater value or meaning than
industrial products. Animal rights groups point out that genetic
engineering threatens the rights of animals to quality of life and
their own genetic integrity. For example, researchers at the
University of Wisconsin have engineered chickens that no longer
contain the genetic trait for brooding, eliminating the "mother
instinct" of hens in order to create more efficient egg producers.
Biotechnologists are altering the genetic makeup of living creatures
by introducing genetic material from humans and other species in
order to create more efficient and profitable animals and plants.
Some religious groups contend that genetically modifying plants and
animals is incompatible with a God-centered world view.
For more information:
(1997, Jan. 20). "Science: Unnatural Selection: Are genetically
altered foods really safe?" Maclean's, p. 56.
Cummins, Joe. (1997, Feb.) "Allergenicity." Gene Tinkering Blues.
Kimbrell, Andrew. (1994, Dec.) "Brave New Food." Currents in Modern
Thought, p. 399-408.
Liebman, Bonnie. (1996, May). "Allergic to biotech? Foods created
with biotechnology may cause food allergies to people who are
susceptible to specific proteins." Nutrition Action Healthletter, p.
4.
Rissler, Jane. "Biotechnology and Pest Control: Quick Fix vs.
Sustainable Control."