GM crop banter is harming the right to informed choice

I continually see on blogs and comments posted to news stories lists of scientific research proving that GM crops are harmful to human health and the environment –  the most recent being a Perth News article on maps details for GM crop trials – see comments at bottom

There are a couple of points to make here.

First is that many of the research articles mentioning sterility, organ damage or other scary stuff are not scientifically robust, or peer-reviewed, and are anomalies when compared against other similar research.

This doesn’t mean such adverse findings should be disregarded. Indeed they should be rigorously assessed. But, any findings making it to the media – or even peer-reviewed journals – need to be assessed in the context of other research. 

A second point relates to the persistent claim that there is a lack of proper scientific research into the safety of GM crops and food. I have a load of peer-reviewed journals on this topic in the GNTIS office and David Tribe has compiled on his blog a good list of independent and peer-reviewed research articles on the safety of GM foods:

There are fact sheets on the GNTIS web site as well – www.gntis.edu.au 

So, it sounds like I am an advocate for GM crops.  I aren’t, but I am trying to make the point that there is a lot of misinformation out there, usually the same old stuff over and over.  This misinformation can come from both sides of the debate.  So, be sceptical about the hype and fear mongering, try to find more detailed information to provide context and this will help you decide whether you find the risks of a particular GM crop acceptable or not.  If you are like the most people I chat to or run workshops for on this topic, you will have different views or levels of acceptability for different GM crops.

Jason Major

Manager, GNTIS