Warning signs point to risks of GM foods

[Guest guest]

Warning signs point to risks of GM foods

JEFFREY M SMITH

IN A study in the early 1990s rats were fed genetically modified

(GM) tomatoes. Well actually, the rats refused to eat them. They

were force-fed. Several of the rats developed stomach lesions and

seven out of 40 died within two weeks.

United States Federal Drugs Agency scientists who reviewed the study

warned that GM foods in general might create unpredicted allergies,

toxins, antibiotic-resistant diseases and nutritional problems.

The safety studies conducted by the biotech industry are often

dismissed by critics as superficial and designed to avoid finding

problems. Tragically, scientists who voice their criticism, as well

as those who have discovered incriminating evidence, have been

threatened, stripped of responsibilities, denied funding or tenure,

or fired.

For example, a UK government-funded study demonstrated that rats fed

a GM potato developed potentially pre-cancerous cell growth, damaged

immune systems, partial atrophy of the liver, and inhibited

development of their brains, livers and testicles. When the lead

scientist went public with his concerns, he was promptly fired from

his job after 35 years and silenced with threats of a lawsuit.

Americans eat genetically modified foods every day. Although the GM

tomato has been taken off the market, millions of acres of soy,

corn, canola, and cotton have had foreign genes inserted into their

DNA.

The new genes allow the crops to survive applications of herbicide,

create their own pesticide, or both. While there are only a handful

of published animal safety studies, mounting evidence, which needs

to be followed up, suggests that these foods are not safe.

Rats fed GM corn had problems with blood cell formation. Those fed

GM soy had problems with liver cell formation, and the livers of

rats fed GM canola were heavier. Pigs fed GM corn on several Midwest

farms developed false pregnancies or sterility. Cows fed GM corn in

Germany died mysteriously. And twice the number of chickens died

when fed GM corn compared with those fed natural corn.

Soon after GM soy was introduced to the UK, soy allergies rocketed

by 50 per cent. Without follow-up tests, we can't be sure if genetic

engineering was the cause, but there are plenty of ways in which

genetic manipulation can boost allergies.

No-one in the US or elsewhere monitors the human health impacts of

GM foods. If the foods were creating health problems in the US

population, it might take years or decades before we identified the

cause. As a result, millions of Americans are exposed to the

potential dangers, and children are most at risk. Perhaps the

revelations in the reports released on opposite sides of the planet

will awaken consumers as well as regulators, and GM foods on the

market will be withdrawn.

• M is the author of Seeds of Deception.

http://news.scotsman.com/opinion.cfm?id=335102005