Skip to main content

GM Food, Nutrition, Safety, and Health

  • Reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Food and Agricultural Ethics

Synonyms

Agriculture; Ethics; Food science; GM crops; GM foods; Risk; Socioeconomics

Introduction

Research on and development of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) has been facilitated by modern biotechnological techniques. The first GM plant, a tobacco plant expressing an antibiotic resistance gene taken from a bacterium, was grown in a greenhouse in 1983. Since then a variety of GM crop plants have been released into agricultural fields. At present, herbicide-resistant crops are the most widely grown GM plants (approximately 70%). These GM crops contain genes that enable them to degrade ingredients in herbicides and imply that farmers can control weeds by herbicides as well as low tillage practices. Genes from the Bacillus thuringiensishave been inserted in plants to make them resist insect attacks and are the second most popular GM crops at the market together with plants that contain stacked genes, a combination of herbicide tolerance and insect resistance. At present, there...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 649.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 799.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Benbrook, C. (2009). Impacts of genetically engineered crops on pesticide use: The first thirteen years. The Organic Center. http://www.organic-center.org/reportfiles/GE13YearsReport.pdf. Accessed 13 Mar 2013.

  • Botha, G. M., & Viljoen, C. D. (2008). Can GM sorghum impact Africa? Trends in Biotechnology, 26(2), 64–69.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • De Schrijver, A., Devos, Y., Van den Blucke, M., Cadot, P., De Loose, M., Reheul, D., & Sneyer, M. (2007). Risk assessment of GM stacked events obtained from crosses between GM events. Trends in Food Science & Technology, 18, 101–109.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Domingo, J. L. (2007). Toxicity studies of genetically modified plants: a review of the published literature. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition, 47, 721–733.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • EFSA. (2008). Safety and nutritional assessment of GM plants and derived from food and feed. The role of animal feeding trials. Food and Chemical Toxicology, 46, A2–A70.

    Google Scholar 

  • EFSA. (2011). Guidance for risk assessment of food and feed from genetically modified plants. EFSA Journal, 9(5), 2150.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Freese, W., & Schubert, D. (2004). Safety testing and regulation of genetically engineered foods. Biotechnology & Genetic Engineering Reviews, 21, 299–324.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gassmann, A. J., Petzold-Maxwell, J. L., Keweshan, R. S., & Dunbar, M. W. (2011). Field-evolved resistance to Bt maize by western corn rootworm. PLoS One, 6(7), e22629. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0022629.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gomord, V., Chamberlain, P., Jefferis, R., & Faye, L. (2005). Biopharmaceutical production in plants: Problems, solutions and opportunities. Trends in Biotechnology, 23, 559–565.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heinemann, J. A., Kurenbach, B., & Quist, D. (2011). Molecular profiling – A tool for addressing emerging gaps in the comparative risk assessment of GMOs. Environment International, 37, 1285–1293.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • ISAAA (International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications). (2013). ISAAA brief 44-2012. http://www.isaaa.org. Accessed 26 Mar 2013.

  • Küster, B., Krogh, T. N., Mørtz, E., & Harvey, D. J. (2001). Glycosylation analysis of gel-separated proteins. Proteomics, 1, 350–361.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Melo-Martin, I., & Meghani, Z. (2008). Beyond risk. A more realistic risk-benefit analysis of agricultural biotechnologies. EMBO Reports, 9, 302–306.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nielsen, K. M. (2013). Biosafety data as confidential business information. PLoS Biology, 11, e1001499. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1001499.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Omenn, G. S., Goodman, G. E., Thornquist, M. D., et al. (1996). Effects of a combination of beta carotene and vitamin A on lung cancer and cardiovascular disease. New England Journal of Medicine, 334, 1150–1155.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rosendal, K. G., & Myhr, A. I. (2009). GMO assessment in Norway: Societal utility and sustainable development. EMBO Reports, 10, 939–940.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Séralini, G. E., Clair, E., Mesnage, R., Gress, S., Defarge, N., Malatesta, M., Hennequin, D., & de Vendômois, J. S. (2012). Long-term toxicity of a roundup herbicide and a roundup-tolerant genetically modified maize. Food and Chemical Toxicology, 50(11), 4221–4231. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fct.2012.08.005.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Spök, A., Gaugitsch, H., Laffer, S., Pauli, G., Saito, H., Sampson, H., Sibanda, E., Thomas, E., van Hage, M., & Valenta, R. (2005). Suggestions for the assessment of the allergenic potential of genetically modified organisms. International Archives of Allergy and Immunology, 137, 167–180.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thompson, P. (2007). Food and biotechnology in ethical perspective. Dordrecht: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • VKM (Norwegian Scientific Committee for Food Safety). (2005). An assessment on potential long-term effects caused by antibiotic resistance marker genes in genetically modified organisms based on antibiotic usage and resistance patterns in Norway. Report from an Ad Hoc Group. Oslo, Norway.

    Google Scholar 

  • WCED (World Commission on Environment and Development). (1987). Our common future. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • WHO. (2002). Foods derived from modern technology: 20 questions on genetically modified foods. Available at: http://www.who.int/fsf/GMfood/.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Lise Nordgard .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2019 Springer Nature B.V.

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Nordgard, L., Gronsberg, I.M., Myhr, A.I. (2019). GM Food, Nutrition, Safety, and Health. In: Kaplan, D.M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Food and Agricultural Ethics. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-024-1179-9_3

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics