A Contrary Perspective on the AAAS Board Statement Against Labeling of Engineered Foods

TO READ THE WHOLE ARTICLE: http://blog.ucsusa.org/a-contrary-perspective-on-the-aaas-board-statement-against-labeling-of-engineered-foods/

Doug Gurian-Sherman, senior scientist, Food and Environment

November 2, 2012

As a long-time member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), and as a scientist, I was disappointed at the inaccurate information in the statement by the Boardagainst labeling of genetically engineered (GE) foods.

Apparently, so are other scientists. A group of 21 scientists from academia have strenuously objected to the AAAS Board Statement, making important points about why people may want to know whether they are eating GE foods, including broad issues about the lack of sustainability of GE crops, harm from resistant weeds, and herbicide use.

I will leave to others speculation on the Board’s reasons for commenting on this labeling initiative, and stick to some of the science-related points that the Board addresses.

For example, in the first paragraph, the Board’s statement declares:

“Indeed, the science is quite clear: crop improvement by the modern molecular techniques of biotechnology is safe.”

This pronouncement ignores the the findings of major science organizations over the past 10 or 15 years, that some GE crops could be harmful to eat or harmful to the environment. Given these findings, a blanket statement that GE crops are “safe” is misleading.