Society of Toxicology Position Statement on Genetically Modified Foods, September 2002
So, that’s a mouthful. But then, so are GMO foods. But healthful or harmful?
Yes, genetic alterations occur in farmed crops and bred animals already. But what about intentional changes for a nutritional or production goal?
This issue is already worth billions of dollars in U.S. subsidies, and stockpiled grain supplies in countries where people do not have enough to eat.
This group of scientists finds no difference–in adverse effects, in bioequivalence, in safety. They think the changes in composition are minor and unimportant.
But isn’t there more than a scientific view that’s relevant here? An economic one? A humanistic one? The idea that a flounder gene somehow doesn’t really belong in a tomato, no matter how much cold storage it can take?
GMO is an important concept, but for once, we should let ethics get ahead of the technology, instead of the other way around.