Discuss three potential benefits and three possible harmful effects of genetic modifications on humans. Be thorough and specific please.

cess for GE crops conducted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Other evidence came from studies published by regulatory agencies in other countries or by companies, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and academic institutions. The committee also sought evidence from the public and from the speakers at its public meetings and webinars.1

The committee thinks that it is important to make clear that there are limits to what can be known about the health effects of any food, whether non-GE or GE. If the question asked is “Is it likely that eating this food today will make me sick tomorrow?” researchers have methods of getting quantitative answers. However, if the question is “Is it likely that eating

1 The committee has compiled publicly available information on funding sources and first-author affiliation for the references cited in this chapter; the information is available at http://nas-sites.org/ge-crops/.

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