Fish Oil Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Fish Oil, including details on omega-3, dosage, health benefits, diet.

Are genetically modified plants useful and safe?

Weil JH

Institut de Biologie Moleculaire des Plantes, Strasbourg, France. Jacques-Henry.Weil@ibmp-ulp.u-strasbg.fr

So far, plants have been genetically modified essentially to achieve resistance to herbicides, or to pathogens (mainly insects, or viruses), but resistance to abiotic stresses (such as cold, heat, drought, or salt) is also being studied. Genetically modified (GM) plants with improved nutritional qualities have more recently been developed, such as plants containing higher proportions of unsaturated fatty acids (omega-3 and omega-6) in their oil (to prevent cardio-vascular diseases), or containing beta-carotene as in the golden rice (to prevent vitamin A deficiency). Possible risks for human health (such as the production of allergenic proteins), or for the environment (such as the appearance of superweeds as a result from gene flow), should be carefully studied, and a science-based assessment of benefits vs. risks should be made on a case by case basis, both for GM plants and for plants obtained by conventional breeding methods.

Published 22 July 2005 in IUBMB Life, 57(4): 311-4.
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