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GM crops that produce BT toxin are supposed to be safe for humans due to the acid in our stomachs breaking down the BT toxin. But, I wasn't able to find any st

GM crops that produce BT toxin are supposed to be safe for humans due to the acid in our stomachs breaking down the BT toxin. But, I wasn't able to find any studies that investigated the safety of BT toxin in contact with mucus membranes in the mouth etc. before being processed by the stomach. It seems, at least, possible that this could lead to an increased risk of throat and mouth cancers. GM BT corn, egg plant (aubergine), and potatoes are common. Herbicide resistant GM crops used to get slathered with more herbicides than non-GM crops, so you probably were getting less exposure to these herbicides with non-GM conventional crops vs. GM conventional crops (I guess you could argue this falls into business practices, but it is the point of these GM crops). But, Ag schools, at least in the US, have been promoting using herbicides like glyphosate and Reglone to desiccate crops immediately prior to harvest[1] to avoid having to mow the crops to get a low uniform crop moisture content for harvesting equipment. So, conventional non-GM grains, oil seeds and legumes may also have high herbicide residues. Of course, buying organic avoids both sources of herbicides. [1] https://extension.umn.edu/small-grains-harvest-and-storage/managing-wheat-harvest https://extension.umn.edu/small-grains-harvest-and-storage/m...

xwdv 4y ago
Meh, none of those issues are inherent to GM crops themselves, and even some non-GM crops can be bad for you in certain circumstances.
- sillystuff 4y ago
  Your "meh" is similar to disregarding contemporary environmental PFAS contamination because of historic lead contamination from tetraethyllead. "There exist bad things already" does not automatically make the additional potentially bad thing harmless. BT is sprayed on some food crops, but with GM food crops, it is contained within every cell of the plant, and cannot be washed off. You are consuming BT toxin, if you eat GM BT crops (the US EPA requires BT crops to be registered as pesticides). Putting poison in contact with mucus membranes seems, at the very least, 'possible' to have negative long-term health consequences. Non GM conventional crops can use systemic pesticides (the irrigation water contains the poison and/or the seed is pre-treated. This also incorporates the pesticide within plant tissues so it cannot be washed off). These systemic pesticides are usually neonicotinoids. Presence of systemic neonicotinoid use in conventional agriculture does not negate concerns about GM BT crops. My point was that GM, as it exists today, makes conventional agriculture's issues of pesticide exposure and low genetic diversity in our staple food crops worse, not that conventional agriculture doesn't already have issues.

xwdv 4y ago

Meh, none of those issues are inherent to GM crops themselves, and even some non-GM crops can be bad for you in certain circumstances.

sillystuff 4y ago
Your "meh" is similar to disregarding contemporary environmental PFAS contamination because of historic lead contamination from tetraethyllead. "There exist bad things already" does not automatically make the additional potentially bad thing harmless. BT is sprayed on some food crops, but with GM food crops, it is contained within every cell of the plant, and cannot be washed off. You are consuming BT toxin, if you eat GM BT crops (the US EPA requires BT crops to be registered as pesticides). Putting poison in contact with mucus membranes seems, at the very least, 'possible' to have negative long-term health consequences. Non GM conventional crops can use systemic pesticides (the irrigation water contains the poison and/or the seed is pre-treated. This also incorporates the pesticide within plant tissues so it cannot be washed off). These systemic pesticides are usually neonicotinoids. Presence of systemic neonicotinoid use in conventional agriculture does not negate concerns about GM BT crops. My point was that GM, as it exists today, makes conventional agriculture's issues of pesticide exposure and low genetic diversity in our staple food crops worse, not that conventional agriculture doesn't already have issues.