|
USA – CONSUMERS DENIED GM BENEFITS
Food companies deprive consumers of biotech benefits
Source: Nature Biotechnology via AgNet
Some food companies may be too rash in dismissing biotech foods when in fact they are depriving consumers of an opportunity for safer and superior food products. In a recent issue of Nature Biotechnology, Henry Miller of Stanford University and colleagues presented in the article “Why spurning food biotech has become a liability” some of the positive effects of using biotechnology in food production and processing, and what food companies should know.
In the advent of modern biotechnology, new products might have come out of the market that would have offered the food industry a proven and practical means of tackling problems such as fungal contamination, allergenic reactions to food, and pesticide poisoning at their source. The obstacle lies on the unfounded risks of biotech foods and the perceived benefits of nonbiotech foods. However, the use of organic ingredients poses greater risks of pesticide poisoning and mycotoxin contamination, as organic crops are prone to colonization by killer fungi and therefore require frequent pesticide applications.
Readers can access the complete commentary “Why spurning food biotech has become a liability” at http://www.nature.com/nbt/journal/v24/n9/full/nbt0906-1075.html.
|
