For related articles and more information, please visit OCA’s Genetic Engineering page and our Millions Against Monsanto page.

The number of scientists who have signed onto a statement challenging the safety of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) has climbed to more than 230 today.

The list is expected to continue growing as more scientists are given the opportunity to weigh in on the safety of the organisms, which were quietly introduced into the US food supply in the late 1990s with no labeling requirement.

More than 60 countries require labeling of genetically modified crops that make their way into the food supply, which has largely limited the exposure of much of the world outside of the United States.

The vast majority of GMOs are engineered to either withstand large applications of agricultural chemicals without dying (which allows farmers to indiscriminately dump chemicals over their crops), or have been altered in a lab with a bacterial gene to produce an insecticidal toxin in every cell of the plant. This toxin has been shown to destroy red blood cells in humans, among other health safety concerns.

One new signature on the list in particular stands out: Dr. Belinda Martineau, a former member of the Michelmore Lab at the University of California Davis Genome Center, who helped commercialize the world’s first GMO whole food, the Flavr Savr tomato.