Plant Breeding - Part Two
Tim Hammerich
News Reporter
Plant breeding is a vital area for the future of agriculture. The process now usually involves large teams with the latest technology. Tools like genetic modification should be trusted says seed consultant Marcel Bruins, because there is a rigorous approval process in place.
Bruins… “If you wish to market a biotech variety, it will need to go through a very thorough testing process where you test the new variety on a range of different organisms, whether it's safe. And those rules they are established by Codex Alimentarius, which is a UN based organization. They set the rules for the testing of biotech varieties.”
Bruins said the science is clear that genetically modified foods are safe.
Bruins… “We have eaten over a trillion meals with GM products in them. There are 300 - 400 million consumers in the US and we have been eating GMOs for several decades. So plus all the other countries in the world. So that that's over a trillion meals that we've been eating with GMO ingredients and zero indications of any illnesses or death. So that means to me and to most people that GMOs are safe.”
Gene editing is another plant breeding technology that we will explore tomorrow.
