Skip to main content

NC State Extension

Are GMOs Safe?/What Is Cooperative Extension and NCSU’s Position on the Use of GMO’s in Regards to Safety?

en Español / em Português
Español

El inglés es el idioma de control de esta página. En la medida en que haya algún conflicto entre la traducción al inglés y la traducción, el inglés prevalece.

Al hacer clic en el enlace de traducción se activa un servicio de traducción gratuito para convertir la página al español. Al igual que con cualquier traducción por Internet, la conversión no es sensible al contexto y puede que no traduzca el texto en su significado original. NC State Extension no garantiza la exactitud del texto traducido. Por favor, tenga en cuenta que algunas aplicaciones y/o servicios pueden no funcionar como se espera cuando se traducen.


Português

Inglês é o idioma de controle desta página. Na medida que haja algum conflito entre o texto original em Inglês e a tradução, o Inglês prevalece.

Ao clicar no link de tradução, um serviço gratuito de tradução será ativado para converter a página para o Português. Como em qualquer tradução pela internet, a conversão não é sensivel ao contexto e pode não ocorrer a tradução para o significado orginal. O serviço de Extensão da Carolina do Norte (NC State Extension) não garante a exatidão do texto traduzido. Por favor, observe que algumas funções ou serviços podem não funcionar como esperado após a tradução.


English

English is the controlling language of this page. To the extent there is any conflict between the English text and the translation, English controls.

Clicking on the translation link activates a free translation service to convert the page to Spanish. As with any Internet translation, the conversion is not context-sensitive and may not translate the text to its original meaning. NC State Extension does not guarantee the accuracy of the translated text. Please note that some applications and/or services may not function as expected when translated.

Collapse ▲

There is no way to prove anything is 100% safe. This article provides a good discussion of that. There have been cases where classical or traditional plant breeding has resulted unforeseen dangerous or unhealthy products. An example would be the Lenape potato. The Lenape potato was the result of a collaboration between Penn State University and the Wise Potato Chip Company. Although the Lenape potato had many desirable traits it unfortunately also had higher levels of solanine, which is harmful to humans. Unintended effects of conventional breeding and genetic engineering for both plants and animals are discussed here.

Any method of plant breeding, conventional or GMO, could potentially introduce DNA that would result in an unforeseen change that might be harmful to humans. The possibility of introducing a harmful change into a food crop is less with GMOs than traditional breeding for three reasons. First, GMOs are created by very minute changes to the plant DNA compared to conventional breeding methods such as selective breeding or mutation breeding. Secondly, the changes made to the DNA and what proteins the changes in DNA code for are known to the scientist. Therefore, the protein can be tested for toxicity and allergenicity. Lastly, varieties developed with genetic engineering are required to go through the regulatory process unlike varieties produced with selective breeding or mutation breeding.

I know of no mechanism that NCSU or Cooperative Extension has for taking a position on any broad subject. Many scientific societies have taken a position on the safety of GMO foods and agree that they are no more risky than conventionally bred crops. The views of many major scientific and professional societies on evaluation of genetically engineered crops are available here. Below is a quote from the European Commision report: A decade of EU-funded GMO research (2001 – 2010).

“The main conclusion to be drawn from the efforts of more than 130 research projects, covering a period of more than 25 years of research, and involving more than 500 independent research groups, is that biotechnology, and in particular GMOs, are not per se more risky than e.g. conventional plant breeding technologies.”

Keith Edmisten
Professor of Crop Science