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Jon Entine, who runs the website Genetic Literacy Project, quoted a recent survey by the American Academy for the Advancement of Science that found 88 per cent of scientists said GM food was safe.
That percentage was higher than those who believe in evolution or climate change.
Mr Entine said more GM products were approved in the US than in Europe or Australia, because in the US, the safety test was only on the food, not the process of gene technology.
“What that means is if individual products are evaluated we have an opportunity to get them approved on a case-by-case basis.
“But if you’re trying to get the entire system of genetic engineering approved there’s going to be whole instances where the system doesn’t work.
“So you’ll throw out the baby with the bathwater.”
Speaking to the Horticulture Conference 2016 on the Gold Coast, he said that the foods produced through mutagenesis had been an acceptable process since the 1930s.
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“We have durum wheat used to make pasta, and pears from Japan, ruby red sweet grapefruit popular in the United States and elsewhere.
“All of those are sold as organic, even though they’re lab-created mutations, from blasting chromosomes with chemicals or radiation.
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“We can produce new crops with health benefits, and reduce chemical inputs.”
Read full, original post: Australia and Europe GM policies stymieing the release of new crops and food: US science writer
