GMW: stomach lesions and dead lab rats spice up scientist meeting

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GMW: stomach lesions and dead lab rats spice up scientist meeting

" GM WATCH " <info

Fri, 27 May 2005 10:14:04 +0100

 

 

 

 

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Biotech food debate spices up scientist meeting

Thu May 26, 2005

By Carey Gillam

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=scienceNews & storyID=8620083

 

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Reuters) - Critics of biotech foods spoke of stomach

lesions and dead lab rats while backers of the technology cited

increased crop production and hopes for healthier foods in a debate

before a

group of U.S. scientists on Thursday.

 

" We believe that the current version of genetically modified crops are

unsafe... they should be banned, " Jeffrey Smith, director of the

Institute for Responsible Technology, told members of the Association of

Official Analytical Communities (AOAC).

 

U.S. government and academic representatives were among those at the

meeting of the AOAC, a group of scientists that works on testing issues

with U.S. Department of Agriculture inspectors and others in the

government.

 

Smith, who is on an international tour calling for extensive testing of

all biotech foods, said independent evaluations of genetically modified

food crops has shown numerous indications of health problems. He cited

stomach lesions in rats, false pregnancies in cows, excessive cell

growth and damage to animal immune systems.

 

Smith said the U.S. government has approved biotech products based on

company research. He said scientists have been fired, and otherwise

penalized for raising red flags about the technology.

 

" We don't know what will happen, " Smith said. " We need long-term

testing. "

 

Proponents of biotech downplayed safety issues, saying gene

modification and transfer occurs naturally in nature and is not

dangerous. They

said government oversight is adequate and they outlined a range of

benefits farmers enjoy from biotech crops such as increased production.

 

Risks of toxicity and increased allergens that may be present in

biotech foods may also exist in conventional foods, said Gregory Conko,

director of food safety policy at the Competitive Enterprise

Institute, an

organization aimed at advancing free enterprise and limited government

 

" A lot of these risks are in fact present... but they are also present

in conventional breeding technology, " Conko said. " There are pretty

good ways of determining if a plant is safe enough to be put on the

market. "

 

The debate in Kansas City is part of the global sparring underway over

the issue of genetically modified crops, which are pervasive in America

but largely shunned in Europe and many countries.

 

Earlier this week Monsanto Co., the leading U.S. developer of biotech

soybeans and corn, came under attack in European press reports over

internal company research that found possibly detrimental health

changes in

rats fed Monsanto's biotech corn.

 

Monsanto said the results of the study, which found that rats fed the

biotech corn had smaller kidneys and blood composition different from

rats not fed the biotech corn, could be explained by statistical

variations and was not evidence of any negative health impacts

associated with

its corn.

 

A Monsanto representative at the meeting declined to comment further on

concerns raised about biotech food.

 

 

 

 

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