Environmental impacts of genetically modified crops

Abstract

Genetically modified (GM) crops have been adopted by some of the world’s leading agricultural nations, but the full extent of their environmental impact remains largely unknown. Although concerns regarding the direct environmental effects of GM crops have declined, GM crops have led to indirect changes in agricultural practices, including pesticide use, agricultural expansion, and cropping patterns, with profound environmental implications. Recent studies paint a nuanced picture of these environmental impacts, with mixed effects of GM crop adoption on biodiversity, deforestation, and human health that vary with the GM trait and geographic scale. New GM or gene-edited crops with different traits would likely have different environmental and human health impacts.

Reference

Frederik Noack, Dennis Engist, Josephine Gantois, Vasundhara Gaur, Batoule F. Hyjazie, Ashley Larsen, Leithen K. M’Gonigle, Anouch Missirian, Matin Qaim, Risa D. Sargent, Eduardo Souza-Rodrigues, and Claire Kremen, “Environmental impacts of genetically modified crops”, Science, vol. 385, n. 6712, August 2024.