March 13, 2007

GMO corn causes liver, kidney problems in rats: study

PARIS (Reuters) - Environmental group Greenpeace launched a fresh attack on genetically modified maize developed by U.S. biotech giant Monsanto, saying on Tuesday that rats fed on one version developed liver and kidney problems.

Greenpeace said a study it had commissioned that was published in the journal Archives of Environmental Contamination and Technology showed rats fed for 90 days on Monsanto's MON863 maize showed "signs of toxicity" in the liver and kidneys.

"It is the first time that independent research, published in a peer-reviewed journal, has proved that a GMO authorized for human consumption presents signs of toxicity," Arnaud Apoteker, a spokesman for Greenpeace France said in a statement.

Campaigners against Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) say that genetic modification technology is unproven and potentially dangerous and that GMO crops can contaminate other crops.

The industry says the technology offers vast potential benefits, poses no health risk and has never been shown to contaminate other crops.

"All the experts agree that the maize in question is as safe as traditional maize," Yann Fichet, director external relations for Monsanto France told France's TF1 television.

He said the maize had been authorized in more than 10 countries and in the European Union but he declined to comment specifically on the allegations raised by Greenpeace.

MON863 is a form of maize genetically modified to make it resistant to corn rootworm. It has been authorized by the European Union for use in animal feed since 2005 and for human consumption since January 2006.

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?ch...F01999A180E764B

Just one more reason NOT to eat corn.

The article doesn't mention that a control group was used. The research must be reported in the March ediiton of the journal, which is not yet available.

I don't like the modified stuff, but I distrust any enviornmental group or animal rights group more. I just don't trust any studies by these groups, as evidence and fact are often secondary to whatever agenda these people have. They are as bad as the big companies. >.<

I am NOT a fan of GMOs, especially since they insist on using the general public as guinea pigs without our consent, however


I also distrust these groups


I'm curious as to what would happen to rats fed regular corn for 90 days.


And just how safe is that?

MORE important would ALSO be how did they feed the corn. Was It ground up, most likely, or whole kernals, not likely. The reason I raise this point is I KNOW what Rats eat in the corn crib! It is strictly the germ and NOT the starch portion. My uncle had a farm and his corn was picked by hand as whole ears. Those were then stored in the corn crib until fed to his hogs. Kernels would get knocked off and gravitate towad the bottom. If you would dig into the lower portion of the crib you would find these kernels, most with the germ gone, cleanly bitten out of each kernel.

So it is entirely possible that the liver and kidney problems was from eating excessive amounts of corn starch, which a rat would NOT do in the wild (on a farm).

This was just sent to me from Localharvest.org which is an association of small farmers from all over the country.

U.S. Congressman Pompeo and his gang of Big Food bullies are once again trying to deny consumers our right to know what we are eating and feeding our families.

The bill that would deny voters the right to pass state bills to label genetically engineered foods—and make mandatory labeling at the federal level impossible—has been reintroduced in Congress, despite hundreds of thousands of emails and phone calls from people like you opposing this corporate power-grab.

To make matters worse, Congressman Pompeo has released a dangerous new amendment to the DARK Act that would preempt any state or county laws regulating genetically engineered (GE) crops in any way.

Pompeo’s bill (H.R. 1599)—dubbed the “Denying Americans the Right-to-Know Act” (DARK Act)—would:
•Prevent states from adopting their own GE labeling laws.
•Prevent state or county laws regulating GE crops
•Prevent the Food and Drug Administration from requiring companies to label GE ingredients and instead continue a failed 14-year “voluntary” labeling policy.

The bill also seeks to create a federal certification process for voluntary non-GMO labels. While non-GMO marketing claims allow companies to distinguish themselves in the marketplace, the labeling of non-GE foods and organic foods is limited to only about 2% of products on the shelves and is not a substitute for mandatory disclosure.

GE labeling is important to Americans, with over 90% consistently supporting transparency in the marketplace through mandatory GE labeling. In 2013 and 2014 there were over 70 GE labeling bills introduced across 30 states, with laws being passed in Maine, Connecticut, and Vermont.

The DARK Act would shut down these efforts and reverse these successfully passed bills, only to be replaced with an undemocratic, hollow “voluntary” labeling scheme. In the 14 years that FDA has allowed companies to voluntarily label GE foods, a total of zero companies have done so.

This is not the solution consumers have been demanding and it is high time for Congress to wise up.

Thankfully, Congressman DeFazio and Senator Boxer have also reintroduced their bill to put in place mandatory, nationwide labeling of genetically engineered foods. Congress should focus on the labeling solutions that Americans are asking for – not legislation written by and for big food and chemical companies that only serves to keep Americans in the dark.

http://salsa3.salsalabs.com/o/1881/...ction_KEY=14356

I'm not that concerned about the trace amounts of GMO that I'm exposed to in my diet. But I'm in favour of people actually knowing what they're buying so they can make up their own minds.

Bob-o-rama posted about this in a thread in the "general health" forum. I found this article (with pics) which explains what is happening on on a cellular level, and why GMO-containing foods might do this.

http://www.academia.edu/3405345/His..._Corn_Ajeeb_YG_

I am very concerned about GMOs and want labeling for the following reasons:

--I don't want to support a method of agriculture that does aerial spraying of large swathes of land with herbicides on a regular basis, it is not sustainable.

--I'm concerned about the collateral damage to the DNA that could happen as mentioned in this article--I absolutely DO NOT trust Monsanto and the scientists in their pocket when they say that GMOs are identical to non-GMOs except for the one inserted gene.

--GM Round-up Ready foods contain residual glyphosate even after processing, not surprising considering how much is dumped on them, and it is toxic even in small amounts.

--The first generation GMOs are losing effectiveness (e.g. weeds are developing resistance to roundup) and they are trying to ramp up to more obviously toxic products. Once again, it is not a sustainable way to do agriculture.

Unfortunately, it's not just RoundUp Ready or GMOs that are being doused with the stuff. They've been using RoundUp for a long time to dry up crops for harvest. My dad saw it being used on potato crops about 15 years ago.

http://www.inquisitr.com/1605344/mo...dup-ready-gmos/


Add corn and sunflower to the above list.
http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2014...ht-harvest.html

RoundUp can't be used on organic products.

I'm as concerned about the LAND being poisoned by the sprays for poison-tolerant GMOs as I am about that poison on GMO food. As an ex-farmer, I've seen how often and how much is sprayed.... very disturbing.

It's not GMOs per se that are the issue... it's the poisons that GMO plants allow to be sprayed and yet not die before harvest.

True, and what about all the honeybee colony die-outs likely due to spraying all those chemicals?

Back when they were using DDT on crops the eagle populations almost died out.
When I was young I remember asking my mother why we had no Pelicans on the Gulf Coast.
20+ years later the Eagles are back and so are the Pelicans in fact the numbers are so high that I think they out number the seagulls now.

Also the GMO have been lab created to kill insects from within the plant itself.

yes, BT potatoes, tobacco, cotton, corn and others... to all of which those same insects are becoming resistant, as they always will, just like weeds do...



Farmers used to rotate their crops to prevent corn rootworm, and prevent overly hungry corn from sucking up all the nutrients from the soil. Now they just plant the same crops forever, destroying the land until nothing grows there without artificial support.... except weeds.

And just as bad, these crops provide increasingly impoverished human nutrition since fertilizer provides only the most basic of plant nutrients... because actually plants pull the most of their nutrition from the billions of bacteria and other microscopic life in the soil, killed by all the -cides repeatedly applied.

https://www.organicconsumers.org/es...-it-kills-again