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US 'Genetic' Corn Could Compromise Public Health



Is it really wise (let alone necessary) to introduce an anti-biotic
resistant gene into our food supply - and thus into our populations??? 
Where are the government and public health officials who are supposed to be
on watch in this country??? Why, there they are, in the corporate
cheerleading outfits, pushing rather than questioning the corporate
agenda.... (e.g., Ag Secretary Glickman). And so it falls on those in other
countries, like Britain, Europe, etc. to point out the obvious causes for
alarm....

For your info - P. Dines

--- FORWARD ---

From: Mark Graffis, INTERNET:ab758@virgin.usvi.net
Sender: o-imap@chumbly.math.missouri.edu
To: Patricia Dines, 73652,1202
Date: Sat, Dec 7, 1996, 4:35 PM
Subject: US 'Genetic' Corn Could Compromise Public Health

      Copyright &copy 1996 Agence France-Presse

   LONDON (Dec 5, 1996 7:36 p.m. EST) - Genetically-altered corn from the
   United States, which could soon be imported into Europe, could cause a
   potential risk to both animal and human health, Britain has warned.

   In an unusual move, the British Department of the Environment, which
   is responsible for vetting new genetically-modified food products,
   expressed concerns that disease treatment in humans could be
   compromised by the U.S. corn.

   The new corn, developed by Swiss drug company Ciba-Geigy, contains a
   gene that is resistant to antibiotics. If it is fed raw to animals,
   they would no longer respond to antibiotic treatment, and in turn, a
   human eating the meat would also become resistant to penicillin and
   other such drugs.

   "The health concern... is that at some time, there could be a transfer
   of the antibiotically-immune bacteria from animals to humans," said a
   spokesman for the DoE, David Prior.

   "When you go to the doctor for treatment you would not respond to an
   antibiotic," he explained.

   Public health concerns are already high in the wake of the "mad cow"
   crisis, sparked off by the British government's admission in March
   that bovine spongiform encephalopathy in cattle might have been passed
   on to humans who ate infected meat.

   Britain is one of a number of European countries concerned about the
   modified corn, which has been developed to resist a crop-eating insect.

   The United States has been pressuring Europe to allow the imports. The
   European Commission -- the executive arm of the European Union -- has
   delayed approval while three scientific committees investigated the
   effects of the modified corn.

   But British Environment Secretary John Gummer warned the Americans
   this week not to force their genetically-altered corn into Britain's
   food chain.

   "We decide what we want in our food chain and not the Americans," he
   told BBC Radio.

   Gummer added: "It is true that the Americans are trying to force this
   on to Europe without us making our own minds up about it. Britain,
   with her European partners, is now strong enough to make our own
   decisions about our own future and not be told by other people what to
do."

   European environment ministers meeting in Brussels this coming Monday
   will consult with scientists, who are due to report on the corn, known
   as Genetech Corn, by the end of December.

   The concern is that there will be no way to distinguish
   genetically-modified corn from ordinary corn, since it would arrive in
   Europe as a bulk commodity.

   The international environmental pressure group, Greenpeace, which is
   conducting a campaign against recently-begun imports of
   genetically-modified soya beans from the United States, warned that
   these kinds of products are likely to become increasingly common.

   "The soya bean is the first of these commercially-grown crops, on a
   large-scale, and going into an awful lot of food. If this is accepted
   without protest, then we can expect it to be much easier for other
   crops to be put into our food," said Liz Pratt from Greenpeace.

   The modified soya bean, approved by the European Commission as safe,
   is not labelled or segregated. Soya beans are used in 60 percent of
   processed foods, such as oils, spreads, cakes and biscuits.

   Greepeace says no one will know if the processed food they are buying
   is made from the new soya beans, which have genes from bacteria,
   viruses and the petunia plant to make them resistant to herbicides.

   The British government, however, which said that it will abide by the
   European Commission's decision on the import of modified U.S. corn,
   said other genetically-altered food was perfectly safe. [PD NOTE: This
is also debatable...]

   "Properly controlled, properly scientifically investigated, there is
   no problem with genetically modified organisms," Prior at the DoE said.