Hazards of Genetically Engineered Foods and Crops

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Hazards of Genetically Engineered Foods and Crops JoAnn Guest Mar 26, 2002

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Hazards of Genetically Engineered Foods and Crops.

Thu, 14 Feb 2002 13:07:29 -0500

 

Hazards of Genetically Engineered Foods and Crops

Why We Need A Global Moratorium

by Ronnie Cummins,

 

 

Organic Consumers Association

 

The technology of Genetic Engineering (GE) is the practice of

altering or disrupting the genetic blueprints of living organisms-

plants, trees, fish, animals, humans, and microorganisms.

 

 

This

technology is wielded by transnational " life science " corporations

such as Monsanto and Aventis, who patent these blueprints, and sell

the resulting gene-foods, seeds, or other products for profit. Life

science corporations proclaim that their new products will make

agriculture sustainable, eliminate world hunger, cure disease, and

vastly improve public health.

However, these gene engineers have made

it clear, through their business practices and political lobbying,

that they intend to use GE to monopolize the global market for seeds,

foods, fiber, and medical products.

 

 

GE is a revolutionary new technology that is still in its early

experimental stages of development.

This technology has the power to

break down the natural genetic barriers-not only between species-but

between humans, animals, and plants.

Randomly inserting together the

genes of non-related species-utilizing viruses, antibiotic-resistant

genes, and bacteria as vectors, markers,

 

and promoters-permanently

alters their genetic codes.

 

The gene-altered organisms that are created pass these genetic

changes onto their offspring through heredity. Gene engineers all

over the world are now snipping, inserting, recombining, rearranging,

editing, and programming genetic material.

Animal genes and even

human genes are randomly inserted into the chromosomes of plants,

fish, and animals, creating heretofore unimaginable transgenic life

forms.

 

For the first time in history, transnational biotechnology

corporations are becoming the architects and " owners " of life.

 

With little or no regulatory restraints, labeling requirements, or

scientific protocol, bio-engineers have begun creating hundreds of

new GE " Frankenfoods " and crops.

 

The research is done with little concern for the human and environmental hazards

and the negative

socioeconomic impacts on the world's several billion farmers and

rural villagers.

 

 

An increasing number of scientists are warning that current gene-

splicing techniques are crude, inexact, and unpredictable-and

therefore inherently dangerous.

 

 

Yet, pro-biotech governments and

regulatory agencies, led by the US, maintain that GE foods and crops

are " substantially equivalent " to conventional foods, and therefore

require neither mandatory labeling nor pre-market safety-testing.

 

This Brave New World of Frankenfoods is frightening. There are

currently more than four dozen GE foods and crops being grown or sold

in the US. These foods and crops are widely dispersed into the food

chain and the environment.

Over 80 million acres of GE crops are

presently under cultivation in the US, while up to 750,000 dairy cows

are being injected regularly with Monsanto's recombinant Bovine

Growth Hormone (rBGH).

 

Most supermarket processed food items

now " test positive " for the presence of GE ingredients.

 

In addition,

several dozen more GE crops are in the final stages of development

and will soon be released into the environment and sold in the

marketplace.

 

 

The " hidden menu " of these unlabeled GE foods and food

ingredients in the US now includes soybeans, soy oil, corn, potatoes,

squash, canola oil, cottonseed oil, papaya, tomatoes, and dairy

products.

 

GE food and fiber products are inherently unpredictable and dangerous-

for humans, for animals, the environment, and for the future of

sustainable and organic agriculture.

 

 

As Dr. Michael Antoniou, a

British molecular scientist points out, gene-splicing has already

resulted in the " unexpected production of toxic substances...

in

genetically engineered bacteria, yeast, plants, and animals with the

problem remaining undetected until a major health hazard has arisen " .

 

The hazards of GE foods and crops fall into three categories: human

health hazards, environmental hazards, and socio-economic hazards.

 

A

brief look at the already-proven and likely hazards of GE products

provides a convincing argument for why we need a global moratorium on

all GE foods and crops.

 

Toxins & Poisons

 

GE products clearly have the potential to be toxic and a threat to

human health. In 1989, a genetically engineered brand of L-

tryptophan, a common dietary supplement, killed 37 Americans.

 

 

More

than 5,000 others were permanently disabled or afflicted with a

potentially fatal and painful blood disorder, eosinophilia myalgia

syndrome (EMS), before it was recalled by the Food and Drug

Administration (FDA).

 

 

The manufacturer, Showa Denko, Japan's third

largest chemical company, had for the first time in 1988-89 used GE

bacteria to produce the over-the-counter supplement.

 

 

It is believed

that the bacteria somehow became contaminated during the recombinant DNA

process. Showa Denko has paid out over $2 billion in damages to EMS victims.

 

In 1999, front-page stories in the British press revealed Rowett

Institute scientist Dr. Arpad Pusztai's explosive research findings

that GE potatoes are poisonous to mammals.

 

 

These potatoes were

spliced with DNA from the snowdrop plant and a commonly used viral

promoter, the Cauliflower Mosaic Virus (CaMv). GE snowdrop potatoes

were found to be significantly different in chemical composition from

regular potatoes, and when fed to lab rats, damaged their vital

organs and immune systems.

 

 

The damage to the rats' stomach linings

apparently was a severe viral infection caused by the CaMv viral

promoter apparently giving the rats a severe viral infection. Most

alarming of all, the CaMv viral promoter is spliced into nearly all

GE foods and crops.

 

Dr. Pusztai's path breaking research work unfortunately remains

incomplete. Government funding was cut off and he was fired after he

spoke to the media.

 

 

More and more scientists around the world are

warning that genetic manipulation can increase the levels of natural

plant toxins or allergens in foods (or create entirely new toxins) in

unexpected ways by switching on genes that produce poisons.

Since

regulatory agencies do not currently require the kind of thorough

chemical and feeding tests that Dr. Pusztai was conducting, consumers

have now become involuntary guinea pigs in a vast genetic experiment.

 

Dr. Pusztai warns, " Think of William Tell shooting an arrow at a

target. Now put a blind-fold on the man doing the shooting and that's

the reality of the genetic engineer doing a gene insertion " .

 

Increased Cancer Risks

 

In 1994, the FDA approved the sale of Monsanto's controversial rBGH.

This GE hormone is injected into dairy cows to force them to produce

more milk.

Scientists have warned that significantly higher levels

(400-500% or more) of a potent chemical hormone, Insulin-Like Growth

Factor (IGF-1), in the milk and dairy products of rBGH injected cows,

could pose serious hazards such as human breast, prostate, and colon

cancer.

A number of studies have shown that humans with elevated

levels of IGF-1 in their bodies are much more likely to get cancer.

 

 

The US Congressional watchdog agency, the GAO, told the FDA not to

approve rBGH. They argued that injecting the cows with rBGH caused

higher rates of udder infections requiring increased antibiotic

treatment.

The increased use of antibiotics poses an unacceptable

risk for public health.

 

In 1998, Monsanto/FDA documents that had

previously been withheld, were released by government scientists in

Canada showing damage to laboratory rats fed dosages of rBGH.

 

Significant infiltration of rBGH into the prostate of the rats as

well as thyroid cysts indicated potential cancer hazards from the

drug.

 

 

Subsequently, the government of Canada banned rBGH in early

1999. The European Union (EU) has had a ban in place since 1994.

Although rBGH continues to be injected into 10% of all US dairy cows,

no other industrialized country has legalized its use.

The GATT Codex

Alimentarius, a United Nations food standards body, has refused to

certify that rBGH is safe.

 

Food Allergies

 

In 1996, a major GE food disaster was narrowly averted when Nebraska

researchers learned that a Brazil nut gene spliced into soybeans

could induce potentially fatal allergies in people sensitive to

Brazil nuts.

Animal tests of these Brazil nut-spliced soybeans had

turned up negative.

 

People with food allergies (which currently

afflicts 8% of all American children), whose symptoms can range from

mild unpleasantness to sudden death, may likely be harmed by exposure

to foreign proteins spliced into common food products.

Since humans

have never before eaten most of the foreign proteins now being gene-

spliced into foods, stringent pre-market safety-testing (including

long-term animal feeding and volunteer human feeding studies) is

necessary in order to prevent a future public health disaster.

 

Mandatory labeling is also necessary so that those suffering from

food allergies can avoid hazardous GE foods and so that public health

officials can trace allergens back to their source when GE-induced

food allergies break out.

In fall 2001, public interest groups, including Friends of the Earth

and the Organic Consumers Association, revealed that lab tests

indicated that an illegal and likely allergenic variety of GE, Bt-

spliced corn called StarLink, had been detected in Kraft Taco Bell

shells, as well as many other brand name products.

The StarLink

controversy generated massive media coverage and resulted in the

recall of hundreds of millions of dollars of food products and seeds.

 

Damage to Food Quality & Nutrition

 

A 1999 study by Dr. Marc Lappe published in the Journal of Medicinal

Food found that concentrations of beneficial phytoestrogen compounds

thought to protect against heart disease and cancer were lower in GE

soybeans than in traditional strains.

 

 

These and other studies,

including Dr. Pusztai's, indicate that GE food will likely result in

foods lower in quality and nutrition. For example, the milk from cows

injected with rBGH contains higher levels of pus, bacteria, and fat.

 

Antibiotic Resistance

 

When gene engineers splice a foreign gene into a plant or microbe,

they often link it to another gene, called an antibiotic resistance

marker gene (ARM), that helps determine if the first gene was

successfully spliced into the host organism.

 

 

Some researchers warn

that these arm genes might unexpectedly recombine with disease-

causing bacteria or microbes in the environment or in the guts of

animals or people who eat GE food.

 

 

These new combinations may be

contributing to the growing public health danger of antibiotic

resistance-of infections that cannot be cured with traditional

antibiotics, for example new strains of salmonella, e-coli,

campylobacter, and enterococci.

 

 

German researchers have found

antibiotic resistant bacteria in the guts of bees feeding on gene-

altered rapeseed (canola) plants. EU authorities are currently

considering a ban on all GE foods containing antibiotic resistant

marker genes.

 

Increased Pesticide Residues

 

Contrary to biotech industry propaganda, recent studies have found

that US farmers growing GE crops are using just as many toxic

pesticides and herbicides as conventional farmers and in some cases

are using more.

Crops genetically engineered to be herbicide-

resistant account for almost 80% of all GE crops planted in 2000.

The " benefits " of these herbicide-resistant crops are that farmers

can spray as much of a particular herbicide on their crops as they

want-killing the weeds without damaging their crop. Scientists

estimate that herbicide-resistant crops planted around the globe will

triple the amount of toxic broad-spectrum herbicides used in

agriculture.

 

 

These broad-spectrum herbicides are designed to

literally kill everything green. The leaders in biotechnology are the

same giant chemical companies-Monsanto, DuPont, Aventis, and Syngenta

(the merger between Novartis and Astra-Zeneca)-that sell toxic

pesticides. The same companies that create the herbicide resistant GE

plants are also selling the herbicides. The farmers are then paying

for more herbicide treatment from the same companies that sold them

the herbicide resistant GE seeds.

 

Genetic Pollution

 

" Genetic pollution " and collateral damage from GE field crops already

have begun to wreak environmental havoc.

Wind, rain, birds, bees, and

insect pollinators have begun carrying genetically-altered pollen

into adjoining fields, polluting the DNA of crops of organic and non-

GE farmers.

 

 

An organic farm in Texas has been contaminated with

genetic drift from GE crops grown on a nearby farm. EU regulators are

considering setting an " allowable limit " for genetic contamination of

non-GE foods, because they don't believe genetic pollution can be

controlled.

 

 

Because they are alive, gene-altered crops are inherently more

unpredictable than chemical pollutants-they can reproduce, migrate,

and mutate.

 

Once released, it is virtually impossible to recall GE

organisms back to the laboratory or the field.

 

Damage to Beneficial Insects and Soil Fertility

 

In 1999, Cornell University researchers made a startling discovery.

They found that pollen from GE Bt corn was poisonous to Monarch

butterflies. The study adds to a growing body of evidence that GE

crops are adversely affecting a number of beneficial insects,

including ladybugs and lacewings, as well as beneficial soil

microorganisms, bees, and possibly birds.

 

Creation of GE " Superweeds " and " Superpests "

 

Genetically engineering crops to be herbicide-resistant or to produce

their own pesticide presents dangerous problems. Pests and weeds will

inevitably emerge that are pesticide or herbicide-resistant, which

means that stronger, more toxic chemicals will be needed to get rid

of the pests.

Herbicide resistant " superweeds " are already emerging.

GE crops such as rapeseed (canola) have spread their herbicide-

resistance traits to related weeds such as wild mustard plants. Lab

and field tests also indicate that common plant pests such as cotton

bollworms, living under constant pressure from GE crops, will soon

evolve into " superpests " completely immune to Bt sprays and other

environmentally sustainable biopesticides.

 

This will present a

serious danger for organic and sustainable farmers whose biological

pest management practices will be unable to cope with increasing

numbers of superpests and superweeds.

 

New Viruses and Pathogens

 

Gene-splicing will inevitably result in unanticipated outcomes and

dangerous surprises that damage plants and the environment.

Several

years ago, researchers conducting experiments at Michigan State

University found that genetically altering plants to resist viruses

can cause the viruses to mutate into new, more virulent forms.

 

Scientists in Oregon found that a GE soil microorganism, Klebsiella

planticola, completely killed essential soil nutrients. Environmental

Protection Agency whistle blowers issued similar warnings in 1997

protesting government approval of a GE soil bacterium called

Rhizobium melitoli.

 

Genetic " Bio-Invasion "

 

By virtue of their " superior " genes, some GE plants and animals will

inevitably run amok, overpowering wild species in the same way that

exotic species, such as kudzu vine and Dutch elm disease have created

problems when introduced in North America.

What will happen to wild

fish and marine species, for example, when scientists release into

the environment carp, salmon, and trout that are twice as large, and

eat twice as much food, as their wild counterparts?

 

Socioeconomic Hazards

 

The patenting of GE foods and widespread biotech food production

threatens to eliminate farming as it has been practiced for 12,000

years. GE patents such as the Terminator Technology will render seeds

infertile and force hundreds of millions of farmers who now save and

share their seeds to purchase evermore-expensive GE seeds and

chemical inputs from a handful of global biotech/seed monopolies. If

the trend is not stopped, the patenting of transgenic plants and food-

producing animals will soon lead to universal " bioserfdom " in which

farmers will lease their plants and animals from biotech

conglomerates such as Monsanto and pay royalties on seeds and

offspring. Family and indigenous farmers will be driven off the land

and consumers' food choices will be dictated by a cartel of

transnational corporations. Rural communities will be devastated.

Hundreds of millions of farmers and agricultural workers worldwide

will lose their livelihoods.

 

Ethical Hazards

 

The genetic engineering and patenting of animals reduces living

beings to the status of manufactured products. A purely reductionist

science, biotechnology reduces all life to bits of information

(genetic code) that can be arranged and rearranged at whim.

Stripped

of their integrity and sacred qualities, animals that are merely

objects to their " inventors " will be treated as such. Currently,

hundreds of GE " freak " animals are awaiting patent approval from the

federal government. One can only wonder, after the wholesale gene

altering and patenting of animals, will GE " designer babies " be next?

 

What Can You Do?

Guidelines for Local Grassroots Action

 

Campaign Goals: As the anti-GE campaign in Europe has shown, mass

grassroots action is the key to stopping this technology and moving

agriculture in an organic and sustainable direction. The OCA

advocates the following Food Agenda 2000-2010 as the foundation for

our local-to-global campaign work:

 

A Global Moratorium on all Genetically Engineered Foods and Crops.

These products have not been proven safe for human health and the

environment and they must be taken off the market.

Stop Factory Farming. Begin the phase-out of industrial

agriculture and factory farming-with a goal of significantly reducing

the use of toxic chemicals and animal drugs on conventional farms by

the year 2010.

This phase-out will include a ban on the most

dangerous farm chemicals and animal feed additives (antibiotics,

hormones, and rendered animal protein) as well as the implementation

of intensive Integrated Pest Management Practices (decrease the use

of toxic pesticides and chemical fertilizers through natural

composting, crop rotation, cover crops, use of beneficial insects,

etc.).

Convert American Agriculture to at least 30% organic by the year

2010. We demand government funding and implementation of transition

to organic programs so that at least 30% of US agriculture is organic

by the year 2010-with a strong emphasis on production for local and

regional markets by small and medium-sized organic farmers.

 

Take Action in Your Community

 

Circulate our Food Agenda 2000-2010 petition to identify as many

people as possible who support our campaign. We will include these

names in our local databases for two-way communication and

mobilization.

Help us find retail stores and co-ops that will circulate our

petitions and other materials, which can all be downloaded from our

website.

Tell your friends and family about our free electronic newsletter,

BioDemocracy News.

Tune in to our OCA web site for regular news, updates, and Action

Alerts: www.organicconsumers.org

Organize forums, protests, and news-making events.

Pressure elected public officials, political candidates, and

regulatory agencies both locally and nationally, to demand either an

outright GE moratorium or comprehensive mandatory labeling, stringent

pre-market safety-testing and long-term liability insurance for all

GE food and fiber products.

Contact us and support this campaign by sending a tax-deductible

donation and/or volunteer to help with grass roots organizing:

 

Organic Consumers Association -- Organicconsumers.org

6101 Cliff Estate Rd., Little Marais, MN 55614

Activist or Media Inquiries: (218) 226-4164, Fax: (218) 226-4157

 

http://www.organicconsumers.org/

 

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