Republished study: GMO Corn Can Cause Damage to Liver and Kidneys, and Severe Hormonal Disruption

[Faryn Balyncd]

50. It appears you have not read either the article or the study:

Last edited Sat Jul 12, 2014, 12:54 AM - Edit history (1)

First of all, you assert "They did not feed rats just the crop under test. They always fed the rats RoundUp. RoundUp is known to be toxic."

However, the article linked in the OP clearly states- "Toxic effects were found from the GM maize tested alone, as well as from Roundup tested alone and together with the maize."

Because of your statement that ""They did not feed rats just the crop under test. They always fed the rats RoundUp." (directly contradicting the article), I examined the study itself to see if the OP article had misreported in regard to whether Monsanto's Roundup ready corn was also tested without Roundup as well as with Roundup. Here's the result:

Background

The health effects of a Roundup-tolerant NK603 genetically modified (GM) maize (from 11% in the diet), cultivated with or without Roundup application and Roundup alone (from 0.1 ppb of the full pesticide containing glyphosate and adjuvants) in drinking water, were evaluated for 2 years in rats. This study constitutes a follow-up investigation of a 90-day feeding study conducted by Monsanto in order to obtain commercial release of this GMO, employing the same rat strain and analyzing biochemical parameters on the same number of animals per group as our investigation. Our research represents the first chronic study on these substances...

Discussion

"... in our study presented here, in addition to extending the treatment period from 90 days to 2 years and in order to better ascertain the source of any ill health observed, we included additional test feeding groups. These consisted of NK603 maize grown without as well as with R application and R alone administered via drinking water. Furthermore, we used three levels of dosing in all cases rather than the two previously used [3], in order to highlight any dose response effects of a given treatment. It is also important to note that our study is the first to conduct blood, urine, and organ analyses from animals treated with the complete agricultural formulation of R and not just G alone, as measured by the manufacturer.

http://www.enveurope.com/content/26/1/14

So it would appear that your assertions that " They did not feed rats just the crop under test. They always fed the rats RoundUp..... Food from RoundUp Ready crops is not normally coated in RoundUp - they added RoundUp to the food in this study." are simply not correct.


Second, this study was designed to look for possible renal, hepatic, and endocrine toxicities over an exposure time longer than the 90 days of Monsanto's study, and was not designed as a carcinogenic study.




What is perhaps more disturbing (than your misrepresentation of whether the crop had been tested without Roundup, your focus on carcinogenesis rather than renal and hepatic effects, and your apparent lack of concern regarding the adequacy of a feeding trial limited to 90 days), however, is your opening question "'Do you have evidence that they aren't?", which implies that the burden of proof should be, not with the corporation seeking approval to market products such as Roundup and Roundup ready corn, but with others.

Certainly, you must not believe that the burden of proof belongs with anyone other than Monsanto... But why then such readiness to criticize those bold enough to undertake overdue long-term studies?





It would seem that the essential issue remains that pointed out in the OP,;

According to Patrick Holden, Chief Executive of the Sustainable Food Trust (SFT) the study highlights the inadequacy of current safety testing:

"The most obvious deficiency relates to the fact that the current approval process is based on animal feeding trials of only 90 days, a totally inadequate duration when one considers that chronic diseases in animals and humans do not usually manifest until mid-life."

Is this not a concern you find reasonable?