Doctors Warn: Avoid Genetically Modified Food

[Guest guest]

 

GMOs, Health & Disease

— by M.

Immediate Moratorium on All Genetically Modified Foods Recommended

By M. , executive director of the Institute for Responsible

Technology, and author of the highly acclaimed Seeds of Deception and Genetic

Roulette.

On May 19th, the American Academy of Environmental Medicine (AAEM) called on

“Physicians to educate their patients, the medical community, and the public

to avoid GM (genetically modified) foods when possible and provide educational

materials concerning GM foods and health risks.†(1) They called for a

moratorium on GM foods, long-term independent studies, and labeling. AAEM’s

position paper stated, “Several animal studies indicate serious health risks

associated with GM food,†including infertility, immune problems, accelerated

aging, insulin regulation, and changes in major organs and the gastrointestinal

system. They conclude, “There is more than a casual association between GM

foods and adverse health effects. There is causation,†as defined by

recognized scientific criteria. “The strength of association and consistency

between GM foods and disease is confirmed in several animal studies.â€

More and more doctors are already prescribing GM-free diets. Dr. Amy Dean, a

Michigan internal medicine specialist, and board member of AAEM says, “I

strongly recommend patients eat strictly non-genetically modified foods.†Ohio

allergist Dr. Boyles says “I used to test for soy allergies all the time,

but now that soy is genetically engineered, it is so dangerous that I tell

people never to eat it.â€

Dr. Armstrong, President of AAEM, says, “Physicians are probably

seeing the effects in their patients, but need to know how to ask the right

questions.†World renowned biologist Pushpa M. Bhargava goes one step further.

After reviewing more than 600 scientific journals, he concludes that genetically

modified organisms (GMOs) are a major contributor to the sharply deteriorating

health of Americans.

Pregnant women and babies at great risk

Among the population, biologist Schubert of the Salk Institute warns that

“children are the most likely to be adversely effected by toxins and other

dietary problems†related to GM foods. He says without adequate studies, the

children become “the experimental animals.†(2)

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The experience of actual GM-fed experimental animals is scary. When GM soy was

fed to female rats, most of their babies died within three weeks—compared to a

10% death rate among the control group fed natural soy. (3) The GM-fed babies

were also smaller, and later had problems getting pregnant. (4)

When male rats were fed GM soy, their testicles actually changed color—from

the normal pink to dark blue. (5) Mice fed GM soy had altered young sperm. (6)

Even the embryos of GM fed parent mice had significant changes in their DNA. (7)

Mice fed GM corn in an Austrian government study had fewer babies, which were

also smaller than normal. (8)

Reproductive problems also plague livestock. Investigations in the state of

Haryana, India revealed that most buffalo that ate GM cottonseed had

complications such as premature deliveries, abortions, infertility, and

prolapsed uteruses. Many calves died. In the US, about two dozen farmers

reported thousands of pigs became sterile after consuming certain GM corn

varieties. Some had false pregnancies; others gave birth to bags of water. Cows

and bulls also became infertile when fed the same corn. (9)

In the US population, the incidence of low birth weight babies, infertility, and

infant mortality are all escalating.

Food designed to produce toxin

GM corn and cotton are engineered to produce their own built-in pesticide in

every cell. When bugs bite the plant, the poison splits open their stomach and

kills them. Biotech companies claim that the pesticide, called Bt—produced

from soil bacteria Bacillus thuringiensis—has a history of safe use, since

organic farmers and others use Bt bacteria spray for natural insect control.

Genetic engineers insert Bt genes into corn and cotton, so the plants do the

killing.

The Bt-toxin produced in GM plants, however, is thousands of times more

concentrated than natural Bt spray, is designed to be more toxic, (10) has

properties of an allergen, and unlike the spray, cannot be washed off the plant.

Moreover, studies confirm that even the less toxic natural bacterial spray is

harmful. When dispersed by plane to kill gypsy moths in the Pacific Northwest,

about 500 people reported allergy or flu-like symptoms. Some had to go to the

emergency room. (11,12)

The exact same symptoms are now being reported by farm workers throughout India,

from handling Bt cotton. In 2008, based on medical records, the Sunday India

reported, “Victims of itching have increased massively this year . . . related

to BT cotton farming.†(14)

GMOs provoke immune reactions

AAEM states, “Multiple animal studies show significant immune

dysregulation,†including increase in cytokines, which are “associated with

asthma, allergy, and inflammationâ€â€”all on the rise in the US.

According to GM food safety expert Dr. Arpad Pusztai, changes in the immune

status of GM animals are “a consistent feature of all the studies.†(15)

Even Monsanto’s own research showed significant immune system changes in rats

fed Bt corn. (16) A November 2008 by the Italian government also found that mice

have an immune reaction to Bt corn. (17)

GM soy and corn each contain two new proteins with allergenic properties, (18)

GM soy has up to seven times more trypsin inhibitor—a known soy allergen, (19)

and skin prick tests show some people react to GM, but not to non-GM soy. (20)

Soon after GM soy was introduced to the UK, soy allergies skyrocketed by 50%.

Perhaps the US epidemic of food allergies and asthma is a casualty of genetic

manipulation.

Animals dying in large numbers

In India, animals graze on cotton plants after harvest. But when shepherds let

sheep graze on Bt cotton plants, thousands died. Post mortems showed severe

irritation and black patches in both intestines and liver (as well as enlarged

bile ducts).

Investigators said preliminary evidence “strongly suggests that the sheep

mortality was due to a toxin. . . . most probably Bt-toxin.†(21) In a small

follow-up feeding study by the Deccan Development Society, all sheep fed Bt

cotton plants died within 30 days; those that grazed on natural cotton plants

remained healthy.

In a small village in Andhra Pradesh, buffalo grazed on cotton plants for eight

years without incident. On January 3rd, 2008, the buffalo grazed on Bt cotton

plants for the first time. All 13 were sick the next day; all died within 3

days. (22)

Bt corn was also implicated in the deaths of cows in Germany, and horses, water

buffaloes, and chickens in The Philippines. (23)

In lab studies, twice the number of chickens fed Liberty Link corn died; 7 of 20

rats fed a GM tomato developed bleeding stomachs; another 7 of 40 died within

two weeks. (24) Monsanto’s own study showed evidence of poisoning in major

organs of rats fed Bt corn, according to top French toxicologist G. E. Seralini.

(25)

Worst finding of all—GMOs remain inside of us

The only published human feeding study revealed what may be the most dangerous

problem from GM foods. The gene inserted into GM soy transfers into the DNA of

bacteria living inside our intestines and continues to function. This means that

long after we stop eating GMOs, we may still have potentially harmful GM

proteins produced continuously inside of us. Put more plainly, eating a corn

chip produced from Bt corn might transform our intestinal bacteria into living

pesticide factories, possibly for the rest of our lives.

When evidence of gene transfer is reported at medical conferences around the US,

doctors often respond by citing the huge increase of gastrointestinal problems

among their patients over the last decade. GM foods might be colonizing the gut

flora of North Americans.

Warnings by government scientists ignored and denied

Scientists at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had warned about all these

problems even in the early 1990s. According to documents released from a

lawsuit, the scientific consensus at the agency was that GM foods were

inherently dangerous, and might create hard-to-detect allergies, poisons, gene

transfer to gut bacteria, new diseases, and nutritional problems. They urged

their superiors to require rigorous long-term tests. But the White House had

ordered the agency to promote biotechnology and the FDA responded by recruiting

, Monsanto’s former attorney, to head up the formation of GMO

policy. That policy, which is in effect today, denies knowledge of scientists’

concerns and declares that no safety studies on GMOs are required. It is up to

Monsanto and the other biotech companies to determine if their foods are safe.

Mr. later became Monsanto’s vice president.

Dangerously few studies, untraceable diseases

AAEM states, “GM foods have not been properly tested†and “pose a serious

health risk.†Not a single human clinical trial on GMOs has been published. A

2007 review of published scientific literature on the “potential toxic

effects/health risks of GM plants†revealed “that experimental data are very

scarce.†The author concludes his review by asking, “Where is the scientific

evidence showing that GM plants/food are toxicologically safe, as assumed by the

biotechnology companies?†(28)

Famed Canadian geneticist Suzuki answers, “The experiments simply

haven’t been done and we now have become the guinea pigs.†He adds,

“Anyone that says, ‘Oh, we know that this is perfectly safe,’ I say is

either unbelievably stupid or deliberately lying.†(29)

Dr. Schubert points out, “If there are problems, we will probably never know

because the cause will not be traceable and many diseases take a very long time

to develop.†If GMOs happen to cause immediate and acute symptoms with a

unique signature, perhaps then we might have a chance to trace the cause.

This is precisely what happened during a US epidemic in the late 1980s. The

disease was fast acting, deadly, and caused a unique measurable change in the

blood—but it still took more than four years to identify that an epidemic was

even occurring. By then it had killed about 100 Americans and caused

5,000-10,000 people to fall sick or become permanently disabled. It was caused

by a genetically engineered brand of a food supplement called L-tryptophan.

If other GM foods are contributing to the rise of autism, obesity, diabetes,

asthma, cancer, heart disease, allergies, reproductive problems, or any other

common health problem now plaguing Americans, we may never know. In fact, since

animals fed GMOs had such a wide variety of problems, susceptible people may

react to GM food with multiple symptoms. It is therefore telling that in the

first nine years after the large scale introduction of GM crops in 1996, the

incidence of people with three or more chronic diseases nearly doubled, from 7%

to 13%. (30)

To help identify if GMOs are causing harm, the AAEM asks their “members, the

medical community, and the independent scientific community to gather case

studies potentially related to GM food consumption and health effects, begin

epidemiological research to investigate the role of GM foods on human health,

and conduct safe methods of determining the effect of GM foods on human

health.â€

Citizens need not wait for the results before taking the doctors advice to avoid

GM foods. People can stay away from anything with soy or corn derivatives,

cottonseed and canola oil, and sugar from GM sugar beets—unless it says

organic or “non-GMO.†There is a pocket Non-GMO Shopping Guide, co-produced

by the Institute for Responsible Technology and the Center for Food Safety,

which is available as a download, as well as in natural food stores and in many

doctors’ offices.

If even a small percentage of people choose non-GMO brands, the food industry

will likely respond as they did in Europe—by removing all GM ingredients.

Thus, AAEM’s non-GMO prescription may be a watershed for the US food supply.

~~~~~

International bestselling author and independent filmmaker M. is

the Executive Director of the Institute for Responsible Technology and the

leading spokesperson on the health dangers of GMOs. His first book, Seeds of

Deception is the world’s bestselling book on the subject. His second, Genetic

Roulette: The Documented Health Risks of Genetically Engineered Foods,

identifies 65 risks of GMOs and demonstrates how superficial government

approvals are not competent to find most of them. He invited the biotech

industry to respond in writing with evidence to counter each risk, but correctly

predicted that they would refuse, since they don’t have the data to show that

their products are safe.

Further Reading:

The World According to Monsanto

The Global Spread of GMO Crops

The Food Crisis Spurs Gene Patenting Race

Pay Monsanto, or Starve

Monsanto Invents the Pig

The Failures of Genetically Modified Crops Continue

Calling Five Percent of US Residents to Action on GMOs

References:

http://www.aaemonline.org/gmopost.html

Schubert, personal communication to H. Penfound, Greenpeace Canada,

October 25, 2002.

Irina Ermakova, “Genetically modified soy leads to the decrease of weight and

high mortality of rat pups of the first generation. Preliminary studies,â€

Ecosinform 1 (2006): 4–9.

Irina Ermakova, “Experimental Evidence of GMO Hazards,†Presentation at

Scientists for a GM Free Europe, EU Parliament, Brussels, June 12, 2007

Irina Ermakova, “Experimental Evidence of GMO Hazards,†Presentation at

Scientists for a GM Free Europe, EU Parliament, Brussels, June 12, 2007

L. Vecchio et al, “Ultrastructural Analysis of Testes from Mice Fed on

Genetically Modified Soybean,†European Journal of Histochemistry 48, no. 4

(Oct–Dec 2004):449–454.

Oliveri et al., “Temporary Depression of Transcription in Mouse Pre-implantion

Embryos from Mice Fed on Genetically Modified Soybean,†48th Symposium of the

Society for Histochemistry, Lake Maggiore (Italy), September 7–10, 2006.

Alberta Velimirov and Binter, “Biological effects of transgenic maize

NK603xMON810 fed in long term reproduction studies in mice,â€

Forschungsberichte der Sektion IV, Band 3/2008

Jerry Rosman, personal communication, 2006

See for example, A. Dutton, H. Klein, J. Romeis, and F. Bigler, “Uptake of

Bt-toxin by herbivores feeding on transgenic maize and consequences for the

predator Chrysoperia carnea,†Ecological Entomology 27 (2002): 441–7; and J.

Romeis, A. Dutton, and F. Bigler, “Bacillus thuringiensis toxin (Cry1Ab) has

no direct effect on larvae of the green lacewing Chrysoperla carnea (s)

(Neuroptera: Chrysopidae),†Journal of Insect Physiology 50, no. 2–3 (2004):

175–183.

Washington State Department of Health, “Report of health surveillance

activities: Asian gypsy moth control program,†(Olympia, WA: Washington State

Dept. of Health, 1993).

M. Green, et al., “Public health implications of the microbial pesticide

Bacillus thuringiensis: An epidemiological study, Oregon, 1985-86,†Amer. J.

Public Health 80, no. 7(1990): 848–852.

Ashish Gupta et. al., “Impact of Bt Cotton on Farmers’ Health (in Barwani

and Dhar District of Madhya Pradesh),†Investigation Report, Oct–Dec 2005.

Sunday India, October, 26, 2008

October 24, 2005 correspondence between Arpad Pusztai and

M. Burns, “13-Week Dietary Subchronic Comparison Study with MON 863 Corn

in Rats Preceded by a 1-Week Baseline Food Consumption Determination with PMI

Certified Rodent Diet #5002,†December 17, 2002

http://www.monsanto.com/monsanto/content/sci_tech/prod_safety/fullratstudy.pdf

Alberto Finamore, et al, “Intestinal and Peripheral Immune Response to MON810

Maize Ingestion in Weaning and Old Mice,†J. Agric. Food Chem., 2008, 56 (23),

pp 11533–11539, November 14, 2008

See L Zolla, et al, “Proteomics as a complementary tool for identifying

unintended side effects occurring in transgenic maize seeds as a result of

genetic modifications,†J Proteome Res. 2008 May;7(5):1850-61; Hye-Yung Yum,

Soo-Young Lee, Kyung-Eun Lee, Myung-Hyun Sohn, Kyu-Earn Kim, “Genetically

Modified and Wild Soybeans: An immunologic comparison,†Allergy and Asthma

Proceedings 26, no. 3 (May–June 2005): 210-216(7); and Gendel, “The use of

amino acid sequence alignments to assess potential allergenicity of proteins

used in genetically modified foods,†Advances in Food and Nutrition Research

42 (1998), 45–62.

A. Pusztai and S. Bardocz, “GMO in animal nutrition: potential benefits and

risks,†Chapter 17, Biology of Nutrition in Growing Animals, R. Mosenthin, J.

Zentek and T. Zebrowska (Eds.) Elsevier, October 2005

Hye-Yung Yum, Soo-Young Lee, Kyung-Eun Lee, Myung-Hyun Sohn, Kyu-Earn Kim,

“Genetically Modified and Wild Soybeans: An immunologic comparison,†Allergy

and Asthma Proceedings 26, no. 3 (May–June 2005): 210-216(7).

“Mortality in Sheep Flocks after Grazing on Bt Cotton Fields—Warangal

District, Andhra Pradesh†Report of the Preliminary Assessment, April 2006,

http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp

Personal communication and visit, January 2009.

M. , Genetic Roulette: The Documented Health Risks of Genetically

Engineered Foods, Yes! Books, Fairfield, IA USA 2007

Arpad Pusztai, “Can Science Give Us the Tools for Recognizing Possible Health

Risks for GM Food?†Nutrition and Health 16 (2002): 73–84.

Stéphane Foucart, “Controversy Surrounds a GMO,†Le Monde, 14 December

2004; referencing, M. Burns, “13-Week Dietary Subchronic Comparison Study

with MON 863 Corn in Rats Preceded by a 1-Week Baseline Food Consumption

Determination with PMI Certified Rodent Diet #5002,†December 17, 2002

http://www.monsanto.com/monsanto/content/sci_tech/prod_safety/fullratstudy.pdf

Netherwood et al, “Assessing the survival of transgenic plant DNA in the human

gastrointestinal tract,†Nature Biotechnology 22 (2004): 2.

See memos at www.biointegrity.org

José Domingo, “Toxicity Studies of Genetically Modified Plants : A Review of

the Published Literature,†Critical reviews in food science and nutrition,

2007, vol. 47, no8, pp. 721-733

Hall, “Suzuki warns against hastily accepting GMOsâ€, The Leader-Post

(Canada), 26 April 2005.

Anne Paez, et al, “Rising Out-Of-Pocket Spending For Chronic

Conditions: A Ten-Year Trend,†Health Affairs, 28, no. 1 (2009): 15-25

Love, Gabby. :0)

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