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  3. Genetically engineered crops are safe for humans and animals to eat and have not caused increases in cancer, obesity, gastrointe

Genetically engineered crops are safe for humans and animals to eat and have not caused increases in cancer, obesity, gastrointe

admin2019-05-09  52
问题    Genetically engineered crops are safe for humans and animals to eat and have not caused increases in cancer, obesity, gastrointestinal illnesses, Sidney disease, autism or allergies, an exhaustive report from the National Academies of Science released Tuesday found.
   Overall, genetically engineered(GE)crops saved farmers in the United States money but didn’t appear to increase crop yields. They have lowered pest populations in some areas, especially in the Midwest but increased the number of herbicide-resistant weeds in others. There’ s also no evidence that GE crops have affected the population of monarch butterflies, the report said.
   To gauge whether foods made from genetically modified crops were safe for human consumption, the committee compared disease reports from the United States and Canada, where such crops have been consumed since the mid-1990s, and those in the United Kingdom and western Europe, where they are not widely eaten. No long-term pattern of increase in specific health problems after the introduction of GE foods in the 1990s in the United States and Canada was found.
   There was no correlation between obesity or Type II diabetes and the consumption of GE foods. Celiac disease, which makes humans intolerant of gluten, increased in both populations. Patterns in the increase in autism spectrum disorder in children were similar in both the United Kingdom and the United States, the committee reported.
   Overall the report concluded that there were no differences in terms of a higher risk to human health between foods made from GE crops and those made from conventionally-bred crops.
   Food & Water Watch, a government accountability group in Washington D. C. , said the committee ’ s ties to the biotech industry and other corporations create conflicts of interest and raise questions about the independence of its work. "Critics have long beenmarginalized, "said Wenonah Hauter, the group’ s executive director.
   A significant portion of American consumers are concerned about the safety or other effects of foods made with genetically modified crops, often called GMOs for genetically modified organisms. A survey released last year by the NPD Group, a market research firm, found that 57% of Americans were concerned that genetically modified foods posed a health hazard.
   The food industry has taken notice. In 2015, Progressive Grocer, a trade publication, reported that total U. S. sales of food and beverage products labeled" non-GMO" reached $ 10 billion during 2014. The National Academies report will likely not sway these consumers, said Phil Lempert, a Los Angeles-based food industry analyst.
   " It’ s an emotional issue, it’ s not a science issue, " he said.
The word"marginalized" (Para. 6)is closest in meaning to______.
选项 A、condemned
B、abandoned
C、neglected
D、evaluated
答案C
解析 词汇理解题。根据定位词定位到第六段the committee…raise questions about the independence of its work．“Critics have long been marginalized，”(委员会……质疑这份报告的独立性，“批评的声音一直受到排挤。”)这句话意为针对转基因食品的反对声音因为既得利益集团的缘故而被边缘化，受到排挤，故C项“被忽视”正确。A项“被责骂”，接批评意见的人并没有被责骂，故A项错误；B项“被抛弃”并不准确，因为批评意见还在，并未消失，只是无法公开；D项“被评估”，文中提出质疑的原因是研究不够独立，可见批评意见未被评估，故D项错误。
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