GMOs, Herbicides, and Public Health

In the article, titled “GMOs, Herbicides, and Public Health,” Dr. Philip J. Landrigan,

the Dean for Global Health at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, and co-author Charles Benbrook, a crop and soil scientist, say the time has come for three important steps.

One of these is GMO labeling. They write: “We believe the time has come to revisit the United States’ reluctance to label GM foods.”

As they explain, two recent developments are dramatically changing the GMO landscape:

1. The number of chemical herbicides applied to GM crops has increased sharply and is scheduled to increase even more in the next few years.
2. This year, the International Agency for Research on Cancer classified glyphosate, the herbicide used most widely on GM crops, as a “probable human carcinogen.” And the agency classified 2,4-D, another herbicide, as a “possible human carcinogen.”

The authors believe labeling will have multiple benefits. It will help track the emergence of new food allergies and better evaluate the effects of chemical herbicides applied to GM foods. And also, it will respect the wishes of the growing numbers of consumers who insist they have a right to know what is in the foods and beverages they are buying.

http://foodrevolution.org/blog/new-england-journal-of-medicine-article-calls-for-labeling-of-gm-foods/