This is a favored exclamation of those that generally take offense at the very idea of agricultural biotechnology. In the context of food, the term “GMO” (genetically modified organism) means that the food’s genetic material has been changed in a way that does not occur naturally, such as introducing DNA from another organism for the purpose of higher yields or resistance to insects.
Hundreds of independent studies across the world have confirmed that genetically modified crops are as safe as other crops, though one other study has given the anti-GMO movement its scientific “legitimacy.”
In a 2012 study on Monsanto GM crops and mice, University of Caen researchers found that the GMO products caused tumors in lab rats. The study was later discredited due to poor research methods, and was even retracted from the journal in which it was published a year later.
Elsewhere in Europe (known for its wariness of GMOs), a University of Perugia study published a review of 1,783 GMO safety tests, 770 of which examined the health impact on humans or animals. Researchers found no evidence that GMO foods are dangerous