---
title: "Religious views on genetically modified foods"
chunk: 2/2
source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_views_on_genetically_modified_foods"
category: "reference"
tags: "science, encyclopedia"
date_saved: "2026-05-05T04:33:55.971162+00:00"
instance: "kb-cron"
---

==== Other studies and statements ====
A 2002 meeting between bishops and scientists in the Philippines concluded that biotechnology could be an important stepping stone in the struggle against hunger and environmental pollution.
A 2003 symposium gathered by Cardinal Renato T. Martino has examined the use of GMOs in modern agriculture. The symposium's study  argued that the future of humanity is at stake and that there is no room for the ideological arguments advanced by environmentalists.
Velasio De Paolis, a professor of canon law at the Pontifical Urban University, has said that it was "easy to say no to GM food if your stomach is full".
In 2008, Fr. Sean McDonagh, an Irish Columban priest and "well-known commentator on environmental issues", questioned whether  hosts from transgenic wheat could ever be approved by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith because of the Church's strict rules regarding sacramental bread. He specifically cited canon 924, which stipulates the bread must be wheaten only, and recently made, so that there is no danger of corruption.
A 2009 study on genetically modified organisms sponsored by the Pontifical Academy of Sciences came to a favorable conclusion on GMOs, viewing them as praiseworthy for improving the lives of the poor.

==== Philippines ====
The Philippines is a predominantly Catholic country, and official pronouncements of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) exert a strong influence in policy making and the CBCP has not supported biotechnology, and probably will not until there is an official endorsement from the Pope. President Arroyo’s visit to Rome on September 27, 2003, she apparently consulted Pope John Paul II about the Church position on biotechnology. On the basis of that meeting, she issued a statement indicating that she felt it was important that opponents of GMOs knew that according to the Vatican, GMOs are not immoral.  The CBCP issued a statement in response stating that the Pope had not endorsed GMOs.   In 2009 Bishop Vicente Navarra of the Diocese of Bacolod in the Philippines issued a pastoral letter calling on the Negros Occidental and Bacolod City governments to continue banning the entry of GMO products.

=== Anabaptist Christianity ===
About 550 Amish farmers in Pennsylvania have adopted nicotine-free tobacco since 2001, because it pays "about $1.50 per pound for the nicotine-free tobacco, nearly double the 80-cent-per-pound rate for traditional tobacco. GMO crops do not conflict with the Amish lifestyle.

=== Anglican Communion ===
In 2004, the Church Environmental Network, representing members of the Anglican church of South Africa, spoke out against the South African government's backing of genetically modified organisms (GMOs).
Christian Aid, a British ecumenical group, released a paper in 2000 that expressed sharp concerns about the agricultural biotechnology industry, particularly with regard to its potential effects on impoverished people and economic development in the developing world.

=== Rastafarian ===
While the Rastafari Movement as a whole has no central authority, a Rastafari Code of Conduct was ratified in July–August 2008 at a meeting in Jamaica of the Nyah Binghi Order, one of the three houses of the Rastafari movement;  that Code defines GM food as not Ital.

== References ==