University of California-Davis animal biotechnology professor Alison Van Eenennaam, author of recent research published in the Journal of Animal Science [NOTE: article behind paywall until October 1] that examined 29 years of livestock productivity and health data from before and after the introduction of GM crops into animal feed formulations, explains the details and impact of her findings in an podcast with the US Grains Council.
As the Genetic Literacy Project recently reported, the trillion meal study is the latest finding that GM crops are as nutritious as conventional and organic varieties and pose no longterm health concerns.
“The broiler information set is the most powerful because we looked at nine billion birds that were fed mostly GM crops,” Van Eenennaam said. “There was improved feed-to-gain ratios and decreased age to market, which suggests that feeding GM crops did not having any detrimental effects to the birds’ health.”
The findings could have implications for the international marketplace as some countries continue to reject GM crops based on non-science based safety concerns.
“We are going to have more rejections (for unapproved biotech events) in the future and the potential for trade disruptions is going to increase,” Van Eenennaam said. “This is going to increase the cost of food everywhere, which has real implications for food security.”
(Listen to interview)
Read full original article: Long-Term Impacts of Feeding GM Crops to Livestock Evaluated
