Washington, D.C., USA
March 7, 2014
The Crop Science Society of America (CSSA), a prominent international scientific society representing more than 6,000 crop scientists, has released a formal statement supporting the use of plant biotechnology—including technology that produces genetically modified (GM) crops—and opposing mandatory labeling of foods derived from GM crops.
“CSSA is committed to the conservation and wise use of natural resources to produce food, feed, and fiber crops while maintaining and improving the environment. Working to achieve this mission in a rapidly expanding population with increasingly limited resources, compels us to explore every tool in the toolbox,” says David Baltensperger, President of CSSA. “One of those tools is GM technology.”
Analysis of over 25 years of research, representing thousands of independent studies, shows that GM crops are as safe as crops derived from traditional breeding methods. FDA labeling practices require product labeling when the absence of information would pose a special health or environmental risk.
Since GM crops pose no significant health risks, requiring labels for foods with GM crops could serve to falsely alarm and potentially mislead consumers.
“The research overwhelmingly shows that GM crops are safe and pose no significant health or environmental risks,” says Stephen Baenziger, Chair of the CSSA Science Policy Committee. “In the light of such evidence, CSSA sees no basis for the mandatory labeling of GM foods.”
While CSSA strongly supports continued research and rigorous testing of the effects and impacts of GM technology, we believe that federal regulatory oversight of agricultural biotechnology should be evidence-based and reflect the conclusions of current research.
For a copy of the complete CSSA Position Statement on the use of genetically modified crops, visit https://www.crops.org/files/science-policy/issues/reports/cssa-gmo-statement.pdf
The Crop Science Society of America (CSSA), founded in 1955, is an international scientific society comprised of 6,000+ members with its headquarters in Madison, WI. Members advance the discipline of crop science by acquiring and disseminating information about crop breeding and genetics; crop physiology; crop ecology, management, and quality; seed physiology, production, and technology; turfgrass science; forage and grazinglands; genomics, molecular genetics, and biotechnology; and biomedical and enhanced plants.
CSSA fosters the transfer of knowledge through an array of programs and services, including publications, meetings, career services, and science policy initiatives. For more information, visit www.crops.org
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