A few years ago, an intense controversy broke out around transgenic foods . Some forums warned about their supposed dangers and announced the massive arrival of these products on the market and at the consumer’s table. What has actually happened? How many GMO foods do we consume today?
When faced with a tomato that looks different from the one we are used to, there is often someone who says the phrase: “It is surely transgenic.” As it turns out, no: in Europe no GM tomato variety is currently marketed .
Lets start by the beginning. What is a GMO? “A transgenic, by legal definition, is that organism that carries DNA from another organism that has been introduced by genetic engineering methods,” explains José Miguel Mulet, professor of biotechnology at the Polytechnic University of Valencia . “You can also put DNA into other organisms by different techniques such as hybridizations and crosses, but are not considered transgenic. ”
Genetic engineering techniques allow the inclusion of a specific characteristic (resistance to insects, higher vitamin content, better conservation …) in a targeted manner in a given species, unlike classical genetic improvement techniques , which are based in the generation of a great genetic variability to then select the organism that contains the desired characteristic, frequently together with other characteristics that were not the object of improvement.
Tomatoes, pears, peppers, apples that we can find in the market or in large stores in Spain have been genetically manipulated, but with the classic improvement techniques. “A tomato has more technology than an iphone,” says Mulet.
GMO foods in supermarkets
But from GMOs, nothing. No tomatoes, bell peppers, apples, or potatoes … No fruit, vegetables, or other GM raw materials are sold in European grocery stores . What can be found, although in a very specific way, are processed foods with some ingredient (such as rapeseed or soy) of transgenic origin.
The European Union allows, with prior authorization and with the obligation to state on the label, the import of products of transgenic origin . However, the only thing that can be grown in Europe is transgenic maize that is resistant to insects (to the borer pest). It is the famous Bt corn , which is planted almost exclusively in Spain and is intended entirely for animal feed.
Paul Christou, a researcher at the Department of Plant Production and Forest Science at the University of Lleida , stresses that it is important for people to know that in Europe “nobody eats any GM food because they are not available” . The scientist explains that what we ingest is, for example, “soybean oil or soy protein in different products that can come from genetically modified soybeans, but those products do not contain any DNA from other organisms.” In other words, “some of the ingredients in processed foods have been developed through genetic engineering, but what we extract from them for human consumption are not transgenic foods.”
European regulation of transgenics
GMOs are referred to as genetically modified organisms (GMOs) by the European authorities and Community legislation requires that at all stages of the production and marketing process of a food it is possible to know whether or not it contains GMOs .
The Spanish Food Safety Agency summarizes on its website what the approval process for these foods is like: “All foods whose marketing begins in the European Union are subject to evaluations that guarantee that their consumption is safe. Genetically modified food must also be subject to a food safety assessment before being placed on the market. GMOs undergo a case by case evaluation before authorizing their commercialization in Europe ”.
First, it must be ensured that:
- They have no negative effects on human health.
- They do not mislead the consumer.
- They do not differ from the foods they are intended to substitute in such a way that their normal consumption is nutritionally disadvantageousfor consumers.
In addition, they must undergo an assessment of environmental safety requirements.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is responsible for issuing an opinion and a report describing the evaluation carried out on the food and which will support the European Commission and the competent authorities of the member countries to decide whether to authorize or denies the commercialization of the GMO.
Those are the criteria for the import and commercialization of GMOs. When it comes to approving GM crops on European soil, the legislation is even stricter. Christou considers the situation that has been created meaningless: “There are two different sets of laws. One of them applies to what farmers can grow in Europe, which is limited to Bt corn for animal feed. No other cultivation has been authorized . However, there is another legislative body that allows Europe to import a large quantity of GM crops for very diverse applications. ”
What is at the bottom of this paradox? Christou is clear: “It is not a question of health, but of politics . “
The researcher comments on another paradox: “The European Commission’s Directorate-General for Research finances a lot of applied research on transgenics that could be commercialized. Now, there are other general directorates, such as the environment, that actively block any product that comes out of research funded by European funds. ” So there are two different departments of the same organization fighting each other. Why? “Because they have different groups behind them.” In short, political parties and pressure groups with different interests.
Are GMO foods safe?
In their frontal opposition to transgenics, environmental groups have repeatedly alluded to the alleged health dangers of transgenic foods: cancer , allergies , bacterial resistance to antibiotics , etc. What has been demonstrated? “Nothing that environmental groups have said for 20 years has been fulfilled,” says Mulet.
The World Health Organization (WHO) published in 2014 a report on the hypothetical health risks of GMOs in which it states the following: “The genetically modified foods currently available on the international market have passed the relevant safety evaluations and they are not likely to present risks to human health. Furthermore, no effects on human health have been demonstrated as a result of consumption of such foods by the general population in countries where they have been approved. ”
