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Answers

Question

Has a biotech company ever harmed a large population of people effecting multiple generations with debilitating health effects and tried to cover it up?

Submitted by: ktotels


Answer

Expert response from Kevin Folta

Professor and Chairman, Horticultural Sciences Department, University of Florida

Thursday, 09/10/2014 18:27

If they did, the cover up must be awfully good! In short, these are the occasional claims from recognized conspiracy theorists, but they don’t have a tippy-toe in reality. Biotech crops have never been connected to a single case of harm, let alone a population, let alone over generations! These crops are extremely prevalent. If there were an issue with these crops, it would be easy to spot. A recent report indicated that 100 billion animals showed no decreases in growth or development. That’s a good indicator that there’s nothing wrong. Plus, there are a lot of scientists, like me, who are out here putting people first, ahead of corporations, and examining every claim seriously. To date, there are no compelling data that indicate that these products possess any more risk than conventionally bred food products.

 

And there’s a lot of incentive to find a problem. The scientist who connects transgenic crops to an illness and overturns 90 percent of planted acreage … we’re talking a Nobel Prize, grants and Dr. Bronner’s Soap endorsements for life! Lots of science folks are sniffing around for an issue, and so far the best evidence is rather cheesy and ends up as single reports in irrelevant journals that are never repeated again. We are watching. Nobody is going to put legitimate harm past a vast network of dialed-in, assertive and stubborn scientists. We work for you and take that job very seriously.

 

Answer

Expert response from Kevin Folta

Professor and Chairman, Horticultural Sciences Department, University of Florida

Thursday, 09/10/2014 18:27

If they did, the cover up must be awfully good! In short, these are the occasional claims from recognized conspiracy theorists, but they don’t have a tippy-toe in reality. Biotech crops have never been connected to a single case of harm, let alone a population, let alone over generations! These crops are extremely prevalent. If there were an issue with these crops, it would be easy to spot. A recent report indicated that 100 billion animals showed no decreases in growth or development. That’s a good indicator that there’s nothing wrong. Plus, there are a lot of scientists, like me, who are out here putting people first, ahead of corporations, and examining every claim seriously. To date, there are no compelling data that indicate that these products possess any more risk than conventionally bred food products.

 

And there’s a lot of incentive to find a problem. The scientist who connects transgenic crops to an illness and overturns 90 percent of planted acreage … we’re talking a Nobel Prize, grants and Dr. Bronner’s Soap endorsements for life! Lots of science folks are sniffing around for an issue, and so far the best evidence is rather cheesy and ends up as single reports in irrelevant journals that are never repeated again. We are watching. Nobody is going to put legitimate harm past a vast network of dialed-in, assertive and stubborn scientists. We work for you and take that job very seriously.