Fwd:Health Threat from GM corn

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Scientists Suspect Health

Threat From GM Corn

By John Vidal

Environment Editor

The Guardian - UK

2-28-4

 

Scientists investigating a spate of illnesses among people living close

to GM maize fields in the Philippines believe that the crop may have

triggered fevers, respiratory illnesses and skin

reactions. If preliminary results are

confirmed, it would be one of the first recorded cases of serious health

problems associated with GM crops, and could damage the reputation of the

biotech agriculture industry, which is rapidly expanding in developing

countries. The scientists' findings were

immediately challenged by Monsanto, the world's leading GM company, and

by the Philippine government. The concern

surrounds an unnamed village in northern Mindanao, where 39 people living

near a field of Bt maize - which contains a pesticide in the gene -

started suffering last autumn when the crop was producing

pollen. Doctors thought they had an

infectious disease, but when four families left the village and

recovered, and then showed the same symptoms on return, an environmental

cause was suspected. Terje Traavik,

scientific director of the Norwegian Institute of Gene Ecology, was asked

to investigate. Blood tests showed the villagers had developed antibodies

to the maize's inbuilt pesticide.

Professor Traavik, who issued a summary of his results

yesterday, said more tests were needed, but felt his preliminary findings

were reliable. His studies suggest that a

virus promoter - which is like a motor driving the production of the

genetic message - was unexpectedly found intact in human

cells. His team also said it had found

that genetically engineered viruses used in the GM process recombined

with natural viruses to create new hybrid viruses with unpredictable

characteristics. If confirmed, this could suggest that they could cause

new diseases. Prof Traavik said tests so

far showed evidence of an immune reaction. He will return to the

Philippines this week to continue the research before publishing full

results in a peer-reviewed scientific journal.

But he rejected accusations that he was trying to scare

people with data not yet reviewed by other scientists. " Publication

of results typically requires a waiting period of up to one year or

more, " he said in Kuala Lumpur.

" With such evidence of possible human health impacts of

foods already on the market, we believed that waiting to report our

findings through publication would not be in the public's

interest. " Monsanto said it was

" extremely unlikely " that the limited production of the GM crop

in the Philippines would have produced such results.

" There have been no documented cases of allergic

reactions to Bt maize after seven years of broad commercial use on

millions of hectares in the US, Canada, Argentina, Spain and South

Africa, starting in 1996, " a spokesman said.

The company was backed by the government in Manila, which

approved GM cultivation last year.

" It's absurd - no biology student will believe

it, " said Artemio Salazar, the director of the maize programme of

the Philippine department of agriculture.

" The implication of the study is that the resistant

gene got inserted into the human gene, which is

impossible. " Greenpeace called for

more research. " There is such a huge amount of uncertainty around

these crops, " a spokesman said. But

Willy de Greef, a biotech law consultant formerly employed by the Swiss

agrochemicals company Syngenta, expressed surprise at Prof Traavik's

findings, saying research showed Bt maize pollen did not carry the toxin

so no reaction should occur. " One would want a scientific panel to

look at Traavik's results, " he told Reuters . Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004