GMOs in Russia: educational program for senators

The safety of GMOs is confirmed by thousands of studies, the scientist assures

RIA NewsA group of senators has submitted to the State Duma a bill banning the turnover and import into Russia of products containing genetically modified organisms (GMOs), however, Alexander Panchin, Candidate of Biological Sciences, researcher at the Institute of Information Transmission Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences, believes that their consumption does not pose a danger to either humans or animals.

Genetically modified organisms are obtained by embedding individual genes in their DNA. This technology allows you to breed plants, animals or bacteria with predetermined properties. Usually, when trying to ban GMOs, we are talking about genetically modified plants that are grown for human or animal consumption.

According to the senators' initiative, it is proposed to amend the law "On the quality and safety of food products", prohibiting products with GMOs in the Russian Federation until scientific research appears, which will unequivocally establish the absence of its negative impact on human health and the environment.

1.5 thousand studies"Genetically modified organisms are fundamentally no different from conventional ones in terms of safety.

Over the past 10 years, more than 1.5 thousand studies on the safety of GMOs have been published, and no conclusions have been made about their toxicity or any negative properties," Panchin told RIA Novosti.

He also noted that GMOs have been used as animal feed for decades without any harm to them.

"It is not very clear how much more research needs to be done <...> to convince fellow deputies that GMOs are safe. It seems to me that all this comes from some biological illiteracy," Panchin said.

The scientist noted that the methods of traditional breeding, which have been used for centuries to obtain new species of plants and animals, can be even more dangerous than genetic modification.

"There have been cases in history when toxic plants were removed during breeding, and poisoning occurred. But this was not the case with GMOs. It turns out that GMOs are safer than organisms obtained by traditional breeding methods, which no one forbids," Panchin said.

Security checkThe scientist stressed that every product containing GMOs is tested for safety before being released to the market.

He also explained that there are different types of GMOs, and from the point of view of safety they should be considered separately. So, there are plants that are poisonous to certain pests, for example, the Colorado potato beetle or aphids, there are plants that are resistant to herbicides, so you can "kill" all the weeds around, and the necessary plants will remain, and there are plants enriched with useful substances, for example, "golden rice" with an increased content of vitamin A.

In addition, GMOs are actively used in medicine, for example, in the production of insulin with the help of genetically modified bacteria.

"These technologies save a huge number of lives and allow a large number of people to exist normally. And, fortunately, no one forbids them," concluded Punchin.

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