Wrong on GMOs

Assemblyman Bill Nojay’s opinion piece last week against GMO labeling contains some disturbingly incorrect information (“Fight GMO labeling,” May 7).

1. There have never been any epidemiological studies of GMO foodstuff and its impact on human health. None.  In January of this year, 300 European scientists, physicians and scholars signed a public statement in the journal European Environmental Sciences reminding readers that no scientific consensus exists regarding the wisdom of relying on GMOs.

Their forthright conclusion: The signatories do not “assert that GMOs are unsafe or safe. Rather, the statement concludes that the scarcity and contradictory nature of the scientific evidence published to date prevents conclusive claims of safety, or of lack of safety, of GMOs. Claims of consensus on the safety of GMOs are not supported by an objective analysis of the refereed literature.”  The National Institute of Health, an arm of the U.S. government, conducted a literature review published in 2011 that found as many studies of GMOs concluded that there were valid concerns as those that found no cause for concern.

2. Even the supposed defenders of GMOs to which Mr. Nojay points are ambivalent. The World Health Organization concluded that “the environmental safety aspects of GM crops vary considerably according to local conditions.” WHO continues to actively monitor GMOs “based on the need to examine the potential negative effects on human health of the consumption of food produced through genetic modification in order to protect public health.  Modern technologies should be thoroughly evaluated if they are to constitute a true improvement in the way food is produced.”