Subscribe now

Earth

Refusing to accept GM food is safe is like climate change denial

Environmentalist Mark Lynas, who once destroyed GM crops and then made headlines by ending his opposition, is stepping up his call for reason to triumph

By Mark Lynas

3 April 2018

New Scientist. Science news and long reads from expert journalists, covering developments in science, technology, health and the environment on the website and the magazine.

Mark Lynas

Tom Pilston/The Times

Pro-science types, when they lambast those who campaign against genetically modified crops, often point out that no one has ever been harmed by the food produced from them. After 3 trillion meals, they insist, nobody has credibly reported even so much as a headache.

August bodies – from the US National Academy of Sciences to the UK’s Royal Society – all agree that food from genetically modified organisms (GMOs) is as safe as any other.

Perhaps I am the first person, therefore, harmed by dealings with a GMO. During an hour spent recently examining the performance of genetically engineered maize in a…

Sign up to our weekly newsletter

Receive a weekly dose of discovery in your inbox. We'll also keep you up to date with New Scientist events and special offers.

Sign up

To continue reading, subscribe today with our introductory offers

Piano Exit Overlay Banner Mobile Piano Exit Overlay Banner Desktop