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Nature Biotechnology Responds to Melchett Correspondence

Nature Biotechnology volume 33, pages 453–454 (2015)Cite this article

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Nature Biotechnology replies:

The statement “Perhaps Vermont's legislators should consider “may contain” labels for radioisotopes, mercury, cadmium, bird feces, microbial poisons and explosives—ingredients that are present in all foods, albeit at undetectable levels” was intended to be ironic. We agree with Peter Melchett that it doesn't make sense to insist on labels for ingredients that are undetectable. The real question is one of relative harm: is the cadmium in 'organic' or 'non-organic' food more or less beneficial to human health and the environment than the presence or absence of genes altered by one of several methods for altering genes with relative precision (that is, relative to traditional breed-enhancing processes, such as mutation by chemicals or bombardment with radioisotopes)?

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Nature Biotechnology Responds to Melchett Correspondence. Nat Biotechnol 33, 453–454 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt.3224

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