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Presentation to the Total Health Convention, Ottawa, Canada, March 200
Metro Toronto Convention Centre by Joe Cummins, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus
of Genetics, University of Western Ontario
Genetically Modified (GM) Foods and Crops: Are
They Safe?
What are genetically modified (GM) foods and crops? GM foods and crops
are
products of the laboratory whose fundamental genetic make-up has been
altered using genetic engineering. Genes from bacteria, viruses or animals
including human have been introduced the genetic make-up of seeds of the
crops that make up GM food.
What is "substantial equivalence"? Substantial equivalence
is the doctrine
that maintains that if GM crops are grossly similar in composition to
crops
that have not been genetically modified they are equivalent to those crops
and need not be labeled in the market and they need not be tested similarly
to the test required for pesticides or pharmaceutical drugs. When it is
found that crops are not substantially equivalent , as for example, peer
reviewed and published studies showing that herbicide tolerant soy are
deficient in important nutrients, the phytoestrogens, or studies showing
that the Bt toxin in insect resistant corn, potato and cotton is an
allergen the government does not remove the crops from the market. The
government definition of substantial equivalence seems to include a caveat
requiring that studies showing that GM crops are not substantially
equivalent should be ignored and withheld from public scrutiny.
What is the Precautionary Principle? The precautionary principle was
established internationally in the Montreal Conference on Biodiversity.
It
is essentially an agreement that GM crops should be proven safe for humans
and the environment to be allowed to be marketed internationally. The
precautionary principle supersedes the assumption of substantial
equivalence. However, many Canadian bureaucrats like to pretend that the
precautionary principle is just another way of saying substantial
equivalence.
What are the issues concerning GM food? The main issues surrounding GM
foods are mandatory labeling and testing GM crops to the level employed
in
testing pharmaceutical drugs and pesticides. Employment of labeling and
adequate testing would stop most concerns over GM crops and food. Labeling
not only provides freedom of choice to consumers but also provides the
only
way that injury from such crops can be identified in the human population
using epidemiology.
Are GM foods safe? There is growing evidence that the government is not
prepared to deal promptly with findings that reflect on the safety of
GM
crops to people and the environment. Many newspaper articles and television
reports include the comment " critics of GM foods agree that there
is no
evidence that the crops are harmful". The "critics" quoted
seem to have
been cooked-up in the newsrooms. There is clear evidence reported in peer
reviewed scientific journals showing that several GM crops are potentially
hazardous to humans and the environment.
Which foods are GM? The food crops now on the market that are genetically
modified include corn, canola, soybean, cottonseed oil and potato.
Processed foods all contain some GM components from processed soy, corn,
canola or cotton seed oil. Other than potato (only Russet Burbank) produce
is free of GM components but that situation may change soon because a
number of fruits and vegetables have been approved for release to the
market. One of the most fool-hardy releases is the potato with the Bt
gene
for insect resistance and virus component genes inserted to inhibit virus
replication. Such virus component genes are known to recombine with
invading virus to produce new and more virulent viruses. An avalanche
of
new hand hazardous GM crops has been approved in Canada and many of these
crops seem to be forms that have been considered too dangerous for release
elsewhere including the United States. The government bureaucracy is so
devoted to GM technology that they are willing to put the population and
agriculture at grave risk. Such releases do little to improve the export
market for agricultural products.
Which actions for GM? First, support organic agriculture; next, make
certain government ( controlled by multinationals) does not declare GM
crops to be the only valid organic crop.
In a related vein, gene therapy ( treatment of disease using altered
genes) has recently faced disturbing revelations about the death of
experimental subjects many of whom did not appear to have been properly
appraised of the risks that they faced. Gene therapy has cost billions
and
used hundreds of human subjects without having produced an effective cure
for any disease. Those scientists and academic administrators who fail
to
properly appraise experimental subjects of their risks , then see their
subjects die , face little retribution other than mild bureaucratic
constraints. Similarly, scientists and government bureaucrats who
recklessly promote dangerous GM crops face little or no retribution when
their experiments cause human death or severe damage to the environment.
I
believe that far more regard for human subjects who be shown by scientists
and bureaucrats if they faced criminal charges , such as depraved
indifference, when their experiments cost human life or severely damage
the
environment.
A Few References
Phytoestrogen and GM Soy
Lappe,M,Baily,B,Chilress,C,and Setchell,K "Alterations in clinically
important phytoestrogens in genetically modified herbicide-tolerant
soybeans" 1999 J Medicinal Food 1,1
Monsanto claims their soybeans are substantially equivalent
Taylor,N,Fuchs,R,MacDonald,j,Shariff,A,and Padgette,S "Compositional
analysis of glyphosate tolearant soybeans treated with glyphosate"
J
AgricFood Chem 1999,47,4469
Allergy and immunity of Bacillus thruringiensis toxin
Bernstein,I,Bernstein,J,Miller,M,Tierzieva,S,Bernstein,D,Lummus,Z,Selgrade,M
,Do
erfler,D, and Seligy,V "Immune response in farm workers after exposure
to
Bacillus thuringiensis pesticides" Envir Health Perspect 1999,107,575
Vazquez-Padron,R,Moreno-Fierros,L,Neri-Bazan,L , dela
Riva,G,Lopez-Revilla,R "Intragastric and intraperitoneal administration
of
Cry 1 A prototoxin from Bacillus thuringiensis induces systemic and mucosal
antibody response in mice"LifeSci 1999,64,1897
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