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ADVERSE EFFECTS ON HUMAN HEALTH FROM GMOs
1) A study in the Journal of the American Cancer Society (March 15,1991) reported that exposure to glyphosate was associated with a higher risk of non-Hodgkins lymphoma. Biotech soy, corn and canola are manipulated to be resistant to glyphosate so that more of it can be used to control weeds, thus increasing the exposure of farm families and workers to the chemical.
2) A report in the Journal of Medicinal Food (Vol 1 No 4 1999) refutes the claim that GM foods are nutritionally the same as their traditional counterparts when it described a 12% to 14% reduction of valuable estrogens in genetically altered soy beans.
3) Also troubling are findings reported in Microbial Ecology in Health and Disease (No 4 1999) by British researcher Mae-Wan Ho and Canadians Angela Ryan and Joe Cummins. They warned of the danger of the routinely used cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMv) as a promoter in gene transferals. CaMv is suspected of being the agent that caused cancer in rats fed GE/GM potatoes by Britain's Dr Arpad Putzai. His experiment demonstrated the virus's ability to promote abnormal growth. The fact that it appears to have caused cancer in rats is not necessarily an indication that it will cause cancer in humans, however.
4) Dr Ho wrote in Genetic Engineering, Dream or Nightmare? (p140) that the CaMv: "...can also recombine with other viruses to generate new, broad range viruses...CaMv, has a sequence homolgous to human leukaemic virus and human hepatitis B virus, and the promoter gene can drive the synthesis of these viruses as well...thus the possibility to recombine with human viruses when ingested in food."
5) Britain's Dr Andre Chesson charges that "Current safety tests are badly flawed. Harmful chemicals and allergens could enter human food chain with disastrous results. Chesson is senior researcher at Rowett Institute, Aberdeen, where Dr Armad Putzai publicized a study indicating that GM potatoes were carcinogenic.
ARE GMOs BENEFICIAL FOR FARMERS?
1) "The gains the corporates and their promoters are promising us from GE will not solve any problems either from the view of lowering costs or increasing production," according to Macgregor.
2) Contrary to the claims of companies marketing GMOs, the US Department of Agriculture found their crop yields were generally no better than those from traditional seeds. They also found that some farmers were using more pesticides on GE/GM crops.
2a) An Independent study by University of Wisconsin found crop yields were lower for GE/GM crops at 17 of 21 locations across 9 northern states in 1996.
2b) The same pattern was found in Britain where yields from canola and sugar beets were between 5 and 8 % lower than in regular crops in 1997 and 1998.
2c) Study on 300 test sites by Cyanamid and University of Arkansas found 20% higher yields in conventional soy crops
2d) Purdue University found soy yields 12-20% lower in GM crops.
3) In addition to getting lower yields, soy farmers must pay an extra fee to use GM seeds. Their crops require two to three applications of Roundup instead of just one as advertised.
4) In addition to the extra expense, farmers growing GM crops may find their markets drying up. McCain's, the world's largest potato processor has announced it will not use GM potatoes in deference to customer preference.
4a) Japan will require GM soy to be labeled after April 1, 2001.
4b) Fugi Oil Co. LTD, the largest soy processor has announced that its products will be GM free.
In evaluating pro and con discussions on GMOs, I suggest that readers should consider the motivation of the writers. GM companies rearrange genetic material hoping to make more money while the opponents of this technology do so out of concern for the health of the planet and its life forms. - Bina Robinson
The writer is the director of CIVITAS: Citizens for Planetary Health
Dr Mae-Wan Ho's book Genetic Engineering, Dream or Nightmare? has been called "the Silent Spring of bio-technology".
To order from book page for $16, click here
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