Isn’t genetically engineered food safety tested?
There is no long-term safety testing of genetically engineered food. Short-term animal feeding trials are conducted in some cases. The biotech companies themselves do the research. No evidence from human trials for either toxicity or allergy testing is required. No independent checks of the company’s claims are required. These regulatory guidelines for the testing of GE food are based on the theory of ‘substantial equivalence’. According to this principle, selected chemical characteristics are compared between a GE product and any variety within the same species. If the two are grossly similar, the GE product does not need to be rigorously tested on the assumption that it is no more dangerous than the non-GE equivalent. Quote from the scientific body ‘The Royal Society of Canada’: “Substantial equivalence does not function as a scientific basis for the application of a safety standard, but rather as a decision procedure for facilitating the passage of new products, GM and non-GM, throu
