Is biotechnology safe?
Is biotechnology safe?
Is biotechnology safe?
Re: Is biotechnology safe?
Yes, if properly regulated, as is the case with all foods.
Many international organizations - such as the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the World Health Organization, and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development - have recognized that biotechnology, when properly used, does not affect the safety of a product. In the United States, foods developed through biotechnology face the same regulatory requirements that the Food and Drug Administration uses to safeguard other foods and food ingredients in the marketplace. There is no evidence that biotech foods currently on the market present a risk to human health.
Biotechnology is regulated in the United States under a risk-based system that focuses on the end product and its uses. Over the years, Federal agencies with authority to regulate agriculture, the environment, and the nation's food and drug supply have developed regulations and oversight processes for biotechnology. Under this regulatory framework, USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) ensures that new biotech plant varieties are as safe to use in agriculture as conventional varieties. The Food and Drug Administration consults with developers of transgenic plants to ensure that the new crops and foods produced from them are as safe to consume as conventional foods. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) conducts extensive scientific reviews to ensure public health and environmental protection of new plant-pesticidal substances (i.e., genes that work as a pesticide in a plant, for example, the Bt gene in corn or cotton) introduced into plants or new uses of herbicides in conjunction with transgenic plants.
Under the safety guidelines imposed by APHIS and the other regulatory agencies, thousands of field tests with genetically engineered crops have been conducted since the mid 1980s. Resulting products have been grown commercially since the early 1990s and currently account for over 40 varieties and comprise a large percentage of the acreage of corn, soybeans, and cotton. Our system of regulatory oversight has contributed to there being no known cases of harm to humans or the environment resulting from the development and use of these plants.
Many international organizations - such as the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the World Health Organization, and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development - have recognized that biotechnology, when properly used, does not affect the safety of a product. In the United States, foods developed through biotechnology face the same regulatory requirements that the Food and Drug Administration uses to safeguard other foods and food ingredients in the marketplace. There is no evidence that biotech foods currently on the market present a risk to human health.
Biotechnology is regulated in the United States under a risk-based system that focuses on the end product and its uses. Over the years, Federal agencies with authority to regulate agriculture, the environment, and the nation's food and drug supply have developed regulations and oversight processes for biotechnology. Under this regulatory framework, USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) ensures that new biotech plant varieties are as safe to use in agriculture as conventional varieties. The Food and Drug Administration consults with developers of transgenic plants to ensure that the new crops and foods produced from them are as safe to consume as conventional foods. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) conducts extensive scientific reviews to ensure public health and environmental protection of new plant-pesticidal substances (i.e., genes that work as a pesticide in a plant, for example, the Bt gene in corn or cotton) introduced into plants or new uses of herbicides in conjunction with transgenic plants.
Under the safety guidelines imposed by APHIS and the other regulatory agencies, thousands of field tests with genetically engineered crops have been conducted since the mid 1980s. Resulting products have been grown commercially since the early 1990s and currently account for over 40 varieties and comprise a large percentage of the acreage of corn, soybeans, and cotton. Our system of regulatory oversight has contributed to there being no known cases of harm to humans or the environment resulting from the development and use of these plants.