Physicians and Scientists for Responsible Application of Science and Technology

About the author: Physicians and Scientists for Responsible Application of Science and Technology is an organization of professional scientists and laypeople who are concerned about the conditions that are hampering impartial comprehensive, interdisciplinary evaluations of the safety of new applications of science and technology—particularly the genetic modification of plants and animals used for food.

A considerable increase in the rate of food-borne illnesses occurring in the United States from 1994 to 1999 can be traced directly to an enormous rise in the consumption of genetically engineered (GE) foods during the same time period. One explanation for the link between an increase in food-borne illnesses and the use of GE foods is the creation of new viruses during the engineering of these foods. Because GE food plants contain...