​Global GMO Free Coalition Set to Help Fund World’s Largest GMO Safety Study

The Global GMO Free Coalition welcomes the launch of the largest ever study on GMO and pesticide safety – Factor GMO. This is the type of study that should have been carried out on all GM foods before they were released into our food and feed supplies.
Factor GMO will include three arms: carcinogenicity, toxicity and multi-generational. These arms will give clear information on the health impacts of the Roundup Ready GM maize variety being studied and the glyphosate herbicide with which it is grown.
Glyphosate-based herbicides are the most widely used pesticides in the world. Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide is just one of these glyphosate-based herbicides and it accounts for 20% of Monsanto’s net profits every year. Factor GMO will give a clear idea of what level of harm glyphosate-based herbicides cause to human health and will also identify whether Roundup (which includes glyphosate and other ingredients) is more harmful to human health than glyphosate on its own.
The Global GMO Free Coalition (GGFC) urges governments and regulatory authorities worldwide to use the precautionary principle regarding GM crops and glyphosate / Roundup until the results of this comprehensive study are released over the next 3 years. Any other decision by regulatory authorities will leave them open to future accusations of endangering public health based on a lack of comprehensive evidence on the safety of GM crops and their associated pesticides.