Genetically Modified Microorganisms Threaten Human and Soil Health; Full Extent of Hazards Not Regulated

(Beyond Pesticides, March 17, 2026) An article in Microorganisms by researchers from the U.S., Israel, and Australia analyzes the adverse health and environmental effects of genetic engineering and genetically modified organisms (GMOs), specifically genetically modified microorganisms (GMMs). As the authors state, the prevalence of genetic engineering has “accelerated the creation and large-scale environmental release” of GMMs, which “present unique, long-term risks to human and environmental health.” One of the authors, André Leu, DSc, spoke at the first session of Beyond Pesticides’ National Forum Series: Forging a Future with Nature in 2023. (See recording here.)

This review provides risk scenarios of GMMs, showing the threat to ecological systems, particularly within the soil, and human health. As GMMs are “biologically active, self-replicating entities capable of rapid mutation and global dispersal” they present greater risks, and current regulatory frameworks do not adequately assess their potential harm. Genetically altering microorganisms, the most complex and diverse systems in biology, and creating new gene combinations with unknown implications, “has the potential to disrupt the functions, diversity, interactions, and impacts of microbes and microbiomes,” the researchers note. They continue: “This puts human and environmental health at risk. Worst-case scenarios include the promotion of diseases, risks to species survival, and damaged or collapsed ecosystems.”

This is not a theoretical issue. As the authors point out, currently there are two prominent companies that have publicly announced the use of GMMs on large amounts of agricultural land. Pivot Bio has used their product, Proven®, and released “GM bacteria on nearly 5 million acres, with as many as 5 trillion microbes per acre” to continually fix nitrogen, while Bayer has “released a seed treatment called Poncho®VOTiVO® 2.0 (now sold by BASF) that contains GM Bacillus thuringiensis.”