No “undo button” for nature: IUCN must say no to genetically engineered wild species
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Over 90 NGOs urge moratorium on genetic engineering in the wild as World Conservation Congress meets in Abu Dhabi
GMWatch publishes historic recordings of scientist Arpad Pusztai
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Dr Pusztai describes the results of – and the political fallout from – his landmark 1999 study that found GM insecticidal potatoes had toxic effects on rats
New GMOs exacerbate patent thicket for farmers and breeders
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ARCHE NOAH briefing shows that EU institutions have the legal power to act
Group that advises on new GMOs tied in multiple knots
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GM Freeze’s Leonie Nimmo reports on a disturbing meeting
Scientific publication on AI-designed "new GMO" maize
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The EU Commission would allow the release of the plants without prior risk assessment
GM microorganisms pose huge challenges for risk assessment and governance
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Commentary by Third World Network
Three genetically engineered fruits and vegetables sold in Canada
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New report warns of coming unregulated, unlabelled gene-edited produce
France's national medical association takes stand against pesticides amidst outcry over new law
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Physicians' association deplores "persistent gap between available scientific knowledge and regulatory decisions". Report: Jonathan Matthews and Claire Robinson
Recordings of scientist Arpad Pusztai interviewed by journalist Andy Rowell
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GMWatch is publishing a series of interviews with the late scientist Dr Arpad Pusztai, conducted in March 2002 by the journalist Andy Rowell, as part of his research for his book, Don't Worry, It's Safe to Eat. Dr Pusztai carried out the first safety research on a GM food plant. Andy kindly gifted this interview archive of recordings to GMWatch and wishes them to be made public.
In these interviews Dr Pusztai describes the results of his landmark 1999 study that found that GM insecticidal potatoes had toxic effects on rats. He also details the political fallout from his public announcement of these findings in a brief 150-second appearance in an episode of the documentary series World in Action. Dr Pusztai said that based on his findings, he would not eat these potatoes and that it was unfair to use our fellow citizens as guinea pigs by putting GM foods into the food supply.
The GM potatoes were engineered to express an insecticidal lectin (type of protein) called GNA, derived from a snowdrop gene. GNA lectin was chosen specifically because Dr Pusztai and his collaborators had, over a period of eight years of research, established that it was non-toxic to mammals in its natural form.
The GM GNA lectin-expressing potatoes were found to cause a proliferative (pre-cancerous growth-inducing) effect on the gut, as described in a peer-reviewed publication in The Lancet.
Another finding was that the GM-fed rats had a reduced brain size – a finding that Dr Pusztai felt was so controversial that he did not publish it.
Mechanism of toxicity unknown
The mechanism of the GM potatoes' unexpected toxicity is not clear from these experiments. Pusztai was not able to follow up on his research to find out, because after he went public with his findings on British TV, he was fired from his job and barred from access to his lab. His research team was disbanded and a gagging order was imposed on him while his institute, the Rowett, carried out a hostile "audit" of his work. You can read more about these events here in this definitive account by Andy Rowell, extracted from Don't Worry, It's Safe to Eat.
The GM potatoes used in the experiment were destroyed. This was regrettable, as well as anti-scientific. If they'd been put into deep frozen storage, today's molecular analysis techniques could easily have established the source of the toxicity of the GM potatoes – something that now we won't ever know.
However, in the recordings, Dr Pusztai puts forward the hypothesis (for which he states that there was at that time no evidence) that given the toxicological findings related to the gut, which resembled a viral infection, a potential culprit was the cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV) 35S promoter, engineered into the GM potatoes to drive expression of the transgene. Research shows that the CaMV 35S promoter can drive expression of genes (including transgenes) in mammalian cells – albeit not as strongly as in plants – with unknown effects. But it's equally possible that some other mechanism of toxicity is responsible.
GNA lectins have continued to be genetically engineered into plants to kill insects.
The Bt toxin protein in GM Bt crops is also an insecticidal lectin. GM Bt crops have been found to have harmful effects on laboratory animals.
Lessons on GMO regulation
In the current climate of lobbying for deregulation of a new generation of GMOs, we would do well to bear in mind Dr Pusztai's reply to CSIRO scientist and GMO enthusiast Dr Roger Morton, which we published in 2001. Dr Morton had claimed that GM foods are well tested and that there is a significant body of scientific literature supporting the safety of these foods. That was – and still is – far from the truth, as Arpad knew.
Prophetically, Dr Pusztai wrote: "The only thing the GM biotech industry needs to do in future is not do any testing as then the myth of the safety of GM food will be maintained for eternity. I am sure, to judge by present standards, that they are well on their way to achieving this."
Those who are interested in the body of peer-reviewed research showing toxic and allergenic effects of GM foods (including commercialised ones) are recommended to read the book GMO Myths and Truths, in its 4th edition.
Arpad Pusztai - Part 1 of 32
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GM gene-edited tomatoes to be fed to humans (but no, it's not a food safety study)
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Researchers are recruiting vitamin D-deficient subjects to trial the GM tomato. Report: Claire Robinson
Bayer's glyphosate successor – icafolin – coming to the EU?
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Glyphosate-resistant weeds are main driver for this development. Report: Claire Robinson
DARWIN project policy brief highlights feasibility and importance of detecting new GMOs in food and feed
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Reliable detection of NGT products is possible and essential for transparency and consumer trust, say researchers
Bt cotton in India is a monumental catastrophic failure
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But cotton expert advises minister of good non-GMO solutions, reports Colin Todhunter
Another long-term feeding study raises questions about the safety of GM maize
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GM-fed monkeys showed indications of anaemia, kidney and thyroid disorders, and an altered gut microbiome. Report: Claire Robinson and Prof Michael Antoniou
GMO deregulation won’t fix potato blight
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Ag and food writer says GMO deregulation lobby live “in a fantasy land of precision, predictability and imagined safety”; points instead to agroecological controls. Report: Claire Robinson
Not substantially equivalent: New scientific methods challenge claims that GMOs are safe
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Part 2 of an interview with Prof Michael Antoniou by Stacy Malkan of US Right to Know
The tech billionaires and rogue scientists moving to commercialise CRISPR babies
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It’s time to step up the opposition to designer babies, says Marcy Darnovsky of the Center for Genetics and Society
Game-changing gene-edited products coming soon to UK supermarkets due to Brexit? Er... maybe not
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Bananas that don’t go brown even when cut and stale are among promised GM products – but most aren’t ready. Report: Claire Robinson
TAKE ACTION! Help stop first mass release of fertile GMO plant into the wild
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USDA poised to approve release of GM American chestnut trees based on botched research
Are GMOs safe? A molecular geneticist speaks out
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Interview with Prof Michael Antoniou by Stacy Malkan of US Right to Know
European laboratories join forces to call for detection methods for all new GMOs
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GMO developers must supply detection methods, reference material and details of the genetic modification as part of authorisation procedure, say detection labs
GM food supplement for bees supports failed agricultural model
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Product is intended to “enable honeybee colonies to produce brood in the absence of floral pollen”. Report: Claire Robinson and Prof Michael Antoniou
Glyphosate and cancer: A textbook case of “manufacturing doubt”
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by Sustainable Pulse. Source: Le Monde, by Stéphane Foucart (article translated from French to English by Sustainable Pulse)
US: MAHA Commission succumbs to pesticide industry pressure
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Draft report walks back Administration’s promises of bold action on pesticides
England and UK: Beyond GM legal action says "no" to hidden GMOs
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Please donate to the legal action "fighting fund"
Regulators use double standards when evaluating scientific evidence indicating harm
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Warning signs are dismissed for the flimsiest of reasons, a new peer-reviewed article shows. Report: Claire Robinson
Negotiations stall on EU GMO deregulation proposal
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Commission and Council won't compromise on key issues, including traceability and labelling
Silent spread: How weak regulation enables illegal GM cotton to proliferate locally in India
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Unauthorised herbicide-tolerant cotton varieties circulate in Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh: Ambika Subash* reports
New GMO alert: GMO rice isn't on the market, but it's still showing up
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By Non-GMO Project staff