The Editor,
This subject generates a great deal of emotion in some groups. That is completely understandable as there is a huge international campaign to generate that fear.
Unfortunately, facts rarely alleviate that fear. The fact is there has never been a single documented case of harm from consuming genetically modified (GM) crops.
So says every single food safety authority in the world. The latest authority to repeat this statement is the European Food safety Authority in its "A decade of EU-Funded GMO research 2001-2010" report.
This report coupled with a previous 15 years of EU funded research concluded that there is no evidence of harm to humans, animals or the environment from consuming or growing GM crops.
There is a huge body of peer-reviewed literature behind this statement. I have been involved in public education on this issue for over a decade.
I have written a series of articles (without science jargon) for the public to help explain this technology.
There are also links to world expert opinion (as stated above) and links to the critics so one can go there and read all sides and decide for themselves what to believe.
Fear of this largely unknown science is natural as most people are not trained in the science, but that does not make the claims of the dangers real.
Robert Wager Vancouver Island University
