Renowned Science Group Debunks Common Misconceptions Regarding GMO

The debate regarding the safety of Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) has been going on since introduced commercially in the 1990's. Now, experts from the National Academy of Science, Engineering and Medicine decided to join the fray, proving that GMOs are not only safe for human consumption but are also good for the people and environment.

Their 388 pages comprehensive report put together more than 900 existing reports on the subject. They also included in their study 80 interviews of experts in the field and more than 700 comments from the general public.

 "You can't just continue to have an opinion without backing it up with data," Fred Gould, distinguished professor of entomology and co-director of the Genetic Engineering and Society Center at North Carolina State University, told NBC News.

"They really want somebody to say this is good or this is bad, we came to the conclusion that making any sweeping generalizations about genetically engineered crops is not appropriate," Gould added.

Their findings, published in a website made for the sole purpose of enlightening consumers, revealed that there is no sufficient evidence of large scale adverse health effects on people exposed to GMOs. In fact, genetically engineered crops can potentially improve human health, especially those that were altered to produce more vitamin A.

Researchers also discovered that genetically engineered crops that resist pest and bugs did not damage plant and insect diversity. Additionally, these crops reduced cases of insecticide poisoning.

There are also no concrete evidence found to prove that GMOs are most likely to cause cancer and other major human-health problems.

According to the study, there are only two types of GMOs that are widely used. The first one was engineered to carry genes from common bacteria that kills destructive insects, while the other one was modified to make the crops resistant top weedkillers.

At present, over 90 percent of corn, soybeans and cotton grown in the United States is genetically modified.