Possible Threats of Genetically Modified Organisms

Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs), also called Genetically Engineered Organisms (GEOs), are deliberately created to serve useful roles in agriculture, forestry, aquaculture, bioremediation and environmental management in both developed and developing countries. But a deliberate or accidental release of a GMO into the open environment can have negative ecological consequences under the wrong circumstances, which is exactly why regulators weigh field trials so carefully. The documented risks include: creating new or more aggressive pests and pathogens, or worsening existing ones through hybridisation with related transgenic organisms; harming non-target species such as soil organisms, beneficial insects, birds and other wildlife; disrupting whole biotic communities, including agricultural ecosystems; causing irreparable loss of species diversity or of genetic diversity within a species; and creating direct risks to human health. Because living GMOs can proliferate, persist in the environment, and sometimes transfer their DNA into other organisms, an uncontrolled release could let a GEO displace existing native organisms or effectively c …