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[SANET-MG] the regulatory sham
ISIS Press Release 09/03/07
GM Food Nightmare Unfolding in the Regulatory Sham
Regulator agencies like the European Food Safety Authority and the UK
Food Standards Agency have been ignoring the precautionary principle,
manipulating and corrupting science, sidestepping the law, and helping
to promote GMOs in the face of massive public opposition and damning
evidence piling up against the safety of GM food and feed
These charges are made in a devastating report [1] ( GM Food Nightmare
Unfolding and the Regulatory Sham ) released today by the Institute of
Science in Society*. The report has been submitted to the European Food
Standards Agency, the World Health Organisation/ Food and Agriculture
Organisation Expert Consultation on GM Food Animals, and the UK Food
Standards Agency, and it has been accepted for publication in a
peer-reviewed scientific journal.
The 19-page report contains more than 130 references. It draws together
evidence from all over the world indicating that GM fo od and feed may
be inherently hazardous to health, regardless of the plant species or
the genetic modification involved. For example,
Female rats fed Roundup Ready soybeans gave birth to many severely
stunted pups, with over half of the litter dead by three weeks, and the
surviving pups were sterile; Roundup Ready soya has been approved
worldwide for food and feed since 1996
Farmers and workers exposed to Bt cotton and Bt maize have suffered
serious allergy-like symptoms
Livestock feeding on Bt crops and crop residues became ill and died in
large numbers
“The evidence has stacked up to such an extent that our regulators
should be answering a charge of criminal negligence at the very least in
failing to ban GM crop and continuing with their campaign of denial and
disinformation, and worse, helping to promote even more dangerous GM
produce from the industry,” said Dr. Mae-Wan Ho. Dr Ho is the director
of ISIS and lead author of the report co-authored with Joe Cummins , e
meritus Professor of Biology at the University of Western Ontario,
Canada, and Peter Saunders, emeritus Professor of Mathematics at King's
College, London University.
That Bt toxins can cause serious immune reactions was known long before
they were widely incorporated into maize and cotton crops. Similarly,
evidence that pieces of genetically modified (GM) DNA can be taken up
and incorporated into the genomes of other cells – a process called
horizontal gene transfer - has been steadily accumulating since the mid
1990s, when the ISIS scientists first sounded their warning to the
regulators.
“GM DNAs often contain antibiotic resistance marker genes and other
genes from bacteria and viruses that cause diseases. In addition, they
have strong control signals - ‘promoters' - that force the cell to
express a foreign gene at high levels,” Dr. Mae-Wan Ho explains. “As a
result, horizontal gene transfer not only spreads antibiotic resistance
genes to harmful bacteria, it can create new bacteria and viruses that
can cause epidemics. And if the strong promoter jumps into the wrong
place in the genome of animal cells, it can boost the expression of
oncogenes and cause the cells to multiply out of control, or cancer by
another name.”
Europe and the UK are required by law to abide by the precautionary
principle. Both have signed up to the Cartegena Protocol on Biosafety
regulating GMOs, and a string of other international treaties for
protecting health and the environment based on the precautionary
principle. But systematic manipulation of scientific evidence and abuse
of science by the regulatory authorities has meant that the
precautionary principle is never invoked.
“GM food/feed looks like joining asbestos, polychlorinated biphenyls
(PCBs), BSE, tobacco and many others as yet another example of the
government relying on bad scientific advice and ignoring the
precautionary principle, with devastating consequences,” said Prof.
Peter Saunders.
In three recent cases, American courts have ruled that the US Department
of Agriculture failed to carry out proper environmental impact
assessment before giving approval for releases of GM crops to the
environment, and that the releases are therefore illegal.
“Regulation of genetically modified food crops in North America is a
complete sham. It's time for a shake up. The regulatory agencies must
represent the law and the people not just corporate interests,” said
Prof. Joe Cummins
For further information:
*The Institute of Science in Society is a UK London-based not-for-profit
organisation dedicated to providing critical public information on
cutting edge science, and to promoting social accountability and
ecological sustainability in science.
References
1. Ho MW, Cummins J and Saunders PT. GM Food Nightmare Unfolding in the
Regulatory Sham, ISIS Report, March 2007.
http://www.i-sis.org.uk/pdf/GM_Food_Nightmare_Unfolding.pdf
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