Pulling no punches, dozens of the world’s leading scientists are together calling for a revolution in toxicology to combat bias and misconduct, fight pollution, and ultimately to protect health and global food security.
In total, no fewer than 43 scientists across five continents, including leading experts in toxicology, biology, public health, and environmental sciences, have issued this explicit and collective call to action.
Coordinated by Professor Gilles-Éric Séralini, they ask for a radical paradigm shift in toxicology and chemical regulation to end a failing system that threatens human health, biodiversity, and global food security.
Their call appears in the article Scientists’ Warning: We Must Change Paradigm for a Revolution in Toxicology and World Food Supply, published in the peer-reviewed scientific journal Environmental Sciences Europe.
Testing bias and systemic misconduct
According to the authors, current regulatory toxicology tests rely on partial, often biased or falsified data that do not reflect real-world chronic exposure to chemicals.
The commercial formulations of pesticides and plasticisers, derived from petroleum by-products, have never undergone long-term studies in mammals, contrary to legal requirements.
Yet, studies show that these mixtures can be up to 1,000 times more toxic than the isolated active ingredients typically tested by industry.
Bad practice is rife, says Professor Gilles-Éric Séralini, toxicologist and lead author of the study:
“Regulatory agencies validate these incomplete evaluations and conceal their data under the guise of industrial secrecy. This amounts to a global regulatory falsification that endangers public health and the environment.”
Petroleum, heavy metals and pesticides
The researchers reveal that all analysed pesticides contain undeclared petroleum residues and heavy metals, a long-standing and common practice. These ingredients make the formulations thousands of times more toxic, fuelling the spread of neurological, hormonal, immune, and cancer diseases.
This widespread contamination now affects the entire food chain and ecosystems, from soil to ocean.
Negative impacts are real and on the rise, emphasises Dr Angelika Hilbeck, biologist at ETH Zurich:
“We are facing a silent epidemic of chemical pollution. Chronic diseases are surging, biodiversity is collapsing, and public trust in science is eroded by decades of conflicts of interest.”
Economic model subsidises pollution
The authors also denounce the failings of the economic model born out of the Green Revolution — arguing it has increased dependence on chemical inputs at the expense of subsistence farming and public health.
Priorities are wrong, says Dr Louise Vandelac, environmental sociologist, Université du Québec à Montréal:
“The current agro-industrial system subsidises the destruction of life. Public budgets enrich major chemical corporations instead of supporting healthy, resilient agriculture.”
Action plan for a new paradigm
In response, the researchers suggest three immediate and concrete measures:
- Reduce regulatory toxicity thresholds by at least a factor of 100 for substances already authorised;
- Systematically test full formulations of pesticides and plasticisers, at low doses and over long durations;
- Make raw toxicological data and experimental protocols publicly available to restore transparency.
Scientific transparency is a moral imperative, insists Professor Michael Antoniou, King’s College London:
“There is no ethical or scientific justification for keeping these data secret. Science must again become a public good.”
Agroecology, health and sustainability
Charting a way forward, the authors stress that a transition toward agroecology offers a credible and proven alternative to feed the global population while restoring soils and ecosystems.
Multiple research studies have already shown that ecologically grown food contains lower levels of petroleum residues and heavy metals, and contributes to better overall health outcomes.
The future of food is at stake, but the solutions exist, concludes Prof Gilles-Éric Séralini:
“Today, the world is dying from this toxicity. We all carry pesticides in our bodies, absorbed from our food and environment. The future of our food depends on reconciling science, ethics, and health. Agroecology offers a path of hope grounded in knowledge and respect for life.”
Further Reading:
- More about the Scientists’ Warning; published in the journal Environmental Sciences Europe;
- Also on SustMeme, Pharmaceutical pollution: Medications in our water;
- Also on SustMeme, Food security and the wriggle of the red flour beetle;
- Also on SustMeme, Data at heart of collaboration on climate change (in AFOLU);
- Also on SustMeme, Half of humanity affected by land degradation;
- Also on SustMeme, Biodynamic farming teaches importance of soil at school in Kenya;
- Also on SustMeme, Sustainable farming futures: Fields of hope (2013).
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