Fwd: Cancer Promoting Transgenic Rice

[Guest guest]

9 Mar 2004 15:31:47 -0000

Cancer Promoting Transgenic Rice

press-release

 

 

The Institute of Science in Society Science Society

Sustainability http://www.i-sis.org.uk

 

General Enquiries sam Website/Mailing List

press-release ISIS Director m.w.ho

===================================================

 

 

ISIS Press Release 09/03/04

Cancer Promoting Transgenic Rice

**************************

Transgenic rice containing human

insulin-like growth factor, known to promote cancer, is

being developed government-funded academic researchers in

Canada for commercial production. Prof. Joe Cummins exposes

yet another gross violation of biosafety.

 

Sources for this

report are available in the ISIS members site http://www.i-

sis.org.uk/full/CPTRFull.php. Full details here

http://www.i-sis.org.uk/membership.php

 

Biotech corporations,

government and academia have joined up to devote intense

efforts into producing pharmaceutical products in transgenic

crop plants in Canada. There have been many field trials,

and at least one crop, rice genetically modified to produce

human lactoferrin and lysozyme is being promoted for

commercial production in the field. Even though the

development of such pharm crops has begun to create a great

deal of public concern and discussion in the United States,

it has aroused scant attention among the Canadian public,

still under the impression that pharm crops are restricted

to the United States. Nevertheless, extremely hazardous

pharm crops have been field tested in Canada with little or

no safety precaution or regulatory oversight. The Canadian

Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is but a minor sub-department

of Agriculture Canada, which actively promotes and develops

transgenic crops. The Canadian news media have either

ignored the extensive field trials or gave them favourable

reports, in total disregard of the dangers resulting from

contamination of the food crops that are mainstay of the

Canadian economy. Recently, researchers from the University

of Ottawa and the National Research Council of Canada

reported that they had developed transgenic rice and tobacco

plants to produce human insulin like growth factor (hIGF).

The transgene is a synthetic form of the human gene, altered

in DNA sequence to enhance production in plants. The

activity of the protein produced in the plants was tested

using an assay based on the promotion of growth of brain

cancer cells. The Canadian investigators claimed that hIGH

would be useful in treating a range of disorders: growth

deficiency in children, insulin resistant diabetes,

osteoporosis and AIDS. However, they have singularly failed

to comment on the cancer-promoting abilities of hIGF and the

dangers of exposing humans and animals to it, nor the

potential contamination of food crops with hIGF. Scientific

reviewers and journal editors have similarly neglected to

discuss the risks of hIGF production of plants while

promoting the clinical benefits. There is voluminous

literature on the role of hIGF in cancer cell transformation

and proliferation. For example, there is evidence on the

increase in breast cancer risk associated with increased

hIGF. Increased IGF has been observed in the milk of cattle

treated with recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH) and

rBGH milk is considered a potential risk factor for both

breast and gastrointestinal cancers. In 2001, carcasses from

386 pigs modified with IGF transgenes were " accidentally "

marketed and consumed by residents of Florida. The threat to

public health from such exposures was largely played down by

government agencies and the news media. In Canada, dangerous

immune-suppressive interleukin-10 was produced in a

transgenic crop planted near a population centre with little

control over the spread of the transgene or the protein, the

environmental and health impacts of the test were completely

ignored. Canadian politicians and news media have taken a

passive, if not outright submissive approach, allowing

extensive testing of pharm crops without informing the

public, let alone public consultation or discussion The

Institute of Science in Society (www.i-sis.org.uk) has

circulated numerous reports on the hazards and long term

threats of transgenic pharm crops, which should be consulted

for background information for all those fortunate enough to

uncover clandestine field tests or production facilities

near where they live. It is essential that testing and

production of pharm crops be done with complete

transparency, and full disclosure of the genetic makeup of

the crop, its location and measures for monitoring the

spread of the transgene(s) and product(s). The Canadian

practice of undertaking testing and production near

population centres must be made illegal. Monitoring of the

testing or production facilities should be done by

independent organizations, and the producers should provide

quick tests, such as dip-sticks. Finally, in Canada, the

CFIA is responsible for permitting and monitoring field

tests of biopharmaceutical crops, even though they lack

expert knowledge in the area of pharmaceuticals, the

pharmaceutical regulator Health Canada is not involved until

final production facilities are established. Regulation of

hazardous biopharmaceuticals by a government sub-department

answering to the agriculture department that both promotes

and develops transgenic crops spells disaster for Canada’s

food crop production.

 

 

===================================================

This article can be found on the I-SIS website at http://www.i-

sis.org.uk/

 

If you like this original article from the Institute of

Science in Society, and would like to continue receiving

articles of this calibre, please consider making a donation

or purchase on our website http://www.i-

sis.org.uk/donations. ISIS is an independent, not-for-profit

organisation dedicated to providing critical public

information on cutting edge science, and to promoting social

accountability and ecological sustainability in science.

 

If you would prefer to receive future mailings as HTML

please let us know. If you would like to be removed from our

mailing list - please reply to press-release

with the word in the subject field

===================================================

CONTACT DETAILS The Institute of Science in Society, PO Box 32097,

London NW1 OXR telephone: [44 20 8643 0681] [44 20 7383

3376] [44 20 7272 5636]

 

General Enquiries sam Website/Mailing List

press-release ISIS Director m.w.ho

 

MATERIAL IN THIS EMAIL MAY BE REPRODUCED IN ANY FORM WITHOUT

PERMISSION, ON CONDITION THAT IT IS ACCREDITED ACCORDINGLY

AND CONTAINS A LINK TO

http://www.i-sis.org.uk/

 

 

 

 

 

Search - Find what you’re looking for faster.