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Lifeng Lin
CSE 300.03
Professor Suver
Literature Review Assignment, Final Draft
October 31, 2016
Safety Assessment of GM Crops
Genetically modified crops, also known as GM crops, are produced through
biotechnology and genetic engineering. The genes for desirable traits are transferred from other
biological materials to the original crops, and the genes for undesirable traits are removed,
resulting in better quality of the crops. Typically, genetically modified crops can increase yield,
improve pesticide, drought and cold resistance, as well as other characteristics. In 1994,
genetically modified tomatoes into the US market. It is the first time that genetically modified
crops commercially available. The safety assessment of genetically modified crops has been
going on ever since. There are two main areas of concerned, one is environmental risk, another
one is human health risk.
One main concern about the environmental risk of GM crops is uncontrolled gene flow.
Uncontrolled gene flow refers to genetically modified crops spread to other crop species or
natural wild species, and become part of the gene of those natural species. It can result in mixing
and polluting gene pool of the natural species. And the progress of gene flow is also irreversible.
To investigate the gene flow from crops to their related wild species, Anne-Marie and several
other scientists developed a model using wild radish, a widely distributed weed, and oilseed rape
that were genetically modified to be herbicide resistant and introduced this model in their article
Gene Flow from Transgenic Crops. They used oilseed rape as the mother plant, and produced
oilseed rape/wild radish hybrid seeds. They planted the hybrid seeds in a field surround by wild
radish, and studied the four successive generations of the hybrids under natural field conditions.

Based on the results of their research, they concluded that gene flow might might mainly occur
by transgene introgression within the genome of the weeds, and at a low probability under
natural optimal condition, when the wild radish is the female plant. (Marie) In another research,
named Uptake of Bt Endotoxins by Nontarget Herbivores and Higher Order Arthropod
Predators: Molecular Evidence from a Transgenic Corn Agroecosystem, James D. Hardwood
and his coworkers from University of Kentucky studied the uptake of herbicide toxins by nontarget herbivores in a transgenic agroecosystem. They collected non-target arthropods and their
predators from transgenic corn field, and screen for the presence of toxin. The results of their
study showed there is a a clear evidence for the uptake of Cy1Ab endotoxins from transgenic
corn by non-target herbivores and several arthropod predators in the field. (Hardwood)
Another concern about environmental risk of GM crops is the usage of pesticide. Overuse
of pesticide would accumulate in the soil. If the accumulation of pesticide reaches a certain
extent, it will pollute the soil, and affect the quality of the soil. Overuse of pesticide can also
cause water and atmosphere pollution if it spread into the environment. Some scientists pointed
out that the genetically modified crops have positive impact to the environment due to their
ability of reducing pesticide usage. Graham Brookes and Peter Barfoot, two scientists from
Dorchester, UK, analyzed the data of the pesticide usage on pesticide-resistance crops from
1996-2013. In their article Environmental impacts of genetically modified (GM) crop use 1996
2013: Impacts on pesticide use and carbon emissions, Brookes and Barfoot pointed out that the
technology of incorporating pesticide-resistance gene in crops has reduced the usage of pesticide
by 553 million kilograms. Therefore, they concluded that the technology decreases the harmful
effect of the pesticides usage to the environment. (Brooks) However, some scientists offered
opposite views. In his article Impacts of genetically engineered crops on pesticide use in the

U.S. -- the first sixteen years, Charles Benbrook, a researcher from Washington State University
specifies the problem of overuse pesticide on the genetically modified crops, especially the
overuse of herbicide. Benbrook developed a model to quantify by crop and year the impacts of
six major transgenic crops with pest-management traits on pesticide use in the U.S. from year
1996 to 2011. His research showed that the increased herbicide usage is 239 million kilograms,
and the reduced insecticide usage is 56 million kilograms. The increased in herbicide usage is
larger than the reduced in insecticide usage. Therefore, Benbrook concluded that there is an
increase in the overall usage of pesticide Moreover, he also mentioned in his article that the
herbicide-resistance gene may spread into natural environment and mixed with weeds, and
causes even more increase in the usage of the herbicide. (Benbrook) This raises the concerns
about overuse and pollution of pesticide.
The usage of pesticide also raises concern about the health risk of GM crops. In his
review of GMO safety assessment studies, Marek Cuhra pointed out that residues of glyphosate,
an ingredient of commonly used herbicide, is an ignored issue in safety assessment of
glyphosate-tolerant genetically modified crops in his article Residues in Roundup Ready Crops
Is an Ignored Issue. The 15 studies that Cuhra reviewed indicate that the glyphosate-tolerant
genetically modified crops are always not applied to test study of cultivation. Therefore, Marek
concluded that this issue is often neglected by regulatory assessment. Based on the studies,
Marek found that the pesticide on crops can pass on to consumers and cause chronic poisoning.
Moreover, he found that residues of glyphosate also have the potential to cause cancer.
Therefore, the review concludes that if pesticide is overuse genetically modified crops, it can
have harmful effect on human health. (Cuhra)

Another concern about the health risk of GM crops is unexpected allergens. Artemis
Dona, a scientist from the Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, argues in her article
Health Risks of Genetically Modified food that genetically modified crops change the original
gene of the plants. As a result, some unexpected amino acids, which eventually make up proteins
in the plants, may be produced due to the changes in the pattern of gene. These new proteins may
cause unexpected allergy after the consumers eat them. (Dona) However, another article offers an
opposite view. In his article No Health Risks from GMOs, Steven Novella argues that all
living organism are the product of mutations (Novella). Novella pointed out that when farmer
plants crops in the old days, they always pay attention for the mutations of crops which have
better characteristics. If the better mutations occur, they plant that mutations to get better
characteristics. This procedure, according to Novella, is just a slow method of causing genetic
change compared to genetically engineering a plant (Novella). He also argued that the publics
fear of genetically modified crops is mainly coming from the wrong information and premises,
which mislead the public to think that all natural things are better and healthier than artificial
things, which is not correct. (Novella)
In conclusion, there is no consensus on safety assessment of genetically modified crops.
Based on the articles that I read, most studies fail to provide a long term evaluation of the effects
of GM crops on the environmental and human health. The debate about the environment risk as
well as human health risk of GM crops is still ongoing.

Citation:

1. Chvre, Anne-Marie et al. Gene Flow from Transgenic Crops. Nature 389.6654 (1997):
924924.http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v389/n6654/abs/389924a0.html.
2. Dona, Artemis, and Ioannis S. Arvanitoyannis. Health Risks of Genetically Modified
Foods. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition 49.2 (2009): 164175. Taylor and
Francis+NEJM. http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10408390701855993
3. Harwood, James D., William G. Wallin, and John J. Obrycki. Uptake of Bt Endotoxins by
Nontarget Herbivores and Higher Order Arthropod Predators: Molecular Evidence from a
Transgenic Corn Agroecosystem. Molecular Ecology 14.9 (2005): 28152823. Wiley
Online Library. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-294X.2005.02611.x
4. Brookes, Graham, and Peter Barfoot. Environmental Impacts of Genetically Modified
(GM) Crop Use 1996-2013: Impacts on Pesticide Use and Carbon Emissions. GM crops
& food 6.2 (2015): 103133.
5. Benbrook, Charles M. Impacts of Genetically Engineered Crops on Pesticide Use in the
U.S. -- the First Sixteen Years. Environmental Sciences Europe 24.1 (2012): 24.
6. Cuhra, Marek. Review of GMO Safety Assessment Studies: Glyphosate Residues in
Roundup Ready Crops Is an Ignored Issue. Environmental Sciences Europe 27.1 (2015):
7. Hilbeck, Angelika et al. No Scientific Consensus on GMO Safety. Environmental
Sciences Europe 27.1 (2015): 4
8. Novella Steven. No Health Risks from GMOs. The Science of Medicien, Vol. 38, no. 1,

(2015): 4