SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Food Safety Advocates Cheer Launch of Landmark GMO Safety Study
Multi-year study will investigate safety of GMO corn, glyphosate
Nov 12, 2014
Food safety advocates are welcoming the launch of what is being touted as the biggest ever global study on the safety of genetically modified food and its associated herbicide.
The 2- to 3-year, international "Factor GMO" study was formally announced Tuesday and is set to begin in 2015.
It aims to provide governments and regulators with the data needed to be able to say whether herbicide-tolerant genetically modified (GMO) corn and "realistic levels" of the herbicide Roundup and its main ingredient, glyphosate, for which the GMO corn is engineered to withstand, are safe.
Study organizers describe it as landmark, as it will have "full multi-generational, toxicology and carcinogenicity arms."
The study was initiated by the Russian NGO National Association for Genetic Safety (NAGS), though Factor GMO states that it will not have involvement in the study itself. The scientists involved with the study, according to the Factor GMO explanation, have no affiliation to either the anti-GMO movement or the biotechnology industry. Organizers say they will accept donations from anywhere for the $25 million study, though they will not accept them from the GMO industry or associated pesticide makers.
Among those cheering the study are members of the Global GMO Free Coalition (GGFC).
"For years, consumers have been exposed to Monsanto's Roundup through multiple channels, including the pollution of groundwater that results from the planting of millions of acres of Roundup-resistant corn and soy crops," stated Ronnie Cummins, international director of the Organic Consumers Association and its Mexico affiliate, Via Organica and member of the GGFC steering committee.
"Last year, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency again ruled in favor of Monsanto when the agency approved the allowance of higher levels of glyphosate, the key ingredient in Roundup, on fruits and vegetables sold for human consumption. We fully support this unprecedented study which we believe will provide, once and for all, irrefutable scientific evidence that Roundup should be banned," Cummins stated.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Food safety advocates are welcoming the launch of what is being touted as the biggest ever global study on the safety of genetically modified food and its associated herbicide.
The 2- to 3-year, international "Factor GMO" study was formally announced Tuesday and is set to begin in 2015.
It aims to provide governments and regulators with the data needed to be able to say whether herbicide-tolerant genetically modified (GMO) corn and "realistic levels" of the herbicide Roundup and its main ingredient, glyphosate, for which the GMO corn is engineered to withstand, are safe.
Study organizers describe it as landmark, as it will have "full multi-generational, toxicology and carcinogenicity arms."
The study was initiated by the Russian NGO National Association for Genetic Safety (NAGS), though Factor GMO states that it will not have involvement in the study itself. The scientists involved with the study, according to the Factor GMO explanation, have no affiliation to either the anti-GMO movement or the biotechnology industry. Organizers say they will accept donations from anywhere for the $25 million study, though they will not accept them from the GMO industry or associated pesticide makers.
Among those cheering the study are members of the Global GMO Free Coalition (GGFC).
"For years, consumers have been exposed to Monsanto's Roundup through multiple channels, including the pollution of groundwater that results from the planting of millions of acres of Roundup-resistant corn and soy crops," stated Ronnie Cummins, international director of the Organic Consumers Association and its Mexico affiliate, Via Organica and member of the GGFC steering committee.
"Last year, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency again ruled in favor of Monsanto when the agency approved the allowance of higher levels of glyphosate, the key ingredient in Roundup, on fruits and vegetables sold for human consumption. We fully support this unprecedented study which we believe will provide, once and for all, irrefutable scientific evidence that Roundup should be banned," Cummins stated.
Food safety advocates are welcoming the launch of what is being touted as the biggest ever global study on the safety of genetically modified food and its associated herbicide.
The 2- to 3-year, international "Factor GMO" study was formally announced Tuesday and is set to begin in 2015.
It aims to provide governments and regulators with the data needed to be able to say whether herbicide-tolerant genetically modified (GMO) corn and "realistic levels" of the herbicide Roundup and its main ingredient, glyphosate, for which the GMO corn is engineered to withstand, are safe.
Study organizers describe it as landmark, as it will have "full multi-generational, toxicology and carcinogenicity arms."
The study was initiated by the Russian NGO National Association for Genetic Safety (NAGS), though Factor GMO states that it will not have involvement in the study itself. The scientists involved with the study, according to the Factor GMO explanation, have no affiliation to either the anti-GMO movement or the biotechnology industry. Organizers say they will accept donations from anywhere for the $25 million study, though they will not accept them from the GMO industry or associated pesticide makers.
Among those cheering the study are members of the Global GMO Free Coalition (GGFC).
"For years, consumers have been exposed to Monsanto's Roundup through multiple channels, including the pollution of groundwater that results from the planting of millions of acres of Roundup-resistant corn and soy crops," stated Ronnie Cummins, international director of the Organic Consumers Association and its Mexico affiliate, Via Organica and member of the GGFC steering committee.
"Last year, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency again ruled in favor of Monsanto when the agency approved the allowance of higher levels of glyphosate, the key ingredient in Roundup, on fruits and vegetables sold for human consumption. We fully support this unprecedented study which we believe will provide, once and for all, irrefutable scientific evidence that Roundup should be banned," Cummins stated.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.