Russia says genetically modified foods are harmful

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Russia says genetically modified foods are harmful

_http://english.ruvr.ru/2010/04/16/6524765.html_

(http://english.ruvr.ru/2010/04/16/6524765.html)

 

 

Russia has started the annual Days of Defence against Environmental

Hazards from the 15th of April to the 5th of June with the announcement of

sensational results of an independent work of research. Scientists have proved

that Genetically Modified Organisms are harmful for mammals. The researchers

discovered that animals that eat GM foodstuffs lose their ability to

reproduce. Campbell hamsters that have a fast reproduction rate

were fed for two years with ordinary soya beans, which are widely used in

agriculture and those contain different percentages of GM organisms. Another

group of hamsters, the control group, was fed with pure soya, which was

found with great difficulty in Serbia because 95 percent of soya in the world

is transgenic.

 

 

Concerning the experiment carried out jointly by the National Association

for Gene Security and the Institute of Ecological and Evolutional Problems,

Dr. Alexei Surov has this to say. " We selected several groups of hamsters,

kept them in pairs in cells and gave them ordinary food as always, " says

Alexei Surov. " We did not add anything for one group but the other was fed

with soya that contained no GM components, while the third group with some

content of Genetically Modified Organisms and the fourth one with

increased amount of GMO. We monitored their behavior and how they gain weight

and

when they give birth to their cubs. Originally, everything went smoothly.

However, we noticed quite a serious effect when we selected new pairs from

their cubs and continued to feed them as before. These pairs' growth rate was

slower and reached their sexual maturity slowly. When we got some of their

cubs we formed the new pairs of the third generation. We failed to get cubs

from these pairs, which were fed with GM foodstuffs. It was proved that

these pairs lost their ability to give birth to their cubs, " Dr. Alexei Surov

said.

 

 

Another surprise was discovered by scientists in hamsters of the third

generation. Hair grew in the mouth of the animals that took part in the

experiment. It's unclear why this happened. The researchers cannot understand

why

a programme of destruction is launched when animals take GMO foodstuffs.

They say that this can be neutralized only by stopping to eat these foods.

Consequently, scientists suggest imposing a ban on the use of GM foods until

they are tested for their bio-security. The results of Russian scientists

coincide with those of their colleagues from France and Austria. For one,

when scientist proved that GM maize was harmful for mammals, France banned

immediately its production and sale. The scientists who carried out the

experiment say that it's too early to make far-reaching conclusions about the

health hazards of the GMO. They insist that there is a need to carry out

comprehensive research. They suggest implementing the project, " Safety Gene

Technology " at the innovation centre, " Skolkovo " which is being set up near

Moscow.