Coping with Uncertainty: The Human Health Implications of GE Foods

Content Provider	Scilit
Author	Taylor, Iain
Copyright Year	2007
Description	Food has been a therapeutic since the time that earliest physicians altered diets to treat illnesses. Food (or its withholding) can cause and ameliorate illnesses, play a role in health-related rituals, and may in­ teract with drugs to enhance or inhibit their effects. By law, the safety and efficacy of pharmaceuticals must be demonstrated through ex­ tensive documentation prior to public release. But foods, in particular novel or genetically engineered (GE) foods, are not subjected to simi­ lar scrutiny. Virtually no experimental data exist that could allow an adequate assessment of the human health effects of GE food con­ sumption. Few, if any, private industry-sponsored studies have been published in peer-reviewed journals evaluating the toxicological and epidemiological effects of consuming GE foods. A survey in Science several years ago concluded that less than ten direct studies had been published on their potential health impacts.1 And while industry sci­ entists continue to conduct safety assessments of new GE crops for governmental review on a voluntary basis, the unwillingness of com­ panies to submit their research for wider scientific review raises seri­ ous concerns. As Jose Domingo notes, “The general population and the scientific community cannot be expected to take it on faith that the results of such studies are favorable. Informed decisions are made on the basis of experimental data, not faith.”2 Book Name: Genetically Engineered Crops
Related Links	https://content.taylorfrancis.com/books/download?dac=C2010-0-32881-X&isbn=9780429180316&doi=10.1201/9781482278019-15&format=pdf
Ending Page	124
Page Count	16
Starting Page	109
DOI	10.1201/9781482278019-15
Language	English
Publisher	Informa UK Limited
Publisher Date	2007-03-08
Access Restriction	Open
Subject Keyword	Book Name: Genetically Engineered Crops Health Safety Survey Efficacy Genetically Engineered Ge Foods Lar Scrutiny Consuming Ge Industry Sci
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Chapter