Researcher: GMO worries overblown – messenger-inquirer

A professor of plant pathology from the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture told a small audience Wednesday while there are some risks that come with the practice of genetically modifying crops, there's no evidence that genetically engineered foods are unsafe to eat.

After studying the issue of genetic engineering of food, "I just don't have any concern about my family eating genetically engineered crops," said Paul Vincelli, a UK extension profession and provost with the Sustainable Agriculture and Education Program.

Vincelli spoke about "food myths and misconceptions" at noon Wednesday at Owensboro Community & Technical College. Vincelli said genetic modification occurs in nature and has been done in agriculture for as long as people have been cross-breeding plants.

Genetic engineering, however, is more precise than cross breeding, because only a single gene is inserted into an engineered plant, while cross-bred plants receive the all the genes from both plants, Vincelli said.

"Genetic engineering is more precise than conventional breeding," Vincelli said. "It also causes less disruption on the plant."

Genetic engineering has been used to cure crop disease across the world, including those that pose dangers to humans, Vincelli said. Genetic engineering has also been used to grow corn that is not affected by glyphosate, the primary chemical in the weed herbicide Roundup, which benefits crop production for farmers, Vincelli said.

While there is some dispute whether glyphosate is a carcinogen -- with the EPA and other agencies saying "no" while a faction of the World Health Organization says "yes" -- there is no danger caused by the genetic modification of "Roundup Ready" corn, Vincelli said.

If glyphosate is shown to be carcinogenic, "the problem is not the genetic engineering," Vincelli said. "The problem is the glyphosate."

There is controversy about the safety of genetically engineered food, but the fear of "Frankenfood" is not supported by the scientific research, Vincelli said.

"The idea of 'Frankenfood' is really effective, but it does not represent scientific findings," Vincelli said. "... The food safety issue is not a significant risk."

Scientific academies in both the United States and Europe have agreed there is no evidence that genetically engineered food is not safe. The European public remains skeptical of genetically engineered food because of food scares they've experienced, such as outbreaks of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or "mad cow disease," Vincelli said.

There are risks to creating genetically engineered food, namely that genetically modified seed can be spread far beyond its intended area, such as the case in Oregon, where a genetically modified form of grass has spread, raising concerns that it will spread into commercial grass seed, damaging seed producers' markets. There is also a risk to "cultural identity," such as the fear that genetically modified corn could affect "heritage corn" in South America, he said.

The idea of "global ruin," of genetically modified plants essentially infecting all other plants "does not have merit," Vincelli said.

There are already natural barriers in place to prevent "jumping genes," Vincelli said. If there were not, there would only be one type of plant, as opposed to the numerous varieties found in nature, he said. Vincelli said, in his mind, the biggest threat caused by genetic engineering is bioterrorism.

In supermarkets, labels proclaiming a product is free of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are misleading, because most products are already free of GMO items, said Mary Higginbotham, Daviess County's extension agent for family and consumer sciences. Vincelli said genetically modified products can be found in items containing high-fructose corn syrup, because that is made with corn.

Non-GMO labels in stores are "marketing," Higginbotham said. "This is companies wanting to put a non-GMO label on it ... It's very misleading to the consumer."

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Researcher: GMO worries overblown - messenger-inquirer