When GM crops and foods were first introduced in the late 1990s, some scientists raised concerns that genetic modification was imprecise and unpredictable and could result in harm to health and the environment. They warned that:

• GM could create foods that are toxic, allergenic and less nutritious than their non-GM counterparts

• GM crops could damage vulnerable wild plant and animal populations
• GM plants cannot be recalled, but as living organisms will propagate, transmitting any damaging properties from generation to generation
• GM crops could cause irreversible alterations to the food supply, with serious consequences for the environment and human and animal health.

Subsequent events and a growing body of scientific evidence have shown each of these concerns to be valid but the biotech industry and its supporters have engaged in a global PR, marketing and lobbying campaign to promote this technology in order to undermine the concerns and attack those raising them.

GM information

• GMWatch sends out regular bulletins that provide news and comment on GM foods and crops, with particular emphasis on exposing the PR behind the global push for GM technology.

• Spinprofiles documents the PR and propaganda activities of PR firms engaged in managing and manipulating public perception, opinion and policy. SpinProfiles also includes profiles on think tanks, front groups funded by industry and "industry-friendly experts" who work to influence public opinion and public policy on behalf of corporations or other special interests.
• Greenpeace International Genetic Engineering Campaign has details on the latest campaigns with easy and quick-to-do email actions to help keep food supplies free from GM contamination.
• Friends of the Earth International is the place to find details on the latest FoE global campaigns and downloadable reports on GM food and crops.
• Biosafety Information Centre, run by the Third World Network, has information and downloadable briefing papers on biosafety problems with GM crops and foods worldwide.
• Bioscience Resource Project has science stories on GM crops and food. Includes critiques of corporate 'junk' science, exposures of conflicts of interest, and news on the persecution of whistleblowers.
• Ban GM Food is a campaign-oriented website geared to Europe. It has details of how to take action and downloadable leaflets that people can print out at home and distribute. Emphasis is on scientifically accurate and well-referenced information.
• GM Contamination RegisterBecause no official body is keeping track of GM contamination events worldwide, GeneWatch UK and Greenpeace have stepped into the gap with this up-to-date register.
• Physicians and Scientists for Responsible Application of Science and Technology is a group of scientists and medics who campaign for a ban on GM foods.
• Will GM crops deliver benefits to farmers? is an informative web page on farmers' experiences and agronomic research on GM crops.
• EcoNexus "offers a rigorous scientific critique of genetic engineering (GE) and genetically modified organisms, and more recently of agrofuels (biofuels), synthetic biology and other new technological applications".
• ISIS – Institute of Science in Society is the place to go for science in the service of social and environmental sustainability. This website and the associated print magazine, Science in Society, frequently break news about new insights and developments that take years to become widely accepted knowledge.
• Ban Terminator Terminator Technology is an unpopular development in GM that makes GM crops produce sterile seeds. This website has news about the research and worldwide campaigns against Terminator.