Michelle,

I’m very sorry to learn that you are not willing to engage on the substance of the article you have posted. It reduces my confidence in the scientific and rationale approach taken by gmoscience.org.

Adam

Michelle,

First, I am surprised that you have not directly responded to the majority of the points that I have raised, instead giving the statement “transgenics are not safe” as an overall response. Is this because you agree with my other points and do not think that they need to be addressed?

Second, I note that you lump all transgenic products into a single bucket. Is this because you do not understand the differences between different transgenic products? As given in a list at this link (https://www.isaaa.org/gmapprovaldatabase/gmtraitslist/default.asp), GMOs come in many different varieties based on the genetic changes that have been made, resulting in altered protein levels or introduction of new proteins. There is nothing inherently unsafe about genetic changes, as they are happening in our bodies consistently and this is how selective breeding has been used for thousands of years to introduce optimal traits into agricultural crops and livestock. Grouping all GMOs under a single bucket is similar to saying that all SSRIs act upon the body in the same way or that all NSAIDs are equivalent.

Third, you make some very strong claims but do not provide references and do not provide evidence that refute the conclusions of several meta-analyses, which have a stronger power than single anecdotal publications. Is there a reason that you choose to believe single studies over meta-analyses?

Thank you for your thorough response, however, transgenics are not safe. One recent presentation here: https://twitter.com/GMOScience/status/1654426323966738436?s=20.
GMOs cause oxidative stress and changes in substances (polyamines) linked to cancer. Via plasmids, they also can have transduction with our microbiome, outcomes unclear and not studied. Bt doesn’t break down with an acid pH as touted by industry and has been found circulating in pregnant women and fetuses. They also required more nutrients and water, per our own USDA. You can check the references.

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has a simple infographic (https://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/discover/infographics/risk-assessment-genetically-modified-plants) and an older (but still accurate paper) of how they perform assessments of GMOs (https://efsa.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.2903/j.efsa.2012.s1008).

Regarding the comments on the U.S. regulatory system, it is true that FDA and EPA do not conduct the studies on these products, which is also the case for all regulatory systems. The expense of performing the scientific studies on these products is staggering and the onus should be on the companies to provide the necessary data for regulators to use in determining that a product is safe, rather than using taxpayer funds. It is important to note that independent research conducted by numerous third-party actors have confirmed that the use and consumption of many GMO products to be safe.
-http://www.siquierotransgenicos.cl/2015/06/13/more-than-240-organizations-and-scientific-institutions-support-the-safety-of-gm-crops/
-https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4218791/
-https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-21284-2