Are Ready for Market Genetically Modified, Conventional and Organic Soybeans Substantially Equivalent as Food and Feed?

Abstract

SummaryImportant compositional elements, including residues of herbicides, were investigated in commercial soy varieties grown within the same geographical area. These included genetically modified, conventional and organic soybeans. Feed made from these soybeans was subsequently fed to the model organism Daphnia magna, while measuring the fitness performance (survival, growth and reproduction) during the full life cycle of the animals. The conventional and organic samples contained no residues of glyphosate or its degradation product AMPA, but the GM-soy contained such residues, averaging 9.0 mg/kg. The fitness of D. magna fed organic soybeans was superior to that of animals fed GM soybeans, while animals fed conventional soybeans was intermediate. There were large fitness differences for D. magna fed raw soybeans, but smaller with heat-treated soy. In conclusion: herbicides associated with GM soybeans (and/or other factors associated with these crops) may compromise food and feed quality.

Glyphosate: Too Much of a Good Thing?

“…These crops are engineered to withstand the effects of glyphosate and seen as a main incitement for increasing production of and application of these chemicals (Charles, 2001;Benbrook, 2012Benbrook, , 2016Bonny, 2014;Cuhra, 2015a). Annual global production figures for glyphosate have recently been estimated at 825,800,000 kg (Benbrook, 2016), while less investigative sources estimate even higher production volumes, surpassing 1 million ton annually (Székács and Darvas, 2012;Bøhn et al, 2016) and there are few indications of reduced use, other than challenges from resistant weed and emerging evidence.…”