Bayer's GE Crop Herbicide, Glufosinate, Causes Brain Damage

December 22, 2004

News

Events

Campaigns

Participate

Publications

Find Organics

Search

About OCA

OCAHomepage

Make a Donation!

JOIN THE OCA NETWORK!

Bayer's GE Crop Herbicide, Glufosinate, Causes Brain Damage

GM WATCH dailyhttp://www.gmwatch.org------The glufosinate herbicide, used in large quantities on Bayer's GMherbicide-resistant crops, has been found to have adverse effects on thebrain.----http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?nn20041207f1.htmThe Japan Times, 7 December 2004By YUMI WIJERS-HASEGAWA, Staff writer

Yoichiro Kuroda, the principal investigator in a project titled the Effectsof Endocrine Disrupters on the Developing Brain, under the government'sCREST (Core Research for Evolutional Science and Technology) program,believes polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and glufosinate can hamper thedevelopment and activity of the brain.

PCBs are "mock hormones" -- endocrine disrupters that cause neuraldevelopment defects by disrupting gene functions and neural-networkformation in kids -- resulting in lower IQ scores and hyperactivetendencies, he said.

Glufosinate, widely used in the U.S. as a super herbicide forherbicide-resistant genetically modified crops, is like a "mockneurotransmitter" that has an aggressive effect on brains, he said.

If an embryo or a baby is exposed to the chemical, it can affect behavior,as it disturbs gene functions that regulate the developing brain, he said.

A decade ago, the late Toshiko Fujii, a one-time professor of medicine atTeikyo University, conducted research in which she found that the maincomponent of this GMO-compatible herbicide had adverse effects on the brainsof baby rats.

"Male rats often fight one another, but female rats are peaceful," Kurodasaid in explaining Fujii's research.

"But female rats born from mothers that were given high doses of glufosinatebecame aggressive and started to bite each other -- in some cases until onedied. That report sent a chill through me."

He said there is a considerable possibility that fetuses and babies are alsoaffected by the substance, and since it is widely assumed that males aremore aggressive to begin with, it is possible they are more affected thanfemales.

"The chemical industry has not been considering this kind of risk on thedeveloping human brain,which is a fragile, fine chemical machine," he said.*********************************************************************************************************This GMO news service is underwritten by a generous grant from the Newman'sOwn Foundation and is a production of the Ecological Farming Associationwww.eco-farm.org <http://www.eco-farm.org/>****************************************************************************