I have not yet downloaded the entire report, but there is a very clear summary on the Earth Open Source website, where the full report is also available.
Disturbing finding: glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup herbicide, stimulates the growth of human breast cancer cells. (Most of the corn and soybeans grown in Iowa are genetically engineered to survive applicaton of Roundup herbicide. These crops are marketed to the farmer as "Roundup-Ready".)
Also, the claim that Europe is now an "agricultural museum" because few GMO crops are grown there is absurd, as European farms out-yield and are more sustainable than US farms, which are home to millions of acres of GMOs. (GMOs are genetically modified organisms, meaning plants or animals that have been engineered to contain genes from species unrelated to them--e.g., bacteria genes are installed in plants, through a laboratory process.)
Tom Mathews
-----Original Message-----
From: Laurel Hopwood <[log in to unmask]>
To: CONS-SPST-BIOTECH-FORUM <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Mon, May 19, 2014 4:29 pm
Subject: GM foods neither safe nor needed, say genetic engineers
http://earthopensource.org/index.php/reports/gmo-myths-and-truths
GMO MYTHS AND TRUTHS REPORT
GM foods neither safe nor needed, say geneticengineers
Claims that Europe is becoming a “museum” of farming because of its reluctance to embrace GM crops are shown to be nonsensical by research showing that Europe’s mostly non-GM agriculture out-yields the USA’s mostly GM agriculture with less pesticide use. Instead, it is the GM-adopting USA that is falling behind Europe in terms of productivity and sustainability. (pp. 232–233) - See more at: http://earthopensource.org/index.php/reports/gmo-myths-and-truths#sthash.QF3p2QlR.dpuf
(edited)
Genetically modified crops and foods areneither safe nor necessary to feed the world, a new report by geneticengineers shows.
The second edition of GMO Myths and Truths, co-authored by geneticengineers Dr John Fagan and Dr Michael Antoniou and researcher ClaireRobinson, was released on 19 May 2014 as a free online download by thesustainability and science policy platform Earth OpenSource.
The second edition follows the publication twoyears ago of the first edition, which was downloaded 120,000 timesjust a few weeks after publication and was read online by severaltimes that many visitors. At 330 pages, the new edition is nearlythree times the length of the original and summarizes many newstudies.
New information in the updated reportincludes:
* A laboratory study in humancells shows that very low levels ofglyphosate (the main chemical ingredient of Roundup herbicide, whichmost GM crops are engineered to tolerate) mimicked the hormoneestrogen and stimulated the growth of breast cancer cells. The levelof glyphosate that had this effect was below the level allowed indrinking water in Europe and far below the level allowed in the USA.It was also below the level found in GM glyphosate-tolerant soy, whichis imported into Europe for animal feed and human food. If confirmedin animal studies, this finding would overturn regulatory assumptionsof safe levels of glyphosate. (p. 221)
* A rat feeding study led by ProfessorGilles-Eric Séralini, which found toxiceffects from a GM maize and tiny amounts of the Roundup herbicide itis grown with, was retracted by a journal editor for unscientificreasons. Yet the study is far stronger and more detailed than manyindustry studies that are accepted as proof of safety for GMOs. TheEuropean Food Safety Authority (EFSA) had to reject the study in orderto protect its own previous opinions on this and other GMOs, forreasons explained in the report. The findings of this study, ifconfirmed, would overturn regulatory assumptions of safe levels ofglyphosate and Roundup. (pp. 94, 147)
To download the entire report, click here andfill in the empty slots:
http://earthopensource.org/index.php/reports/gmo-myths-and-truths
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