INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE IN SOCIETY– ISIS has drawn attention to the instability of GMOs and GM constructs all along. Prof. Joe Cummins offers this latest verdict, all GM crops may be unstable.

It is repeatedly claimed that genetically modified (GM) crops are altered with single genes that are stable and equivalent to the genes that have been selected and bred into the crops. In every case the GM crops originated from cell cultures that have been know to be vexed with a phenomenon called somaclonal variation. Somaclonal variation has been encountered in genetic transformation using both biolistic and Agrobacterium transformation followed by cell culture to isolate desirable agricultural characteristics.

The phenomenon is that cell cultures leading to isolate individual clones and plants are plagued by genetic instability caused both by gene mutation and chromosome rearrangement. In extreme responses plants may be infertile and the extensive mutation leads to undesirable toxic natural products being produced. Furthermore, the transgenes introduced into the modified crop are recognized as invaders by the crop being transformed and the invading genes are silenced by mechanisms including DNA methylation or gene inactivation at transcription.

The evidence that the genetic instability resulting in somaclonal variation is caused by activation of inactive virus like genetic elements called transposons is currently very compelling (see Courtial et al 2001). Activated transposons create both gene mutation and chromosome rearrangement.

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© ISIS, 2001

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FOOD PRODUCTION DAILY– Monsanto’s genetically modified maize MON863, authorised for human consumption since 2006, showed signs of liver and kidney toxicity in a rat study, raising concerns about its safety.

The study, performed by French researchers from the independent CRIIGEN (Committee for Independent Research and Genetic Engineering), based at the University of Caen reports that rats fed the maize for three months showed signs of liver and kidney toxicity, as well as differences in weight gain between the sexes.

“Our counter-evaluation show that there are signs of toxicity and that nobody can say scientifically and seriously that consumption of the transgenic maize MON863 is safe and good for health,” lead author of the study, Professor Gilles Eric Séralini told France’s TF1 television station.

MON863 is a transgenic maize genetically modified to express the Bt-toxin (Cry3Bb1) which enables the plant to be insect repellent against the corn rootworm pest. It is different from other GM corns of the market since these express the Cry1Ab toxin which is toxic to the European corn borer.

The study, published on-line in the peer-review journal Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, fed young adult Sprague-Dawley-derived rats (aged six weeks at the start of the experiment) diets containing 11 or 30 per cent MON863, or diets containing non-GM corn for 90 days.

At the end of the study, Séralini and his team found signs of toxicity in the liver and kidneys of rats fed the MON863 maize, as well as changes to weight between the sexes. Indeed, male rats were found to have lost, on average, 3.3 per cent of their body weight, while females gained 3.7 per cent.

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© Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology

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INDEPENDENT– GM crops contaminate the countryside for up to 15 years after they have been harvested, startling new government research shows.

The findings cast a cloud over the prospects of growing the modified crops in Britain, suggesting that farmers who try them out for one season will find fields blighted for a decade and a half.

Financed by GM companies and Margaret Beckett’s Department of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the report effectively torpedoes the Government’s strategy for introducing GM oilseed rape to this country.

Ministers have stipulated that the crops should not be grown until rules are worked out to enable them to “co-exist” with conventional ones. But the research shows that this is effectively impossible.

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© The Independent, 2005

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July 19, 1999

ALL BUSINESS– Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fishery (MAFF) wants food manufacturers to clearly label their packaging for any ingredients that have been genetically modified (GMOs). The measure will be applied to tofu, snacks and tempura flour, among other products designated by the ministry and will include imported foodstuffs. However, the new rules will allow exemptions of products in which modified ingredients are used but have been dissolved or removed during the manufacturing process. These products include cooking oil and soy sauce.

The ministry says compulsory labeling is a prudent measure considering growing consumer concerns about genetically altered food products. However, actual implementation of the new labeling rules is expected to be limited as food makers already are voicing opposition to the ministry’s plan, claiming that it will be technically difficult to maintain the trustworthiness of such labeling. Some consumer groups worry that products made from rapeseed, cotton and potatoes may be left out of the compulsory labeling because tracing GMOs in those ingredients can involve a complex testing process. The groups say labeling should cover farm products before they are processed, thereby ensuring that all food containing modified ingredients can be identified.

Continue reading about Japan Started Mandatory GMO Labeling in ’99.

© Food & Drink Weekly, 1999

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