Scientists in France recently published a controversial study that raises concerns about the safety of foods with genetically modified ingredients. In the study, rats were fed corn that was genetically engineered to withstand spraying with the herbicide Roundup. The rats that received the genetically engineered corn developed health problems, including tumors and liver and kidney dysfunction. Also, a much higher percentage of the rats fed genetically engineered corn died prematurely than the control group of rats that received conventional corn.
This study has, however, received criticism from some scientists. Specifically, certain scientists have pointed out that the type of rat used in the study is predisposed to tumor development. Also, scientists argue that these results break from studies that have demonstrated the apparent safety of genetically modified foods fed to various animals.
Regardless of the disagreements between scientists over the validity of this study, as a Chicago personal injury lawyer, I believe these results call for extensive additional research into the safety of genetically modified foods. Human consumption of these types of genetically modification foods is fairly new, and thus health problems caused by these foods may not have surfaced yet. We do not want to discover ten years from now that these foods were increasing the likelihood of developing tumors or other health problems. Therefore, I hope that this recent study raises awareness of the potential serious health problems that may arise from genetically modified foods.
