GMO Scandal: The Long Term Effects of GM Food on Humans

[Guest guest]

GMO Scandal: The Long Term Effects of Genetically Modified Food on Humans

F. Engdahl

Global Research

July 29, 2009

One of the great mysteries surrounding the spread of GMO plants around the

world since the first commercial crops were released in the early 1990's in

the USA and Argentina has been the absence of independent scientific studies

of possible long-term effects of a diet of GMO plants on humans or even

rats. Now it has come to light the real reason. The GMO agribusiness

companies like Monsanto, BASF, Pioneer, Syngenta and others prohibit

independent research.

An editorial in the respected American scientific monthly magazine,

Scientific American, August 2009 reveals the shocking and alarming reality

behind the proliferation of GMO products throughout the food chain of the

planet since 1994. There are no independent scientific studies published in

any reputed scientific journal in the world for one simple reason. It is

impossible to independently verify that GMO crops such as Monsanto Roundup

Ready Soybeans or MON8110 GMO maize perform as the company claims, or that,

as the company also claims, that they have no harmful side effects because

the GMO companies forbid such tests!

That's right. As a precondition to buy seeds, either to plant for crops or

to use in research study, Monsanto and the gene giant companies must first

sign an End User Agreement with the company. For the past decade, the period

when the greatest proliferation of GMO seeds in agriculture has taken place,

Monsanto, Pioneer (DuPont) and Syngenta require anyone buying their GMO

seeds to sign an agreement that explicitly forbids that the seeds be used

for any independent research. Scientists are prohibited from testing a seed

to explore under what conditions it flourishes or even fails. They cannot

compare any characteristics of the GMO seed with any other GMO or non-GMO

seeds from another company. Most alarming, they are prohibited from

examining whether the genetically modified crops lead to unintended

side-effects either in the environment or in animals or humans.

The only research which is permitted to be published in reputable scientific

peer-reviewed journals are studies which have been pre-approved by Monsanto

and the other industry GMO firms.

The entire process by which GMO seeds have been approved in the United

States, beginning with the proclamation by then President H.W. Bush

in 1992, on request of Monsanto, that no special Government tests of safety

for GMO seeds would be conducted because they were deemed by the President

to be " substantially equivalent " to non-GMO seeds, has been riddled with

special interest corruption. Former attorneys for Monsanto were appointed

responsible in EPA and FDA for rules governing GMO seeds as but one example

and no Government tests of GMO seed safety to date have been carried out.

All tests are provided to the US Government on GMO safety or performance by

the companies themselves such as Monsanto. Little wonder that GMO sounds to

positive and that Monsanto and others can falsely claim GMO is the " solution

to world hunger. "

In the United States a group of twenty four leading university corn insect

scientists have written to the US Government Environmental Protection Agency

(EPA) demanding the EPA force a change to the company censorship practice.

It is as if Chevrolet or Tata Motors or Fiat tried to censor comparative

crash tests of their cars in Consumer Reports or a comparable consumer

publication because they did not like the test results. Only this deals with

the human and animal food chain. The scientists rightly argue to EPA that

food safety and environment protection " depend on making plant products

available to regular scientific scrutiny. " We should think twice before we

eat that next box of American breakfast cereal of the corn used is GMO or

not.