COMMENT: Eat GMO Sweet Corn? I’d rather eat bugs!
By Alex Atamanenko
A damning new peer reviewed study, ‘Long term toxicity of a Roundup herbicide and a Roundup-tolerant genetically modified maize ‘is calling into question not only the safety of genetically modified (GM) food but the stringency of government regulations and assessments.
For the first time, a long term and comprehensive study (2 years, 200 rats and 100 plus parameters) has been conducted on the commonly used herbicide Roundup as well as GM Roundup-Ready corn. Scientists at CRIIGEN, an independent research institute based in France, found that when exposed to even the smallest amounts, rats developed massive tumors, suffered multiple organ damage and died prematurely.
“It’s serious, because these illnesses showed up after just 4 months on the diet and in the second year they were worse. Until now GM products have only been tested for 3 month periods so no one’s been able to compare the pathology results before,” stated key researcher, Dr. Gilles Séralini in a TV interview on France 24.
When industry proponents, true to form, immediately rushed to criticize the study Dr. Séralini stated, “I’m waiting for criticism from scientists who have already published material in journals…on the effects of GMOs and pesticides on health, in order to debate fairly with peers who are real scientists, and not lobbyists.”
It should be noted that industry studies which Health Canada (HC) relies upon to base its approvals are regarded as “Confidential Business Information” and HC does not conduct their own safety tests. HC claims they rigorously assess all new information including independent and peer reviewed published studies. However, when I requested the findings of HC reviews on a long list of published research through a House of Commons procedure they did not provide me the results of even one assessment.
With names like Temptation II, Obsession II and Passion II, Monsantorecently introduced their new line of GMO sweet corn. This corn expresses the toxin bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) in every cell of the plant and kills corn pests who eat it by rupturing their gut. It is also engineered to withstand applications of Monsanto’s signature herbicide Roundup. Lucy Sharratt of the Canadian Biotechnology Action Network (CBAN) notes in her recent article, GM sweet corn kills bugs but is it tasty on the BBQ, that GM sweet corn marks the first insect and herbicide resistant crop in the world that will be widely consumed as a whole unprocessed food. Until now, hard corn used in processed food and animal feed has largely prevailed.
Another study by genetic engineers, GMO MYTHS AND TRUTHS: an evidence-based examination of the claims made for the safety and efficacy of genetically modified crops, found that, unlike industry claims to the contrary, GMO crops:
· Use technology that is totally different from natural breeding methods, and poses different risks
· Can be toxic, allergenic or less nutritious than natural food
· Do not increase yield
· Do not reduce pesticide use but increase it
· Create herbicide-tolerant ‘superweeds’ and increased crop disease susceptibility
· Have mixed economic effects
· Harm soil quality, disrupt ecosystems and reduce biodiversity
· Do not offer solutions to climate change
· Are as energy-hungry as other chemically-farmed crops
· Cannot solve the problem of world hunger but distract from its real causes – poverty, lack of access to food and, increasingly, land.
Given the growing body of negative science and the multitude of risks posed by GMO crops that simply don’t exist in safer, more conventional methods of agriculture, it is high time for our government to stop rubber stamping GMO science and crops and adopt a far more precautionary approach.
Alex Atamanenko is the MP for BC Southern Interior.
