ADDENDUM::No Health Risks from GMOs - CSI

As I mentioned in my previous post concerning Golden Rice, an article popped into my news feed as I was finishing up. I have had some time to digest the contents and two points stand out to me. Both were touched upon prior but Novella offers an interesting insight I had never considered before (or more likely it didn't sink in the first time around).

The ick factor

GM technology involves various techniques, and we should not conflate them or treat all GMOs as one single entity. Each GMO should be evaluated on its own merits. Some GMOs are created by turning off a normally expressed gene, so there isn’t even the introduction of a new gene. Others, called “cisgenic,” involve introducing genes from closely related species, ones that could be achieved through hybridization and breeding. Still others, called “transgenic,” involve genes from distant species, even crossing to other kingdoms of life (such as taking a gene from a bacterium and inserting it into a plant).

Transgenic genetic modification in particular can create the feeling of contamination. This is largely based on a lack of appreciation for evolution, however. First, all living organisms are the products of mutations. We are all mutants. Genes are changing things, no matter what method is used to bring those changes about. Farmers waiting for generations for plants to fortuitously display a favorable mutation—and then cultivating those plants in order to create a new variety—is just a slower method of causing genetic change.

GMO critics argue that taking genes from distant species is inherently risky because of gene regulation and unforeseen consequences. There is no evidence to support this contention, however. Sometimes genes from distant species find their way into genomes through horizontal transfer. This happens in nature with regularity. Further, people generally underestimate the similarity in genetic information across the tree of life.

Novella then outlines the fish-mato debacle ca. 2000, concluding with this statement," The point of the fish-mato, however, is to provoke a disgusted emotional response, not to elucidate a genuine risk."

Research, I need more research

For anti-GMO activists, apparently, no amount of evidence is sufficient. The precautionary principle, that we should err on the side of caution, especially with new technologies, is perfectly reasonable but can be taken too far. There is no such thing as zero risk or absolute proof of the absence of any risk or negative effect. This is true of everything we do, everything we consume, every medical intervention, and every technology.

No Health Risks from GMOs - CSI