Wisconsin Experts Disagree On Impact Of New GMO Study

The National Research Council released a new report this week on the safety of genetically engineered crops.

The NRC reviewed existing data on the impact of GE crops on human health, the environment and the economy.

Dr. Richard Amasino, University of Wisconsin professor and an author of the study, said the NRC found no evidence that foods from GE crops had a direct impact on human health. The study also found varied data on the impact of genetic engineering on plant and insect diversity.

But Harriet Behar, a senior organic specialist for the Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service in Wisconsin, said she thinks the study is too vague to address public concerns about genetically modified foods.

“I don’t think that the study really got to issue of the various types of genetic modification and what kind of effect each modification could have,” Behar said.

Behar said more research needs to be done on specific GE crops and the chemicals like pesticides and herbicides commonly used with them before evaluating the practice’s impact on the environment or human health.

Amasino also said more research needs to be done on each new GE and non-GE crop that is released. But he hopes the NRC’s report will better inform current conversations on GMO labeling in the U.S.

“I hope that members of the public who are concerned and who have the time to look at some of the details in the report, that maybe those concerns will be a little bit mitigated,” Amasino said.