Why GM crops are dangerous

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Why GM crops are dangerous

Posted: 05 Feb 2009

http://www.peopleandplanet.net/doc.php?id=3496

Exactly two years ago Professor M. published a sequel to

his best-selling book Seeds of Deception on the dangers of genetically

modified food. Entitled Genetic Roulette - The Documented Health Risks

Of Genetically Engineered Foods this second book set out in documented

detail the facts which, he claims, the big biotech companies have tried

hard to keep secret. The book received widespread praise.

Meacher, former British Environment Minister, called it " a smoking

shotgun that should stop in its tracks any dabbling with GM foods,

whether by individual families, food companies, or indeed nations. "

Here in an interview with the Women's Feature Service in Delhi,

talks about the dangers that, he says, Indian farmers and

consumers in India and elsewhere face from genetically engineered crops

and genetically modified foods.

Prof. M.

Prof. M. of the Institute for Responsible Technology, USA.

Photo credit: WFS

Q: Do tell us about your campaign against genetically modified organisms

(GMOs).

A: The campaign for Healthier Eating in America, coordinated by the

Institute for Responsible Technology (IRT), is one of the only viable

strategies to remove GMOs from the food supply.

There are several serious, even catastrophic, dangers of GMOs.

Genetically modified crops concentrate on the corporate control of food

and increased herbicide use without increasing average yields. They

endanger food security, are detrimental to sustainable and organic

farming, and trap farmers in a cycle of debt and dependence. But the

single greatest motivator for action is the health risk to consumers.

Our campaign targets four demographic groups that are receptive to

dietary changes - health-conscious consumers, parents and schools,

faith-based groups, and healthcare professionals and their patients.

Within each group, the women, who generally do the shopping for the

family, are clearly the most receptive and responsive gender. Thus, the

tipping point is largely in their hands.

Q. Given the fact that awareness levels in the developed countries are

higher, how effective has public opinion in the West been in trying to

contain the export of genetically modified (GM) foods by multinational

companies (MNCs)?

A: The most effective containment of exports has come from consumers in

Europe and Japan, whose knowledge of the dangers of GMOs has translated

into avoidance of GM products. The subsequent rejection of GM

ingredients by food companies there has limited US exports of GM crops

and derivatives. This has been facilitated by mandatory labeling of

GMOs, particularly in the European Union, which would alert consumers to

GM content, and, therefore, keep companies on track with their non-GMO

commitments.

Q: What are the health risks posed by genetically engineered (GE) foods?

A: GMOs are linked to toxic and allergic reactions in people, the deaths

of thousands of sick, sterile livestock, and damage to virtually every

organ studied in lab animals. Soy allergies skyrocketed by 50 per cent

in the UK soon after GM soy was introduced. A human subject showed a

skin prick allergic-type reaction to GM soy, but not to natural soy.

In the 1980s, a contaminated brand of food supplement called

L-tryptophan killed about 100 Americans and caused sickness and

disability in another 5,000 to 10,000 people. The source of contaminants

was almost certainly the genetic engineering process used in its

production. The disease took years to find and was almost overlooked. It

was only identified because the symptoms were unique, acute, and

fast-acting. If all three characteristics were not in place, the deadly

supplement might never have been identified or removed.

If GM foods on the market are causing common diseases or if their

effects appear only after long-term exposure, we may not be able to

identify the source of the problem for decades, if at all.

Q: Has there been a perceptible impact of GE crops on India's farming

community?

A: Hundreds or thousands of Indian farm workers who pick Bt cotton by

hand are developing allergic-type reactions. The cotton is engineered

with a gene from a soil bacterium called Bt (bacillus thuringiensis),

which produces a natural insecticide. The reason it is in our crops is

that the industry and government say the Bt toxin is completely safe for

humans. In its natural state, it's used in organic agriculture and

forestry. They, therefore, claim that Bt toxin has a history of safe

use, and doesn't even interact with mammals; that it's destroyed in the

digestive tract.

But this assumption ignores the evidence. About 500 people in the US and

Canada developed allergic-type reactions when they were sprayed with

natural Bt discharged from airplanes. When they fed natural Bt to mice,

the mice developed a powerful immune response and damaged intestines.

But the Bt engineered into crops is thousands of times more concentrated

than the natural form and is designed to be more toxic.

When I reviewed the symptoms from the Indian cotton workers, they turned

out to be the same symptoms that were described by the 500 people in

North America who were sprayed with Bt. The Indian Bt cotton farmers

allow sheep to graze on the cotton plants after harvest. According to

several shepherds, within five to seven days, one out of every four

sheep dies. Thousands of sheep have died in the Andhra Pradesh region,

and more will be added to those numbers the next year. There are also

widespread reports of disease and death among buffalo, who either grazed

on the Bt cotton plants or consumed Bt cottonseed or oil cakes.

When I visited Andhra Pradesh, I spoke to a group of women and asked if

any of them experienced any reaction to BT cotton crop. After some

hesitation, two women stood up and one of them revealed that she

suffered from itching. I was also told that women cotton workers are

embarrassed to discuss the details of their symptoms, so they don't come

forward.

Q. A chapter in your book says that the risks posed by GE crops/GM foods

are greater for women and children.

A: Pregnant women should most definitely avoid GMOs. A Russian study

found that more than half of the babies from mother rats fed GM soy died

within three weeks, compared to only a 10 per cent death rate for babies

whose mothers ate non-GM soy. The offspring from the GM group were also

smaller and could not conceive.

Q. In your opinion, does India really require GM foods?

A: The US spends three to five billion dollars per year to subsidise the

GM crops that no one else wants. They are trying to force other

countries to take GMOs to solve their own problems. The US department of

Agriculture confirms that GMOs do not increase yields or farmer income,

and in many cases reduce both.

In developing countries, GM crops are clearly disadvantageous. A study

by the International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology

for Development (IAASTD) concluded that GMOs are not appropriate, and

that industrial farming practices in general force small farmers and

landless peasants off the land. Analysis of Bt cotton in India

consistently reveals that it provides far less income compared to

farmers growing organic or NPM (non-pesticidal management) cotton. But

these more appropriate and healthy systems don't have corporate

champions to promote them.

Q. What would be the best strategy to regulate the introduction of GM food?

A: The best regulation would be to demand a ban of current GM crops and

all outdoor field trials. Then India can invest in proper independent

studies, which I am sure will confirm our conclusions that the current

generation of GM crops is unsafe for humans, animals, and the environment.

Source: Women's Feature Service

--

ne Holden, MS, RD

" Ask the Parkinson Dietitian " http://www.parkinson.org/

" Eat well, stay well with Parkinson's disease "

" Parkinson's disease: Guidelines for Medical Nutrition Therapy "

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