New Researches in Biotechnology - Facultatea de Biotehnologii ...

Proceeding of the 4 rd International Symposium“NEW RESEARCH IN BIOTECHNOLOGY” USAMV Bucharest, Romania, 2011answered “no”; 13% said that they have probably bought it without knowing and 7 % saidthat they would buy it if it doesn’t have any side effects.Although the safety of genetically modified organisms usage is still a controversysubject because there are conclusive studies on each part, at the question: “Do you thinkthat genetically modified organisms are safe to use?” 76% answered “no”; 14% answered“yes” and 10% “don’t know”.804. CONCLUSIONSGM foods currently available on the international market have undergone riskassessments and are not likely to present risks for human health any more than theirconventional counterparts. However the consumers opinion seems to be different, most ofthem consider that genetically modified food can affect their health.Although there are lots of studies and World Health Organization reports about thegenetically modified organisms the information seems to be hard to get because as wediscover in the questionnaire most of the consumers think that the fruits, the vegetables andmeat products are genetically modified and think that they are already eating this kind offood without being informed.REFERENCES1. Birner R, Alcaraz G (2004). Policy dialogues on genetically modified crops in Europe:insights for African policy dialogues on biotechnology. Background paper: Conference onAfrican Policy Dialogues on Biotechnology, The New Partnership for Africa’sDevelopment/Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy AnalysisNetwork/International Food Policy Research Institute (NEPAD/FANRPAN/IFPRI), Harare,Zimbabwe, 20–22 September 2004. NEPAD, Johannesburg, South Africa,http://www.ifpri.org/africadialogue/pdf/policydialoguespaper.pdf.2. FAO/WHO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations/World HealthOrganization) (2000). Safety aspects of genetically modified foods of plant origin. Report ofa FAO/WHO Expert consultation on Food Derived from Biotechnology, World HealthOrganization Headquarters, Geneva, Switzerland 29 May-2 June 2000.3. Ho M-W, Ryan A, Cummins J (2000). Hazards of transgenic plants with the cauliflowermosaic viral promoter. Microbial Ecology in Health and Disease, 12, 6–11.4. James C. (2009)Executive summary – Global status of commercialized biotech/GM crops:2009 Ithaca: The International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotechApplications(ISAAA)http://www.isaaa.org/resources/publications/briefs/41/executivesummary/default.asp5. Lewenstein BV (2002). Public perception and understanding of the genomics revolution.Presented to World Health Organization: Biotechnology and genomics in healthimprovement in developing countries, Havana, Cuba, 25 March 2002. Cornell GenomicsInitiative, Cornell University, New York City.6. Timo Kaphengst, Nadja El Benni, Clive Evans, Robert Finger, Sophie Herbert, StaphenMorse, Nataliya Stupak, (2011). Assessment of the economic performance of GM cropsworldwide, Ecologic Institute, Berlin, 29 march, 2011.7. WHO (World Health Organization) 2005.Modern food biotechnology, human health anddevelopment: an evidence-based study, Food Safety Department, 1 June 2005.