Myth: Modern biotechnology is inherently different from conventional breeding and poses greater risks.Fact: Modern biotechnology is a refinement of techniques that have been used to improve plants for thousands of years. The main differences, compared to conventional breeding, are that modern technology is a more precise process and there is a broader array of plant improvements that are possible.
Many authoritative scientific bodies—including the National Academy of Sciences—have concluded that crops enhanced by using modern biotechnology are as safe as crops improved through classical breeding methods.
Because of advanced knowledge and greater scrutiny by regulatory agencies, biotech crops and foods may even be safer than their conventionally bred counterparts. Modern biotechnology allows the transfer of a single, well-characterized trait into the crop whereas hybridization allows the transfer of not only the desired trait, but also thousands of unwanted and sometimes poorly understood traits. Therefore, with biotechnology, scientists have a better understanding of the changes being made and are in a better position to assess safety of the food products.
One example of improved safety is a biotech crop that may lower exposure to naturally-occurring toxins. Research has shown that Bt corn helps prevent damage to corn stalks caused by the corn ear worm. That damage often leads to invasion by fungi that produce the toxin fumonisin. Therefore, protection against corn ear worm lowers the potential for exposure to fumonisin, which may be linked to esophageal cancer in humans.
Myth: Biotech foods will introduce new allergens into the food supply, putting susceptible people at risk.
Fact: Usually protein is the component of food that provokes an allergic response, but only a very small number of proteins are allergens. Common sources of food allergens include such widely consumed foods as milk, eggs, wheat, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, and soy.
Today, biotech companies avoid using genetic material from plant foods commonly associated with allergies. Furthermore, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations would require that the use of genes from a known allergenic food would require allergenicity testing. In the mid 1990s, a biotech variety of soybean was developed with a gene from the Brazil nut, and testing sponsored by the company revealed the presence of an allergen. As a result, this soybean was never sold to consumers, demonstrating how rigorous testing can provide additional assurance of safety.
Researchers are also using biotechnology to remove allergens from foods, such as peanuts. The future development of allergen-free foods may expand the choice of wholesome foods available to allergy sufferers.
Myth: Consumers want foods produced through biotechnology to be labeled.
Fact: The results of a nationally representative consumer survey (conducted by Cogent Research for the International Food Information Council, January 2004) show that when individuals are asked to identify information currently not on food labels that they would like to see added, three out of four say "nothing" and only 1 percent mention "genetically engineered" food. When the current FDA labeling policy is explained to consumers, 53 percent support the policy and 9 percent neither support nor oppose the policy. Consumers who have heard "a lot" about biotechnology are significantly more likely than those who have heard less to support the FDA labeling policy, suggesting that providing consumers with increased information may go a long way to increasing understanding of the policy. Unlike the results from the survey conducted by Cogent Research, however, the results of some polls suggesting that consumers want labeling do not represent the attitudes of the general public and often use manipulative terminology to bias responses.
Myth: Foods derived from biotechnology are not regulated.
Fact: Plants and foods derived through the use of biotechnology are regulated by as many as three agencies: the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the FDA.
USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service regulates biotech crops to ensure that new varieties do not pose a threat to the environment while they are growing in the field.
EPA regulates biotech crops with built-in protection from harmful pests. EPA regulations ensure not only that the new plant is safe for the environment, but also that the protection produced by the plant is safe for consumers.
In 1992, FDA issued a policy statement addressing the regulation of biotech foods and instituted a premarket review process. Although this premarket review process is voluntary, it has been honored without exception by companies seeking to commercialize new biotech foods. Since 1992, FDA has conducted more than 51 reviews of biotech foods, none of which raised safety concerns.
Myth: Agricultural biotechnology will not benefit developing countries.
Fact: It is estimated that about 840 million people do not currently have access to sufficient food supplies. Moreover, according to the US Census Bureau, the present world population is about 6 billion and is projected to grow to about 9 billion by 2050 (). As the rapid increases in the levels of food production brought about in the last several decades begin to level off and the availability of arable land declines, increased demand for food and fiber, largely in the developing world, will need to be met, primarily through increased yields.
Low yields can contribute to a shortage of nutritious foods in developing countries. Biotechnology can help by developing plants protected from insects and viral pests. For example, biotechnology was used to "immunize" papaya plants against the papaya ringspot virus, which had devastated papaya crops in Hawaii. This technique is now being applied to protect high-value papaya and cucurbit crops throughout Southeast Asia, India, the South Pacific, and Australia.
As former President Jimmy Carter noted, "Biotechnology is not the enemy. Hunger is." Together with other forms of intervention, developments in biotechnology can contribute to enhancing the nutritional intakes of people throughout the world.
