Genetically Modified Microorganisms: What Are the Risks, and Who’s Watching?

A summary of: Lerner et al., “Genetically Modified Microorganisms: Risks and Regulatory Considerations for Human and Environmental Health,” Microorganisms, 2026. https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms14020467

This summary is based on a peer-reviewed paper co-authored by Andre Leu, International Director of Regeneration International, a global nonprofit network dedicated to promoting regenerative agriculture and land management practices. Leu is a longtime advocate for organic farming and soil health, and has written extensively on the risks of pesticides and industrial agriculture. His involvement in this paper reflects Regeneration International’s broader mission to protect the biological integrity of soils and ecosystems, concerns that are central to the study’s findings on GMMs and the soil microbiome.

The Big Picture

When most people hear “GMO,” they think of crops – corn or soybeans engineered to resist pests. But scientists have been quietly engineering something far smaller and potentially far more consequential: microorganisms. Bacteria, yeasts, and fungi have been genetically modified and, in some cases, released into the environment on a massive scale, sometimes without the public even knowing.

A new review article published in the journal Microorganisms by a team of eight scientists and physicians argues that we are moving too fast. The technology to create genetically modified microorganisms (GMMs) has outpaced the regulations designed to keep them in check, and the potential consequences, for human health, for soil, and for the climate, deserve urgent attention.