Impact on environment, ecosystem, diversity and health from culturing and using GMOs as feed and food

•Gene flow is a hostile force and there are possible risks of development of genetically modified (GM) plants × wild progenitor hybrids.•Biodiversity is affected by cultivation of GM crops, especially herbicide resistant crops.•Current GM food/feed toxicity assessment protocols need upgrading regarding exposure time and cumulative toxicity of GM food/feed mixtures.•The “consensus” over the GM safety is a falsely perpetuated construct.•Current protocols to investigate toxicity of GM food and feed should be improved with respect to exposure time and cumulative toxicity of different GM food/feed mixtures.

Modern agriculture provides the potential for sustainable feeding of the world's increasing population. Up to the present moment, genetically modified (GM) products have enabled increased yields and reduced pesticide usage. Nevertheless, GM products are controversial amongst policy makers, scientists and the consumers, regarding their possible environmental, ecological, and health risks. Scientific-and-political debates can even influence legislation and prospective risk assessment procedure. Currently, the scientifically-assessed direct hazardous impacts of GM food and feed on fauna and flora are conflicting; indeed, a review of literature available data provides some evidence of GM environmental and health risks. Although the consequences of gene flow and risks to biodiversity are debatable. Risks to the environment and ecosystems can exist, such as the evolution of weed herbicide resistance during GM cultivation. A matter of high importance is to provide precise knowledge and adequate current information to regulatory agencies, governments, policy makers, researchers, and commercial GMO-releasing companies to enable them to thoroughly investigate the possible risks.