The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently announced a scientific analysis found that genetically modified "Bt corn" had very little influence on nontarget species.

This research was published June 6 in Environmental Evidence by Steve Naranjo of the USDA Agricultural Research Service, along with Joerg Romeis and Michael Meissle of Argoscope, the Swiss equivalent of the ARS, according to a news release. This is reportedly the most comprehensive and high-quality data study conducted on the subject to date.

"We gathered together hundreds of individual studies published between 1997 to 2020 that have looked at whether growing Bt corn changed the environmental abundance of non-target animals such as arthropods, earthworms and nematodes," Naranjo said in the release. "Especially as compared to growing non-genetically modified corn accompanied by the pesticide necessary to control major pests."

Bt corn is a genetically engineered crop that generates proteins that function as natural insecticides, the release reported. During the course of the study, Naranjo, along with fellow entomologists Romeis and Meissle, discovered the vast compilation of data revealed Bt corn had no harmful impacts on the majority of invertebrate groups.

"It might be a bit surprising but, according to the analysis, when any negative effects by Bt corn on nontarget organisms were found in the data, they were attributed more often in studies with private sector support than when no backing by biotech companies was declared," Meissle said, according to the release.

Since its 1996 approval, Bt corn has drawn skeptics who argue that the modified crop may also kill "beneficial insects and other non-targeted organisms," the release reported. 

The study's quality standards were reportedly developed and verified by stakeholders, non-meta-analysis scientists and members of the journal's review board. According to the release, none of these individuals knew whether or not the study's results revealed a harmful effect on non-target organisms.