Genetically Modified Food

This symposium was held at the Staff Club, University of Western Australia, Thursday 15 May 2008.

Report by Bill Castleden,

The WA State Committee of DEA organized this Symposium in the expectations that many members and others in the medical profession might be confused about the topic because of the polarization of the issue, or simply not conversant with the main issues and the potential health impacts. We advertised with the question “What would you advise a member of your family or a patient if they asked for your opinion about genetically-modified crops or foods?” We invited members of DEA to register their partners or spouses as well if they were interested in the topic, and provided excellent finger food and wine before and after the Symposium itself, all for a registration fee of $55 per head.

In recent days the Premier of SA has announced that the moratorium on genetically modified crops will continue. Moratoriums have been lifted in other states and in Victoria Sir Gustav Nossal a member of DEA’s Scientific Advisory Committee has supported their production. Clearly there are differing scientific opinions about the environmental health and safety of Gm food crops. One of the difficulties in making assessments is the lack of independent evidence because much of the scientific data comes from the companies producing Gm species. Recently there have been examples of possible suppression and misrepresentation of scientific information. One such example is listed by ISIS at   http://www.i-sis.org.uk/politiciansDenounceGMOTricks.php  This was an Early Day Motion in the House of Commons, UK, 28 November 2007 introduced by a UK ex-environment minister, the Rt. Hon. Michael Meacher.

“That this House regrets the continuing attempts to silence or misrepresent scientists whose research indicates possible human health problems from GM crops, as in the case of Dr Irina Ermakova who was misled by the editor of Nature Biotechnology into submitting an article to the journal to be published under her name, with the article in fact published under the editor's name with criticisms by four well-known GM supporters not seen by Dr Ermakova prior to publication; deplores the continuing efforts by an employee of the Canadian Government, Shane Morris, to close down websites in the UK and Republic of Ireland which have, along with Dr Richard Jennings of Cambridge University, said that research which claimed that consumers prefer GM sweetcorn published by this employee and others and given an Award for Excellence, is a flagrant fraud; and calls on the Government Chief Scientist to protect the integrity and objectivity of science by reasserting the right of scientists to have their views published by journals without underhand interference by journal editors, and for the Chief Scientist to encourage journal editors to withdraw papers they have published which subsequently turn out to be grossly misleading or even fraudulent”.

This article can be found on the I-SIS website at http://www.i- sis.org.uk/UNCRGETT.php

UN Convention Recognises GM Tree Threat
Why there should be a moratorium on GM trees.
Sam Burcher
ISIS Press Release 30/05/06

The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) passed a formal declaration at its Eighth Conference of the Parties (COP-8) in Curitiba, Brazil on 31 March 2006 to recognize the threats posed by genetically modified (GM) (same as genetically engineered (GE)) trees, and urging all countries to approach the technology with caution [1].

ISIS Press Release 28/11/05
Immune Reactions to Transgenic Protein Serious.
Independent Scientists Demand A Ban on GM Food & Feed while All GM Crops Are Tested.
The following memo and report were sent to international and national regulators on behalf of the Independent Science Panel.

From: Dr. Mae-Wan Ho, member of Independent Science Panel (www.indsp.org), Director, Institute of Science in Society (www.i-sis.org.uk)

Immunological assessments carried out for the first time on a transgenic protein revealed that post-translational processing subsequent to gene transfer into an alien species introduced new antigenicities that turned a previously harmless protein into a strong immunogen. In addition, the transgenic protein promoted immune reactions against multiple other proteins in the diet. The detailed findings are reviewed in the report below.

From the Independent(UK) 22 May 2005

One blustery day six years ago - at the start of The Independent on Sunday's successful GM campaign - I travelled to Aberdeen to meet a man who had been sent to Coventry.

Dr Arpad Pusztai was then the bogeyman of the British scientific establishment. No less a figure than Lord May - then the Government's chief scientific adviser, now president of the Royal Society - had accused him of violating "every canon of scientific rectitude", and ministers and top scientists had queued up to denounce him.

His crime had been to find disturbing evidence that the GM potatoes he was studying damaged the immune systems, brains, livers and kidneys of rats -and to mention it briefly in a television programme before his research was completed and published.

Press Release 07/03/05 from the Institute of Science in Society, click here
Glyphosate Toxic & Roundup Worse
Dr. Mae-Wan Ho and Prof. Joe Cummins call for urgent regulatory review of the most widely used herbicide in the light of new scientific evidence

New research findings are raising serious concerns over the safety of the most commonly used herbicide, and should be sending shockwaves through proponents of genetically modified (GM) crops made tolerant to the herbicide, which now account for 75% of all GM crops in the world.

Seeds of Concern: The Genetic Manipulation of Plants - Part One - 11/04/2004 by Dr David Murray click here

Seeds of Concern: The Genetic Manipulation of Plants - Part Two - 18/04/2004 by Dr David Murray click here

Dr David Murray is a scientist and conservationist with a lifelong interest in plants. He's also the author of a book called Seeds of Concern: The Genetic Manipulation of Plants. In part one of his two part talk he criticises both extreme positions of the genetically modified plant debate and sets the scene for the eventual acceptance of some genetically modified plants by organic growers and environmentalists.

Michael Meacher recently resigned from the environment portfolio in the UK. Government policy on GM foods was one of his concerns. This report from the Institute of Science in Society documents some of the recent concerns on GM foods in the UK and contains a summary of a recent speach by Michael Meacher

From The Institute of Science in Society, Science Society Sustainability http://www.i-sis.org.uk

Meacher Calls for Enquiry into GM Safety

Michael Meacher joined the ISP to call for an extended enquiry into GM safety, transparency and independence in scientific research, and an end to the victimisation of scientists whose research findings are ‘inconvenient’ for industry. Lim Li Ching reports