Posted on 11/21/2008 7:56:53 AM PST by Scythian
Advocates Call for Immediate Ban of All GM Foods and GM Crops
IMMEDIATE RELEASE (November 13, 2008)
(Los Angeles, CA.) - A long-term feeding study commissioned by the Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety, managed by the Austrian Federal Ministry of Health, Family and Youth, and carried out by Veterinary University Vienna, confirms genetically modified (GM) corn seriously affects reproductive health in mice. Non-GMO advocates, who have warned about this infertility link along with other health risks, now seek an immediate ban of all GM foods and GM crops to protect the health of humankind and the fertility of women around the world.
Feeding mice with genetically modified corn developed by the US-based Monsanto Corporation led to lower fertility and body weight, according to the study conducted by the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna. Lead author of the study Professor Zentek said, there was a direct link between the decrease in fertility and the GM diet, and that mice fed with non-GE corn reproduced more efficiently.
In the study, Austrian scientists performed several long-term feeding trials over 20 weeks with laboratory mice fed a diet containing 33% of a GM variety (NK 603 x MON 810), or a closely related non-GE variety used in many countries. Statistically significant litter size and pup weight decreases were found in the third and fourth litters in the GM-fed mice, compared to the control group.
The corn is genetically modified with genes that produce a pesticidal toxin, as well as genes that allow it to survive applications of Monsanto’s herbicide Roundup.
A book by author Jeffrey M. Smith, Genetic Roulette, distributed to members of congress last year, documents 65 serious health risks of GM products, including similar fertility problems with GM soy and GM corn: Offspring of rats fed GM soy showed a five-fold increase in mortality, lower birth weights, and the inability to reproduce. Male mice fed GM soy had damaged young sperm cells. The embryo offspring of GM soy-fed mice had altered DNA functioning. Several US farmers reported sterility or fertility problems among pigs and cows fed on GM corn varieties. Additionally, over the last two months, investigators in India have documented fertility problems, abortions, premature births, and other serious health issues, including deaths, among buffaloes fed GM cottonseed products.
The principle GM crops are soy, corn, cottonseed and canola. GM sugar from sugar beets will also be introduced before year’s end.
Mr. Smith, who is also the Executive Director of the Institute for Responsible Technology says, “GM foods are likely responsible for several negative health trends in the US. The government must impose an immediate ban on these dangerous crops.” He says, “Consumers don’t need to wait for governmental action. They can download a free Non-GMO Shopping Guide at www.HealthierEating.org.”
Monsanto press offices in the UK and USA were unable to provide a comment on the findings for journalists yesterday.
The Institute for Responsible Technology’s Campaign for Healthier Eating in America mobilizes citizens, organizations, businesses, and the media, to achieve the tipping point of consumer rejection of genetically modified foods.
The Institute educates people about the documented health risks of GMOs and provides them with healthier non-GMO product choices.
The Institute also informs policy makers and the public around the world about the impacts of GMOs on health, environment, the economy, and agriculture, and the problems associated with current research, regulation, corporate practices, and reporting.
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Institute For Responsible Technology Media Contact: NJ Jaeger Expert Contact: Jeffrey M. Smith Email: njmail@cox.net Phone: +1-310-377-0915
The law of unintended consequences will apply here also.
No matter how smart we think we are, no matter how sure we are we covered all the bases, something unexpected always turns up.
Other examples of genetic engineering experiments that have already been done include:
* Spider/Goat – taking a gene from a spider that leads to the production of spider web and putting it into goats so the goats can then be milked for the spider web protein.
* Fish/Strawberries – taking a gene from an Arctic flounder and putting it into a strawberry to try to make it frost-resistant.
* Corn/Human – taking a human gene and putting it into corn so that the corn contains human antibodies that attack sperm. The idea is to develop the corn as a plant-gel contraceptive that kills sperm on contact.
Are GMOs grown in Hawaii?
Hawaii has more experimental field trials of genetic engineering than any other state in the nation. Just a few of the many examples of permits granted for field trials include:
* Corn engineered with human genes (Dow)
* Sugarcane engineered with human genes (Hawai‘i Agriculture Research Center)
* Corn engineered with jellyfish genes (Stanford University)
* Tobacco engineered with lettuce genes (University of Hawai‘i)
* Rice engineered with human genes (Applied Phytologics)
* Corn engineered with hepatitis virus genes (Prodigene)1
YUM!!
If these results *can* be reproduced elsewhere....over and over again....then this might be noteworthy.Otherwise,AFAIK,it's just so much left wing Barbara Streisand.
He's also one of those PETA people.
Nature’s been doing this for eons, we’re all dead (-’]
The problem with this particular type of GM corn is that it was altered to produce toxins. It wasn’t altered to make a fruit less prone to freezing, or to produce material to help fight a disease. The GM corn was altered so that it was poisonous.
Do you want to eat something that is toxic? Imagine what it does to birds who eat the corn in the field? Birds are an effective predator of insects and some also eat corn, so we are really messing with a part of the ecosystem recklessly.
I’m not opposed to GM food generally, but some ideas are just plain stupid! This GM corn, for example.
All corn is genetically modiefied. Only the method of modification varies.
So what? I never said that I was opposed to genetic modification of food or corn. Just that some ideas are stupid, and by use of commonsense shouldn’t be attempted.
Commonsense doesn’t seem to be all that common.
You forgot one of the biggest - GM Wheat!!!! All of the wheat we eat has been genetically modified to produce bigger kernals and more gluten. Both my kids have Celiac disease (severe wheat intolerance) so I have done extensive research into this.
Because of this, the number is rising of people with wheat/gluten sensitivity. Wheat/gluten intolerance is directly known to affect the brain and autism. Most doctors reccomend autistic children have a GF (gluten free) diet. Notice how there is a rise in autism and gluten sensitivity lately! Irritable bowel, Crohns disease, arthritis, asthma, and some forms of mental illness are also being attributed to the gluten in wheat. In addition it can also cause infertility problems. 1 in 20 people have gluten intolerance (although may not be diagnosed.) The average is for someone to suffer for 7 years before the doctors figure out gluten.
Remember when we were little and would fall down and mamma would give you a cookie to make it feel better (or women pig out treats you know when) - its because the gluten is a feel good neuro transmitter that reacts in the brain. By messing with wheat genically, we are causing huge imbalances that the human body cannot handle.
And also in case anyone is wondering where I get my research from, besides have 2 Gluten Intolerant (Celiac Disease) children - I have three degrees in horticulture - aka plant science.
I’m sorry to hear that HomeSchoolMama, and I know exactly what you are saying and agree. It’s amazing to hear these dolts on here cheerleading for those whom soon they will not be so happy with, they are uneducated in this matter, I am not.
Exactly, they are even using Jellyfish cells, transgenic nematodes, and worse. I wonder if mr PHD knows that Agrobacterium has been proven to make the cross-kingdom jump from plant to animal, and is just as happy to live in mans body as in a plant. The science is there for those that want to learn, however, for those with fancy learnin’ there is no hope. There’s more that I could say but won’t.
Mom said don’t play with your food.
The manufacturer of this type of seed modified it to poison their consumers? Is that what you believe? Good grief, that's just as wacky as this "study."
This corn was developed to resist insect infestation which is responsible for causing diseases. Bt-corn (and I am assuming that this is the type of corn they are addressing here) has been proven to produce an average of 900% less mycotoxins than non-GM corn. Mycotoxins have been shown to cause all sorts of cancers and liver toxicity in animals as well as spina bifida in humans.
I've read about one study where the average content of just one type of mycotoxin in non-GM corn was more than 11 micrograms per gram of seed and only about 1.3 micrograms per gram of seed in GM corn samples. Bt corn is designed to fight insects known as corn borers. This insect creates holes in the corn that allows for fusarium molds to enter thereby producing the mycotoxins that are so dangerous. Stopping the corn borers results in significantly reduced levels of mycotoxins.
Using GM corn dramatically reduces the need for using insecticides and this is highly beneficial to third world countries where increased food production is critical for survival. In the past, the spraying of insecticides would leave precious ground water contaminated in these poor countries subjecting the people who rely on it to all sorts of afflictions.
And you think this GM corn is stupid and recklessly endangers the ecosystem? If so, keep enjoying your organic, mycotoxin laden corn. The EU has harbored unfounded fears of GM foods for a long time. This fear is a result of stupidity and the political need to protect their inefficient farmers from competition. Let's hope we don't fall for the same stupidity.
LOL! We've seen what passes for scientific knowledge in your postings. There's more you could say but you won't because, as usual, you really don't understand the subject you're addressing. Scientific illiteracy in the debate over food safety is rampant. Illiterates want to know that there is no risk in the production and consumption of genetically modified food. I can't think of any endeavor, especially in the production of food, where no risk exists. Can you? The better question to be asking is what are the comparative risks and benefits (to farmers consumers and the environment) of transgenic foods vs. conventional foods. Safe is not defined as zero probability.
Of course, to the uninformed, this is not an acceptable answer and, given the vast number of scientists in the world, they can always find some who will support the anti-trangenics (or any other anti movement fear and the media foments) cause. After all, there are anti-evolutionist scientists out there as well as scientists who believe HIV doesn't cause AIDS.
Had the scientific illiterates controlled the debate back int he 60's the Green Revolution would never have happened. There are easily a billion people alive today thanks to Norman Borlaug. I wonder if Borlaug had to contend with other scientists crying wolf about frankenfood and gnashing their teeth about terminator genes? If so, it's a good thing we didn't listen to them back then. Billions of people around the world would agree. Hopefully, we're smart enough to ignore them today.
You explained the brain part better than I did - I deal with the plants. I was paraphrasing!
I deal with the end of crossbreeding and the genetically modifying. Basically the screwing around with plants - which alot of people don’t want to believe is done to our food supply but is.
However as far as gluten is concerned - much of the research I have done (as a celiac and parent of) does point to removal of gluten and wheat make changes in behavior as well as health. I am sure you can agree that is why it is removed from most autistics. Most people can handle gluten. But for someone with celiac large amounts (or even the tiniest amount) of gluten they cannot. There has even been a link found between Multiple Sclerosis and gluten - again that brain thing.
Unfortunately the doctors in the US do not want to look at the possibly link between wheat and disease. The wheat industry is so vital to our economy. However, it has been something researched in Europe for decades now and the US has been behind and only finally recognizing wheat as an allergan and requiring it to be listed on allergan warning ingredient listings. Last year there were complaints from the wheat industry about lost sales due to many food companies going gluten-free!
Why more disease, rise in autism, more health problems... because the wheat has been gentically altered to provide more gluten.
My point - we need to stop screwing around with God’s handiwork!
What was left out of the above:
“But the authors of the study were keen to point out that these were only initial findings and that further tests were needed to confirm the effect of GM foods on other animals and on humans.
“This is an isolated case and the results cannot in any way be applied to humans,” the Austrian health and food safety agency AGES, which presented the study by Vienna’s University of Veterinary Medicine (VUW) Tuesday, said in a statement.
“Confirmation of these preliminary results is urgently needed through further studies,” the study’s author, Juergen Zentek, added.”
(health.yahoo.com/news/afp/environmentgmofoodsafetyaustria_081112193502.html)
NOTE WHAT THE AUTHORS OF THE STUDY SAID, “.....results cannot in any way be applied to humans”.
Do you have any evidence for the wheat gluten intolerance/autism connection?
And for the connection to all the other maladies you associate with with wheat gluten intolerance?
You eat toxins in these foods every day, celery, broccoli, potatoes, baked goods, tea, etc., all of them naturally occurring.
You said,
“The GM corn was altered so that it was poisonous.”
But “poisonous” to whom? Birds? humans? insects? all?
DH and I have been expressing this for years! We knew the data would be coming. We’ve been trying to feed our kids organics to help stave some of this off. Heaven help us all.
Depends which humans are doing the talking, and which humans they're talking about.
Overall? No. In the long run, increases in human population are both the cause and consequence of human prosperity. See Julian Simon's The Ultimate Resource.
Similar situations are happening with sperm, and there are many sex-oriented birth defects that are on the rise, like hypospadia in baby boys. We need to be concerned with what goes into our bodies.
And here I thought the left was the home of ‘pure’ ‘organic’ anti technological mysticism.
When you burn down your house, and live in a natural cave, then you'll have credibility on this point. The fact is, that every domesticated plant and animal we have was as the result of "screwing around" with what human beings found in nature. That brought about the civilization that led to the formation of your religion.
I'm sorry that your children have celiac disease, and for the kids with autism, but in my observations, people who are parents of kids with those sorts of problems are often the very least likely folks to be objective in viewing what other people call progress. They're always looking for some boogeyman to blame, and advances in the way we live are the first things to come under attack.
I’m with you on this one. I don’t think this concern about GMO foods is in the same camp as environmentalist whackos at all. I think this is a real threat. I suffer from one of those health issues you mentioned and they are on the rise.
Yes, there are natural genetic modifications that occur, but the genetic modifications going on now are incredibly bizarre. Our bodies just don’t know how to handle this stuff.
The best thing I can tell you is to google search gluten intolerance and autism. There are numerous books out there as well. A great website to start with is www.gflinks.com. Another is www.celiac.com.
I am guessing you are asking this because you have a child with autism...or are just skeptical?
Celiac is a genetic disorder and does run in families. I have seen first hand autism turn around in the absence of gluten/casein with my nephew. The tiniest bit of gluten can set him off.
As far as the other maladies - gluten intolerance, aka Celiac - its really not an “allergy” - is an auto immune disease. Sometime is takes something to “set it off” and other times it can manifest itself in other forms. Most people associate it with tummy trouble, but what it does is destroy the lining of the intestines allowing toxins into the body. Like most auto-immunes the body starts to attack itself whick is why it can result in infertility, cancer, arthritis, MS.
Good news is, it is reversible. Just stay off of wheat and gluten (and several other gluten grains). I have been gluten free for two years now, my eczema has cleared, my asthma has gone, no more migranes, no more IBS. Luckily I found a doctor who listened to my body!
You are absolutely right! I specialize in cross-breeding plants (aka genetic engineering). If we allowed plants to go back to their natural forms, we would only have basic colors such as red and yellow. It is through man’s intervention alone that we have the vibrant varieties we do.
Ever taste a wild orange? Nasty! We cross-breed for sweetness, keeping the stock that bears the heaviest, sweetest fruit. Same thing with the varieties of apples.
However nature does allow for for varietions...occasionally a genetic anomaly will come along allowing for some better flower/fruit/leaf. When this does it can only be reproduced by cloning - thats why navel oranges don’t have seeds. They have all been produced from the same anomaly. Other examples of this are Bradford Pears and Leylad Cypress... all came from one parent plant and “cloned” via clippings. If the variety were not kept being produced through clippings, the variety would disappear. (FYI all Bradfords are genetically identical because of this. Thats why many trees such as pin oaks or bradfords have a tendency to look alike when growing and we can acurately predict their height/size.)
So progress...I’m directly part of the progress. Unfortunately I also realize that when we continually mess with the gene pools of plants we can cause major implications such as weakened genes allowing for less insect resistance, susceptibility to mass blights - or plant infertility, thus the need to propagate by cloning as opposed to seeds.
Crossbreeding roses to get that perfect color - all for it!
Mixing genes from fish to increase the temperature tolerance of a strawberry - there is a limit to playing god and that is one place I refuse to go!
And as far as looking for a boogeyman to blame - I wish it were that easy. Wheat has been genetically modified to have a higher protein/gluten content giving the farmers higher yields for their work...all in the name of progress. Gluten is the boogeyman for us, and unfortunately its in alot of things - even the glue on the envelopes you lick.
So for my kids...the cookies really are the monster!
You are correct in that it involves other systems - many celiacs will also be lactose/casein intolerant (proteins are similar in shape, I think?) Thats why it often goes misdiagnosed. The pediatrician told me my son had ulcers because he was worried about getting into college and put him on an ulcer friendly wheat-filled diet - thus making sicker and sicker and losing 30 lbs! Luckily we got smart and found a different doctor because I knew something wasn’t right!
Celiac is an auto-immune response. That’s why it can react in so many different ways in so many different people. The gluten causes the reaction. The one thing they have proven - remove the gluten and clear up the problem. Kind of reminds me of the old joke... a guys walks into a doctor and complains “Everytime I hit myself in the head with this hammer it hurts” Doctor repies “Well, stop hitting yourself in the head with the hammer!”
Since celiac disease and autism are genetic they are not caused by wheat gluten intolerance but just the other way around and therefore if a person does not suffer from these disorders there is absolutely no reason to avoid wheat, whether GM or not.
I’m not skeptical that some foods can cause persons with digestive disorders severe problems but that is NOT a problem of the composition of the food but a side effect of the disorder. That’s an important distinction. Trying to ban or restrict production of a food because some percentage of the population has a disorder that prevents them eating the food is unreasonable and harmful.
No, I don’t have an autistic child, but even if I did why would I find fault with GM wheat? or GM corn that poisons only harmful pests?
If one does not have a gluten intolerance/sensitivity they have no reason to avoid wheat/gluten. People do not realize that genetically modified does not normally mean made in some mad Dr. Frankenstrin lab, but is selective crossbreeding for higher yields or desirable traits. Now in the case of mixing animal with plant..well that’s another story. (Feed me Seymoure!!!)
Wheat has been crossbred to have a higher gluten part of the kernel - which is the part celiacs can’t tolerate. The issue is not wheat, is is lack of information. Until 2007 food manufacturers were NOT required to list wheat/gluten as an allergan. It made knowing whether “food starch” listed was corn or wheat starch difficult. It also made it hard to go out to eat, but luckily that is changing.
Did you know McDonalds french fries contain added wheat gluten? So does their grilled chicken. You wouldn’t expect to find it there...or in the glue on envelopes you lick, or lipstick, or clear broth, but it is. So its not a matter of banning it - but listing it in the ingredients so consumers can be in the know.
Honestly, I don’t know why grilled chicken or french fries need added wheat gluten. Gluten is what makes pasta sticky, and bread and pizza chewy. But I will tell you...I do miss pizza!
Good for you!!! I knew we were on the right track (going organic) when my daughter’s overweight best friend came over to our house and went into our pantry to find a snack. (You can bet theres no Little Debbie’s - her usual diet - in there.) And I found her smelling my pantry. She said to me, “You pantry smells so different than mine - it smells good” I guess that’s what happens when you take out the mono and diglycerides, artificial colors and flavors. My kids have never been healthier!
try www.gflinks.com and www.celiac.com.
There IS a link between gluten and many disorders, although many doctors, even the best ones might not be aware of it, or want to admit it. Its a shame our US doctors are behind in research. Europeans have known about the gluten link for decades!
Best of luck with your health issue - if your doctor does not listen, find one who will.
http://www.princeton.edu/~serge/ll/gfpak.html
Heres a link with research showing the gluten - autism connection
I knew someone in grad school with celiac sprue. The only beer he could drink (because of the hops) was Corona.
Good to know! Beer has been out of the diet too! Won’t tell my son this - he’s headed off to college. Hoping the celiac thing MIGHT keep him from binge drinking - Yeah right!
We’re not talking cross breeding here, we’re talking about blending bacteria, cells from other creatures such as jelly fish and nematodes and even other more bizarre things to make a plant that makes it’s own pesiticide that kills anything that it’s eat.
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