"Of course, this issue has an economic dimension which is of crucial importance... There is the sniff of the born-again Luddite in the air,and that could be destructive to our future as a trading country" -Lord Bragg, President of the new Science Media Centre supported by Lord Sainsbury [http://www.i-sis.org/i-sisnews7-17.shtml]
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1. Genetically engineered food will leave you squeamish
2. Manipulation and suppression of scientific evidence on rBGH
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Genetically engineered food will leave you squeamish
Diane V. McLoughlin
The Ottawa Citizen 26 Feb 2001 http://www.ottawacitizen.com/letters/010226/This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
The Feb. 15 editorial, "Take my pills ... please," applauds the Ontario government for taking steps to slow the macabre march of antibiotic resistance, by limiting access to the quinolone-class of antibiotics to specific conditions. Further, the editorial correctly states that massive overuse of antibiotics in farming is another area of concern. While the following may not be for the squeamish or the faint of heart, let's go for specifics; specifics are better.
U.S. dairy farmers use antibiotics to combat increased incidences of mastitis infection due to forced excess milk production caused by injecting cows with rBGH -- recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone (recombinant means genetically engineered.)
Increased use of antibiotics means an increase in the amount of antibiotics excreted in the milk. Increased infection means an increase in the production of white blood cells (also known as "pus") produced by the cow which is also expressed in the milk. While regulators have not approved rBGH-use in Canada, products manufactured with milk are imported from the U.S.
Next, genetically engineered crops are all created using an antibiotic-resistant gene. When cells are exposed to a viral cocktail meant to shoot gene material into the cells, biotechies include an antibiotic resistant gene sequence. The cells are then put in a petri dish laced with antibiotics. Cells that will still grow in the antibiotics have the antibiotic resistant gene marker, and, it is hoped, the other genetic changes inside the plant's genetic code do, too. Millions of acres of genetically engineered crops are grown, where just four years ago there were none.
Antibiotic resistant markers have been found in the guts of honey bees and cattle. This could cause bacteria to mutate into superbugs against which we would have no defence.
Oh, and that mastitis thing? Not to worry -- they've just about got that licked, too, with a cow genetically engineered with its own built-in antibiotic gene called lysostaphin. This research brought to you by the United States Department of Agriculture's Agriculture Research Service.
Come on, let's go grab a bite to eat. I'm ravenous, aren't you? Diane V. McLoughlin, Woodlawn
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2. Manipulation and suppression of scientific evidence on rBGH
[from an article on the Institute of Science in Society webpage: http://www.i-sis.org/i-sisnews7-17.shtml ]
Monsanto's machinations in gaining approval of rBGH are notorious. An 80-page report entitled, Use of Bovine Somatotropin (BST) in the United States: Its Potential Effects, was published by the Clinton White House in 1994, which concluded, "There is no evidence that BST poses a threat to humans or animals."
Later that year, British scientists revealed that their attempts to publish evidence that rBGH may increase the cow's susceptibility to mastitis (infection of the udder) were blocked by Monsanto for three years. The scientists showed that Monsanto's submission to the FDA was based on selected data that covered up what the experiments had actually revealed - more pus in rBGH-treated cows. Over 800 farmers using rBGH reported health problems with the cows. Side effects included death, serious mastitis, hoof and leg ailments and spontaneous abortions.
Monsanto subsequently offered Health Canada scientists substantial research funding during the rBGH approval process and the Health Canada scientists also complained of being subjected to suppression and harassment during the rBGH approval process. Two respected investigative journalists were fired from their jobs over a TV documentary on Monsanto's rBGH, alleging significant scientific findings had been suppressed. For example, insulin-growth factor (IGF-1) was found to increase 10-fold in rBGH milk. Increased IGF-1 is linked to breast, colon and prostate cancers in humans.
Monsanto had also withheld from the FDA data from studies on rats which showed that feeding rBGH elicited antibodies to the hormone and the males developed cysts on the thymus and abnormalities in the prostate gland. Despite all that, rBGH milk is still being sold unlabelled in the US today.