The following article was sent to me by my Dr. of Oriental Medicine. I
knew there was a reason to keep avoiding those corn chips!
Spilling the Beans, May 20, 2009
Doctors
Warn: Avoid Genetically Modified Food
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.”
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. John 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.”
Dr.
Jennifer 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 David 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]
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.[13] 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 inflammation”—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.[26] 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.[27] But
the White House had ordered the agency to promote biotechnology and the FDA
responded by recruiting Michael Taylor, 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. Taylor 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 David 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.”
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 Jeffrey M. Smith 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.
[1] http://www.aaemonline.org/gmopost.html
[2] David Schubert,
personal communication to H. Penfound, Greenpeace Canada , October 25, 2002.
[3] Irina Ermakova,
“Genetically modified soy leads to the decrease of weight and high mortality of
rat pups of the first generation. Preliminary studies,” Ecosinform 1
(2006): 4–9.
[4] Irina Ermakova,
“Experimental Evidence of GMO Hazards,” Presentation at Scientists for a GM
Free Europe, EU Parliament, Brussels , June 12, 2007
[5] Irina
Ermakova, “Experimental Evidence of GMO Hazards,” Presentation at Scientists
for a GM Free Europe, EU Parliament, Brussels , June 12, 2007
[6] 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.
[7] 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.
[8] Alberta Velimirov
and Claudia Binter, “Biological effects of transgenic maize NK603xMON810 fed in
long term reproduction studies in mice,” Forschungsberichte der Sektion IV,
Band 3/2008
[9] Jerry Rosman,
personal communication, 2006
[10] 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
(Stephens) (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae),” Journal of Insect Physiology 50,
no. 2–3 (2004): 175–183.
[11] Washington State
Department of Health, “Report of health surveillance activities: Asian gypsy
moth control program,” (Olympia, WA: Washington State Dept. of Health, 1993).
[12] 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.
[13] Ashish Gupta et.
al., “Impact of Bt Cotton on Farmers’ Health (in Barwani and Dhar District of
Madhya Pradesh),” Investigation Report, Oct–Dec 2005.
[14] Sunday India , October,
26, 2008
[15] October 24, 2005
correspondence between Arpad Pusztai and Brian John
[16] John 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
[17] 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
[18] 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.
[19] 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
[20] 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).
[21] “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
[22] Personal
communication and visit, January 2009.
[23] Jeffrey M. Smith, Genetic
Roulette: The Documented Health Risks of Genetically Engineered Foods,
Yes! Books, Fairfield , IA USA 2007
[24] Arpad Pusztai, “Can
Science Give Us the Tools for Recognizing Possible Health Risks for GM Food?” Nutrition
and Health 16 (2002): 73–84.
[25] Stéphane Foucart,
“Controversy Surrounds a GMO,” Le Monde, 14 December 2004; referencing,
John 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
[26] Netherwood et al,
“Assessing the survival of transgenic plant DNA in the human gastrointestinal
tract,” Nature Biotechnology 22 (2004): 2.
[27] See memos at www.biointegrity.org
[28] 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
[29] Angela Hall, “Suzuki
warns against hastily accepting GMOs”, The Leader-Post ( Canada ), 26 April
2005.
[30] Kathryn Anne Paez,
et al, “Rising Out-Of-Pocket Spending For Chronic Conditions: A Ten-Year
Trend,” Health Affairs, 28, no. 1 (2009): 15-25
© copyright Institute For Responsible Technology 2009.
Spilling the Beans is a monthly column available at www.responsibletechnology.org. The website also offers eater-friendly tips for avoiding GMOs at home and in restaurants.
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