New GMO Study

[JereGettle]

New Study Shows Unborn Babies Could Be Harmed by Genetically Engineered Foods
The Independent, January 8, 2006
Women who eat GM foods while pregnant risk endangering their unborn babies, startling new research suggests. The World Trade Organization is expected next month to support a bid by the Bush administration to force European countries to accept GM foods. The study - carried out by a leading scientist at the Russian Academy of Sciences - found that more than half of the offspring of rats fed on modified soya died in the first three weeks of life, six times as many as those born to mothers with normal diets. Six times as many were also severely underweight. The research - which is being prepared for publication - is just one of a clutch of recent studies that are reviving fears that GM food damages human health. Italian research has found that modified soya affected the liver and pancreas of mice. Australia had to abandon a decade-long attempt to develop modified peas when an official study found they caused lung damage. And last May this newspaper revealed a secret report by the biotech giant Monsanto, which showed that rats fed a diet rich in GM corn had smaller kidneys and higher blood cell counts, suggesting possible damage to their immune systems, than those that ate a similar conventional one.

[kabuti]

this is the path 'science' is leading us down.

[turnip]

No, kabuti, this is what you get when government has been bought by big business. Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater.

[zebraman]

Hey Guys;Look on the bright side,There is a major Drug Store Chain-that is refusing to sell the "Morning After Pill" for moral reasons.My guess is that they will have NO Moral Dilema about selling GMO food!So this could also be a good thing.

[Sissymarie]

Hi there! I wonder if GMO foods could be linked to women breast cancer? Even in our neck of the woods we know of many women who have dealt with or are deceased from this disease. The possible connection is something to think about.

[SunflowerMeg]

If you're worried about your health, curent or future, study soy. Organic or not, GM or not, it's all over in our diets. It's nasty, nasty stuff, no matter what. Forget Bush, forget Monsanto, forget blame. Protect your health and your family's health and get most of it out of your diet (the exception being organic fermented soy in modest amounts). Who said it here recently? 70% of the products we buy has soy in it? Plus, what about all the supplements? The milk? The oil? Even in the body lotions. A good place to start reading up on soy is to google the "weston a. price foundation" and type "soy" into their search engine. I go to health food stores and people have their carts filled with soy products...they are doing the "new age" thing and ignorantly believe they are doing something good for their bodies. Eating this garbage is by choice. I don't blame anyone but myself. I think I'm the only one at the health food store who reads labels to make sure I'm NOT buying anything with soy. The anti-soy movement is finally gathering a little steam; hopefully, there will be such a decrease in the buying of soy products, that whether it's GM or not won't be an issue any longer. :mad:

[redbrick]

While you're checking for soy, you'd better look out for High fructose corn syrup too. There's some pretty interesting evidence suggesting that there's a link between it and diabetes. Unfortunately, I don't have any source info for you, I'm not a very good researcher.

[GreenCap]

Yes sunflower, At the health food stores and in magazines thats all you hear about. How great it is, everyone just believes what they hear. I think it is up to you. If you don't care what your are eating, why should anyone else? Have you ever read the Maker's Diet? Good book, I love Garden of Life products, I just drank my Perfect food with Primal Defense for breakfast....yummm

[cochise]

New Study Shows Unborn Babies Could Be Harmed by Genetically Engineered Foods
The Independent, January 8, 2006
Women who eat GM foods while pregnant risk endangering their unborn babies, startling new research suggests. The World Trade Organization is expected next month to support a bid by the Bush administration to force European countries to accept GM foods. The study - carried out by a leading scientist at the Russian Academy of Sciences - found that more than half of the offspring of rats fed on modified soya died in the first three weeks of life, six times as many as those born to mothers with normal diets. Six times as many were also severely underweight. The research - which is being prepared for publication - is just one of a clutch of recent studies that are reviving fears that GM food damages human health. Italian research has found that modified soya affected the liver and pancreas of mice. Australia had to abandon a decade-long attempt to develop modified peas when an official study found they caused lung damage. And last May this newspaper revealed a secret report by the biotech giant Monsanto, which showed that rats fed a diet rich in GM corn had smaller kidneys and higher blood cell counts, suggesting possible damage to their immune systems, than those that ate a similar conventional one.
http://www.truefoodnow.org/shoppersguide/guide_printable.html#soup

[camochef]

What can we eat? Other than my heirloom tomatoes, and I'm not sure where that chemical fertilizer came from, and that dried cow manure that I spread upon the garden, just what were those cows eating? Where was that lime from? I would go on, but I'm probably on the Monsanto/Clinton hit list already!
Camo

[hort stu]

this is the path 'science' is leading us down.
No, kabuti, this is what you get when government has been bought by big business. Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater.

Amen to that brother!

If you're worried about your health, curent or future, study soy. Organic or not, GM or not, it's all over in our diets. It's nasty, nasty stuff, no matter what. Forget Bush, forget Monsanto, forget blame. Protect your health and your family's health and get most of it out of your diet (the exception being organic fermented soy in modest amounts). Who said it here recently? 70% of the products we buy has soy in it? Plus, what about all the supplements? The milk? The oil? Even in the body lotions. A good place to start reading up on soy is to google the "weston a. price foundation" and type "soy" into their search engine. I go to health food stores and people have their carts filled with soy products...they are doing the "new age" thing and ignorantly believe they are doing something good for their bodies. Eating this garbage is by choice. I don't blame anyone but myself. I think I'm the only one at the health food store who reads labels to make sure I'm NOT buying anything with soy. The anti-soy movement is finally gathering a little steam; hopefully, there will be such a decrease in the buying of soy products, that whether it's GM or not won't be an issue any longer.

Hey meg have to disagree with you about the weston a price foundation. While agree with a lot of what they say, their scientific evidence isn't always solid. I won't get into it because I agree with a great deal of their conclusions... just not the way they reach them.

Too much of any one food is going to cause problems for you. Soy in reasonable amount shouldn't be so bad. It is a good bean... The problem I find with soy is that most of the soy in the world is GM.

Now, regardless of whether a GM food is bad for human or animal consumption shouldn't be the heart of the issue either. The problem with GM food is that the research and development is too loosely regulated. Someday this research may find the next great cure for cancer or something that everyone would think is great...BUT the production methods they are allowing with these crops has the potential to release these foreign genes into the environment and wild relatives.

For example Oregon already has a problem with round up ready bent grass spreading and becoming a weed. All because golfers didn't want to deal with a little annual blue grass affecting the way the ball rolls. Who knows what that new gene will have the potential to become in the wild?

This is only one example.

Forget health reasons. Forget voting. (please don't, vote) Without labeling we can't choose not to support the way these technologies are being researched, developed, or tested on our pets and families! Just keep in mind you will not get mandatory labeling with any of the candidates that will be on your ballot. The only reason they can afford to get on the ballot is because they do the bidding of the big businesses that make more money off of less obstacles to "progress."

Also Redbrick is right. HFC (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-fructose_corn_syrup) wasnt invented for food purposes. It is in almost everything! Do you know why? Because corn is subsidized to the point where it is cheaper than sugar. Not because it is better for you if that's what any of you were thinking.

Oh and if any of you are trying to avoid GMOs for whatever reason then here is one more reason to avoid HFCS....

HFCS is not a “natural” ingredient due to the high level of processing and the use of at least one genetically modifed (GMO) enzyme required to produce it.[39] On January 12, 2007, Cadbury Schweppes agreed to stop calling 7 Up "All Natural."[40] They now call it "100% Natural Flavors."[41]

What can we eat?

I would bet just about anything coming out of your garden is safe.

What can we eat?

I would bet just about anything coming out of your garden is safe.

[louanne]

all anyone has to do is listen to a radio or watch tv or go shopping to know that we are constantly being told we "need" just about anything whether its is good for us or not...
and I am gonna speak frankly, about how I believe I was sucked into this for so long...

Believing that my parents always did what was best for me...when they believed that those they felt were smarter, better than them, told them this is what you must do, this is what is important, this is right or wrong.
They did it....no question...they made me...no question

HOw I learned to stop listening....
in my youth, after many years of allergic reactions to antibiotics
after watching both my parents, faithful to any and all medical treatment, perrish from misdiagnosis
hearing educators repeatedy wanting me to put my child on mood altering drugs(which I did not do)
One very smart counselor, who was seeing my son, said...you know you dont have to do any of this....
this "stuff" is not for your sons benefit, it is for theirs..it wil be a tremendous amount of hard work, and in the end you may still decided to go that route...BUT...well I took the hard road...and have done so with most things..BECAUSE...my son is okay...really okay( now the other one..LOL)
I have survived all these years..without antibiotics

anyway...high frutose corn syrup....I can't drink my favorite pop because if it...so...I dont drink it( well hardly)
listening to commercials for some of this..you ned this drug because cr**....I often find myself weighing the odds...hummmmmmmmm lack of sleep...addiction...car wreck....
well you what I mean....too many things are pushed to pay for the money invested to come up with it...

like creatine....developed for use for small children with rare form of diabetes....so rare..that the man who develped it....struck out on hiw own and it is sold as a muscle enhancer for wieghtlifters...GEESH...all for money

gotta go its booming outside..

[Painted Goat]

Forget health reasons. Forget voting. (please don't, vote) Without labeling we can't choose not to support the way these technologies are being researched, developed, or tested on our pets and families! Just keep in mind you will not get mandatory labeling with any of the candidates that will be on your ballot. The only reason they can afford to get on the ballot is because they do the bidding of the big businesses that make more money off of less obstacles to "progress."

.

Ummmmm I have to cast a vote or I'm not allowed to complain about the current dictators....I mean government officials :) I hear Ralph Nader may be running I think he is for labeling laws. I'm just for growing my own as much as possible and I'm getting more determined everyday!

[stepka]

If you're worried about your health, curent or future, study soy. Organic or not, GM or not, it's all over in our diets. Recently while researching the symptoms for thyroid disease, one of the first questions they ask you is whether you consume any soy. Something that whacks out your thyroid is nasty stuff. It was the only food group they mentioned and it was a mainstream site.

[Painted Goat]

Recently while researching the symptoms for thyroid disease, one of the first questions they ask you is whether you consume any soy. Something that whacks out your thyroid is nasty stuff. It was the only food group they mentioned and it was a mainstream site.

Many years ago when I worked in a healthfood store I tried all sorts of different ways of eating. One thing I did was to attempt to get off dairy and that was when soy was just starting to become popular so I drank soy milk and ate soy nuts and soycheeze. I soon experienced a great amount of fatigue. I would guess it could be similar to Chronic Fatigue Disorder except I never went to a doc I was just too tired to do anything and it was scary because it seemded to come out of nowhere and I was in my early 20's. Luckily I talked with the nutritionist that worked with the stores company. He asked me what I was eating and suggested I get off the soy. The body requires a 1:1 ration of copper and zinc and somehow soy messed that up for me. Anyway I got off the soy and my energy shot back up. It is possible that it was affecting my thyroid but I don't know. Funny thing is any time since if I try to eat soy it tends to make me sick.

[southernfried]

If you're worried about your health, curent or future, study soy. Organic or not, GM or not, it's all over in our diets. It's nasty, nasty stuff, no matter what. Forget Bush, forget Monsanto, forget blame. Protect your health and your family's health and get most of it out of your diet (the exception being organic fermented soy in modest amounts). Who said it here recently? 70% of the products we buy has soy in it? Plus, what about all the supplements? The milk? The oil? Even in the body lotions. A good place to start reading up on soy is to google the "weston a. price foundation" and type "soy" into their search engine. I go to health food stores and people have their carts filled with soy products...they are doing the "new age" thing and ignorantly believe they are doing something good for their bodies. Eating this garbage is by choice. I don't blame anyone but myself. I think I'm the only one at the health food store who reads labels to make sure I'm NOT buying anything with soy. The anti-soy movement is finally gathering a little steam; hopefully, there will be such a decrease in the buying of soy products, that whether it's GM or not won't be an issue any longer. :mad:


I went through my own "soy phase" where I made everything from tofu. I thought it was a healthy choice at the time. :( We have to educate ourselves by reading everything we can get our hands on. Even IF the soy weren't harmful, the GMO aspects out weigh any possible benefits.

[hort stu]

I went through my own "soy phase" where I made everything from tofu. I thought it was a healthy choice at the time. We have to educate ourselves by reading everything we can get our hands on. Even IF the soy weren't harmful, the GMO aspects out weigh any possible benefits.

Usually the soy products found at health food stores are made specifically from GMO free organic soy. However I still agree, everything in moderation.

[countrygma]

Recently while researching the symptoms for thyroid disease, one of the first questions they ask you is whether you consume any soy. Something that whacks out your thyroid is nasty stuff. It was the only food group they mentioned and it was a mainstream site.

Something else that whacks out the thyroid that even lots of alternative sites don't seem to know is flaxseed.

WE avoid soy as much as possible. A good book on the subject is The Whole Soy Storyby Kaayla T. Daniel

[Painted Goat]

Something else that whacks out the thyroid that even lots of alternative sites don't seem to know is flaxseed.

WE avoid soy as much as possible. A good book on the subject is The Whole Soy Storyby Kaayla T. Daniel

I hadn't heard about flaxseed. Where did you hear that?

[southernfried]

"Something else that whacks out the thyroid that even lots of alternative sites don't seem to know is flaxseed."

Please say it ain't so. I've been eating flaxseed for five years. All I have read about it was good. I am on medication for low thyroid.
SF

[hort stu]

You should all read 'Dangerous Grains...'

[bunkie]

Germany gives green light to label designating 'GM free' foods

http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/02/15/europe/EU-GEN-Germany-Biotech.php

Germany's upper house of parliament approved a new label on Friday that will declare foods that contain no genetically modified organisms ''GM Free.''

Genetically modified foods are a sensitive topic in Germany, where environmental groups contend that many such crops are unsafe for humans and the environment.

Germany's lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, already approved the law, which is now expected to go into effect in March.

Under the law, milk, meat, eggs and cheese will earn the ''GM free'' badge only if animals did not feed upon any genetically modified products. Animal products can still bear the label, however, even if the livestock was exposed to genetically altered vitamins, amino acids and other additives, as long as there were no available alternatives.

EU law already requires that foods containing genetically modified organisms be labeled as such, which has been cause for protest from the U.S. food industry.

The new law also stipulates that genetically modified corn be cultivated at a distance of about 500 feet from unmodified corn and about 1,000 feet from organic corn.

Already, farmers who cultivate genetically modified corn in Germany are legally responsible for preventing cross-fertilization with other corn fields. German farmers already have plans to cultivate nearly 2,500 acres of the genetically modified corn variety MON810, which is resistant to the ''corn borer'' pest.

[hort stu]

The new law also stipulates that genetically modified corn be cultivated at a distance of about 500 feet from unmodified corn and about 1,000 feet from organic corn.

Yeah like that is even close to far enough.

[winter_unfazed]

It should be at least a kilometer away from unmodified corn, and a mile or two away from organic. Pollen is very adventurous.

[hort stu]

It should be at least a kilometer away from unmodified corn, and a mile or two away from organic. Pollen is very adventurous.

I wouldn't be comfortable saving seed if I was within 25 miles of a Monsanto farm.

[thegreatgarden]

monsanto does not own the farms. They just sell the seeds.

[hort stu]

monsanto does not own the farms. They just sell the seeds.

Yeah, sorry, I was inappropriately referring to farms that grow Monsanto GM seeds as "Monsanto farms..." sorry for any confusion that might of caused anyone.

[thegreatgarden]

winter_unfazed studies prove that pollen contamination does not go more then 1500 feet with contamination rate of less then. .001 percent.
With limits like suggest the organic farmers are out of luck since you can not impose restriction for not using gmo's or convectional corn for other peoples property. A California case proved that one. As the 1000 foot limit satisfactory I could explain to how the limits were set since it very easy to tell if corn of one corn variety contaminates another. They used the corn kernel color test. Which I will explain if you would like.

[Ohiorganic]

Studies do not prove corn pollen goes no more than 1500 feet. there are peer reviewed studies that show that corn pollen can travel up to 2.5 miles especially on bees (which do work corn fields and do collect corn pollen, even though corn is a wind pollinated plant). But even wind has been known to carry corn pollen for several miles.

So while it really is not possible to keep corn GMO free if one only isolates by distance it is possible to do this using time. Plant the organic corn either 2 weeks before or after the GMO corns is planted there should be zero cross pollination. This is what sweet corn growers have to do so the sweet corn is not cross pollinated by field corn causing the sweet corn to develop starchy kernels

And I though the USDA NOP only required 50 feet as a buffer between organic farms and conventional (that's what it was when I was a certified organic grower 5 years ago), not 1500'. There was no separate rule for a buffer zone if growing near GMO fields (which I was surrounded by)

[hort stu]

winter_unfazed studies prove that pollen contamination does not go more then 1500 feet with contamination rate of less then. .001 percent.

I'd like to see a link to that study... I'm sure this is true with many self pollinated crops but I find it a little hard to swallow in the case of wind pollinated crops. According to a plant breeding book I have handy...

"It is not uncommon to observe occasional yellow grains in ears of white corn even though the nearest field of yellow corn from which the pollen could have originated was 1000 m distant."

Anyway in a small crop of corn you could have many thousands of grains. Even if the pollination rate at 1500 feet was .001 percent you could still have hundreds of GM seeds in
the heirloom seeds you intend to save. Those few traits in that population could increase significantly in frequency over the next few years of open pollinating without anymore pollution from a gm crop. Meaning you could trade them with someone unknowingly and now those genes are forever in a heirloom to be passed from generation to generation.

With limits like suggest the organic farmers are out of luck since you can not impose restriction for not using gmo's or convectional corn for other peoples property. A California case proved that one.

I understand why the court decide what they did and disagree with it. It seems to me that this calls for a new class of zoning laws. Considering the money behind they could probably get zoned for it anywhere they want but that's another story. That's why I suggest that you know who is growing what in your area, plant barrier plantings when, and where, you can and don't save seed from crops that may be polluted with GM pollen.

As the 1000 foot limit satisfactory I could explain to how the limits were set since it very easy to tell if corn of one corn variety contaminates another. They used the corn kernel color test. Which I will explain if you would like.

I've heard a little about it but by all means post an in depth explanation or link... the thing about this test is that, at least I don't believe that, it is always conclusive. It is possible that a GM crop carries the same color traits as a non gm crop. Or that your corn crop gets pollinated by your neighbors different colored non gm crop and a GM crop at the same time.

Studies do not prove corn pollen goes no more than 1500 feet. there are peer reviewed studies that show that corn pollen can travel up to 2.5 miles especially on bees (which do work corn fields and do collect corn pollen, even though corn is a wind pollinated plant). But even wind has been known to carry corn pollen for several miles.

Yeah I believe I've heard a lot more about multiple studies with results similar to the ones mentioned by Ohio than the one mentioned by TGG.

So while it really is not possible to keep corn GMO free if one only isolates by distance it is possible to do this using time. Plant the organic corn either 2 weeks before or after the GMO corns is planted there should be zero cross pollination. This is what sweet corn growers have to do so the sweet corn is not cross pollinated by field corn causing the sweet corn to develop starchy kernels

Great suggestion Oo. Here we're pretty much stuck doing it as early as we can get away with or we've got borer to deal with... but I'm not in the Midwest and don't have large scale GM growers to worry about.

And I though the USDA NOP only required 50 feet as a buffer between organic farms and conventional (that's what it was when I was a certified organic grower 5 years ago), not 1500'. There was no separate rule for a buffer zone if growing near GMO fields (which I was surrounded by)

I think that they have 'new management,' and I think that the rules have become a little more strict than they used to be. At least I remember a single class on that a year or two ago... can't give you the specifics but I'm sure it is in legalese on the net somewhere.

[winter_unfazed]

The good thing about corn is that it exhibits xenia. That means you can look at the corn and tell whether it was cross-pollinated by another variety. If you are growing an OP white corn, and you find a yellow kernel, you should take it out. It's one reason why combines should not be used for harvesting SEED corn.

[Painted Goat]

The good thing about corn is that it exhibits xenia. That means you can look at the corn and tell whether it was cross-pollinated by another variety. If you are growing an OP white corn, and you find a yellow kernel, you should take it out. It's one reason why combines should not be used for harvesting SEED corn.

Just to be clear on this cause this sounds very helpful. If I grow a couple of varieties of popcorn and say one kernal on and ear doesn't look like it should that means it is the only one that isn't pure seed, but the rest should be AOK?

[GreenZone]

Just to be clear on this cause this sounds very helpful. If I grow a couple of varieties of popcorn and say one kernal on and ear doesn't look like it should that means it is the only one that isn't pure seed, but the rest should be AOK?

Yes, provided that the unwanted crossing was with a variety that looks noticeably different. For example, I once grew a bed of blue corn a few hundred feet away from a bed of white corn. At harvest, there were a few blue kernels on the white ears. I excluded them from my saved seeds. Incidentally, there weren't any white kernels on the blue ears. I think a prevailing wind at tasseling time was at work here.

But it's still safest to bag the ears and tassels, and then hand pollinate. Removes all possibility of contamination. Or plant them to tassel at different times if you have a long enough season.

[hort stu]

Yes, provided that the unwanted crossing was with a variety that looks noticeably different.

Yes xenia isn't foolproof... but it works well... something about the endosperm getting 3 sets of chromosomes instead of 2.

[GreenZone]

Hort would you mind explaining a little more fully?

[hort stu]

Hort would you mind explaining a little more fully?

I will try but my understanding of this is limited so I fear my explanation will not do it justice. I apologize if I'm off with this. Please anyone jump in and make corrections.

First the affects of xenia for those that don't know.

Pollen from white corn + kernel of white corn = A white kernel
Pollen from yellow corn + kernel of white corn = A light yellow kernel
Pollen from white corn + kernel of yellow corn = A medium yellow kernel
Pollen from yellow corn + kernel of yellow corn = A deep yellow kernel
Before I go any further I can't resist but to point out that if the GM corn pollen is = in color genes to the kernel mother then you will not see any difference in the color of the kernel. This is probably the take home message from this anyway.

OK this link has the anatomy of a corn kernel... for the time being resist the urge to read about the ethanol production and just refer to the image of the kernel.
http://www.mctdirect.com/graphics/preview/preview.php?doc=KRT%2Fkrtgfx%2Fdocs%2F044%2F270
For our purposes you might want to know where the pericarp (seed coat) and the endosperm are.

Figure 1 here might show more detail if you care...
http://134.84.92.126/distribution/cropsystems/components/5700-1.html

Lets look at a kernel a little more closely. Refer to the links with diagrams or cut your own kernel. So you cut the kernel lengthwise. This way you get a cross section of the endosperm and the zygote. What you will find is that the color is created by the endosperm.

See the endosperm? The tissue that makes that up is triploid... OK what's triploid. That means 3 sets of chromosomes. You probably know 2 sets, diploid, is the "norm." It is with corn, and humans, and many other organisms.

In our case you have a sperm/pollen which is haploid = 1 set of chromosomes. You have the egg/ovule which is also haploid = 1 set. Combine these and get a diploid organism like a human, or a corn plant.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endosperm
Here's a link in case I don't explain this properly or clearly.

Every pollen grain, in the case of corn, has two sperm. The ovule has the egg and "two female polar nuclei." The egg and one pollen grain make up the zygote and what will eventually turn into a plant if allowed to. The other 3 haploid (1n) cells (2 from the mother 1 from the father) form the endosperm. This is the nutrition source for the seed. The green part in an avocado is a good example.

Since the endosperm is triploid it can produce 4 different phenotypes, looks as I listed above. If it was diploid it would only have 3 options. Heres why... each set of chromosomes carries information as to what the color of the endosperm will be. Lets use a letter to symbolize this. Big 'Y' will be the allele for yellow and little 'y' will be the allele for white.

If we had a diploid situation, two sets of chromosomes, there are only 3 possible combinations of 2 alleles, YY, Yy, and yy, which results in three phenotypes.

...but since we have 3 chromosome sets we have four combos possible...

YYY = deep yellow
YYy = medium yellow
Yyy = light yellow
yyy = white

Two of these are always coming from the mom and one from the father... Now to complicate things a little imagine you had a plant that was Yy. In this case it could pollinate itself and you could still see different color kernels on your cob.

I know someone is thinking well where does purple come from?
The endosperm also carries the genes that determine whether...

the aleurone is colorless vs purple http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleurone
the endosperm is...
starchy vs sugary
shrunken vs not shrunken
waxy vs non waxy

It is the interaction of all these different alleles that makes corn as colorful as this...

It's annoying though, you'd think it wouldn't kill them to do some research.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Corncobs.jpg

[bunkie]

Austrian Government Study Confirms Genetically Modified (GM) Crops
Threaten Human Fertility and Health Safety*

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.

Links

Austrian Study: http://www.ages.at/ueber-uns/presse/pressemeldungen/klarstellung-zu-neuen-er
Institute for Responsible Technology: http://responsibletechnology.org*
Non-GMO Shopping Guide: http://www.responsibletechnology.org/DocumentFiles/144.pdf*
Genetic Roulette: http://www.geneticroulette.com*

[FritzDaKat]

Hey Bunkie, can I get a source link for that? I gotta put it in a few other places. ;)

And I caught that bit earlier in the discussion when Hort was saying how most Soy was in fact now of GM variety, quite interesting that we are now seeing more and more reports of potential negative impact of a diet high in Soy, both Physiological and Psycological in nature after how many millenia of Soy being a staple thruout the world with no ill effect??

Well I guess that Jinn is out of the bottle... :(

[plot_thickens]

Note: soy and corn are processed and parts of them are put into other foods. If it's fried, baked, pressed, packaged, shaped, or frozen and not labeled, you can be 99.99% sure it's got gmcorn and/or gmsoy in it somewhere.

[Lanna]

Recently while researching the symptoms for thyroid disease, one of the first questions they ask you is whether you consume any soy. Something that whacks out your thyroid is nasty stuff. It was the only food group they mentioned and it was a mainstream site.
Yup, soy exacerbates thyroid conditions. Hypothyroid runs in my maternal family, so I've never hopped on the soy bandwagon (despite a few vegetarian friends trying to convince me - ironic that one of them is now on thyroid meds). Between that and HFCS, it's no wonder that I try to can/freeze as much as possible to feed my little family.

[bunkie]

Hey Bunkie, can I get a source link for that? I gotta put it in a few other places. ;)............

here ya go fritz...

http://www.responsibletechnology.org/GMFree/MediaCenter/ReleaseAustrianGovernmentStudy/index.cfm

[countrygma]

Hey Bunkie, can I get a source link for that? I gotta put it in a few other places. ;)

And I caught that bit earlier in the discussion when Hort was saying how most Soy was in fact now of GM variety, quite interesting that we are now seeing more and more reports of potential negative impact of a diet high in Soy, both Physiological and Psycological in nature after how many millenia of Soy being a staple thruout the world with no ill effect??

Well I guess that Jinn is out of the bottle... :(

Although I agree, GMO soy is a really bad thing to eat, there are many health practitioners as well as scientists like Mary Enig, PhD and nutritionists, that have never agreed with the say the US uses soy.

It is true, soy has been around for a long time in Asian countries, but it was used in it's fermented form, and only as a condiment so eaten in small amounts. It was never used for entire meals, and in milk, etc.. like it is here and has been for many years.

soy in the forms and amounts many people eat it, is not good for health, regardless if it is GMO or not.

[FritzDaKat]

True, but it seems there has been a new wave of ailments and afflictions seemingly associated with it over the past few years that have in fact appeared after the Frankenstrains were released. I mean granted a diet heavily laden with Soy product is a bad call in any event, Gm has made it much more so. I just like keeping a close eye on that aspect really, how a bad thing is made worse by the hand of man like with Tobacco and such. By having strong examples as to the additional negatives introduced as a result of which it gives us Glaziers or Eagle Talon rounds in our arsenal as opposed to plain old FMJ. ;)

[lorna-organic]

I read an article years ago that claimed the Japanese who lived through the A-bombings, the ones who consumed small amounts of miso daily, suffered less from radiation sickness than those who did not regularly consume miso. Also the miso eaters subsequently developed fewer cancers. (Cancer became rampant amongst the survivers a few years down the line, and cancer was also prevalent in their off-spring.)


Lorna
Boycott Monsanto