genetically modified food: human health risks

7/29/2019 Genetically Modified Food: Human Health Risks

1/3

)DFW6KHHW)HEUXDU\

GM crops are modiied by ranserring geneic mae-rial rom one organism ino anoher o creae speciicrais, such as resisance o reamen wih herbicidesor o make a plan produce is own pesicide o repelinsecs.1 As o now, mos GM ood crops are geneicallyengineered o produce a soil bacerium called Bacil-

lus thuringiensis(B) ha repels insecs, or o allow hecrop o wihsand reamen wih an herbicide, such asglyphosae (ofen sold as Roundup).2

While he FDA conends ha here is no suicienscieniic evidence demonsraing ha eaing GM oodsleads o chronic harm,3 he agencys process or evalua-ing he saey o hese conroversial new oods is com-pleely inadequae.

GM varieies became he majoriy o he U.S. corn croponly in 2005 and he majoriy o he U.S. soybean cropin 2000.4 The poenial long-erm risks rom eainggeneically engineered ood are unknown. GM cornand soybeans are he building blocks o he indus-rialized ood supply, ending up in producs rangingrom livesock eed o hydrogenaed vegeable oils ohigh-rucose corn syrup. Companies submi heir ownsaey esing daa a he ime hey apply or producauhorizaion, and independen research on GM oodsis limied because bioechnology companies prohibiculivaion or research purposes in he resricivelicensing agreemens ha conrol he use o hese pa-ened seeds.5

Some o he independen, peer-reviewed research hahas been done on bioech crops has revealed roublinghealh implicaions. A 2009 International Journal ofBiological Sciencessudy ound ha ras ha consumedRoundup Ready corn or 90 days developed a deerio-raion o liver and kidney uncioning.6 Anoher sudy

ound irregulariies in he livers o ras, suggesinghigher meabolic raes resuling rom a Roundup Readysoybean die.7 Research on mouse embryos showed hamice ha were ed Roundup Ready soybeans had im-paired embryonic developmen.8 A 2012 wo-year eedingsudy done by independen scieniss on 200 ras showedha ras ed Roundup Ready GM corn developed moremammary umors, had severe liver and kidney damageand had a higher incidence o premaure deah.9

Even GM livesock eed may have some impac on con-sumers o animal producs: Ialian researchers ound bio-ech genes in he milk rom dairy cows ha were ed aGM die, suggesing he abiliy o ransgenes o survivepaseurizaion.10 A 2012Journal of Applied Toxicologysudy revealed ha B oxins presen in GM oods mighaec human issue a he cellular level, especially whencombined wih pesicides associaed wih GM crops, likeRoundup.11

.LUL[PJHSS`4VKPLK-VVK!

Human Health Risks

Despite the U.S. Food and Drug Administrations (FDAs) approval of manyJHQHWLFDOO\PRGLHG*0IRRGVTXHVWLRQVSHUVLVWDERXWWKHVDIHW\RIHDWLQJthese foods or using them for animal feed. These safety concerns should result in

a halt to all sales of genetically engineered foods until these safety concerns are

DGGUHVVHG$WWKHYHU\OHDVWFRQVXPHUVLQWKH8QLWHG6WDWHVVKRXOGKDYHWKHULJKW

WRNQRZLIWKHIRRGVWKH\DUHEX\LQJDQGHDWLQJKDYHEHHQJHQHWLFDOO\HQJLQHHUHGDV

they do in Europe.


2/3

In he Unied Saes, he FDA has no eecive way orack adverse healh eecs in people consuming GMoods, and because here is no requiremen ha oodconaining GM ingrediens be labeled,12 consumers dono know when hey are eaing hem. In he EuropeanUnion, GM oods are labeled, bu GM animal eed isno,13 so any consequences o eaing ood rom animalsed a GM die are unraceable.

The bioech indusry ofen atemps o claim ha herecanno be any healh impacs rom eaing GM oods orwe would have seen hem by now. For example, Chair-man o he Agriculural Bioechnology Council, Dr.Julian Litle, has claimed in he press, More han hreerillion meals conaining GM ingrediens have been con-sumed o dae, wihou one subsaniaed healh issuerepored.14 However, as he majoriy o his GM conenwill have been consumed in he Unied Saes wihoulabeling, he inabiliy o race where i wen means iis impossible o scieniically deermine wha impac imigh be having, so he claim is meaningless.

Wihou long-erm inergeneraional sudies, he ac isha we do no know i consuming GM ingrediens hasany adverse eecs on people or animals, or wha heseeecs migh be.

Glyphosate Risks

No only are herbicide-resisan crops poeniallydangerous o ea, bu heir producion drives escalaingagrochemical use. Monsanos herbicide, Roundup, isone o 750 U.S. producs conaining he acive ingredi-

en glyphosae, he saey o which has been dispuedor years.15 Glyphosae is a non-selecive herbicide usedwidely in large-scale agriculure, oresry and indusrialweed conrol, and in lawn and garden care.16 Evidencesuggess ha glyphosae may pose animal and humanhealh risks. Neverheless, glyphosae use on RoundupReady crops has grown seadily, wih applicaion dou-bling beween 2001 and 2007.17 Risks associaed wihhis herbicide include:

$FMM5PYJDJUZ Glyphosae exposure causes celldamage and even cell deah. A 2009 sudy rom

Chemical Research in Toxicologyound ha glypho-sae caused DNA damage o human cells even alower exposure levels han hose recommended byhe herbicides manuacurer.18 An Environmentaland Molecular Mutagenesissudy ound ha Round-up induced he presence o muaions in mousekidneys and livers.19 Addiionally, in vivosudies onhuman cells have demonsraed he geneic oxiciyo a meabolie o glyphosae, AMPA.20

$BSDJOPHFOJDJUZ Inhalaion o glyphosae posesa long-erm cancer risk or humans, since cancer

may originae rom a single cell several years ordecades afer he iniial sress.21 This is supporedby research indicaing ha glyphosae may leado geneic insabiliy, which can rigger he onseo cancer.22 Also, agriculural workers who applyglyphosae o crops have an 80 percen increasedrisk o developing melanoma.23

/FVSPUPYJDJUZGlyphosae exposure can impairhe nervous sysem. A 2002 Environmental HealthPerspectivessudy showed a signiican correlaionbeween glyphosae and adverse neurodevelopmen-al eecs.24 One man who susained acue glypho-sae exposure developed sympoms o Parkinsonsdisease only 30 days afer he acciden, possibly dueo he neurooxiciy o he herbicide.25

&OEPDSJOF%JTSVQUJPO Several sudies linkRoundup wih endocrine disrupion. A 2010 sudypublished in Chemical Research in Toxicologyoundha glyphosae-based herbicides caused highlyabnormal deormiies and neurological problems inverebraes.26 A Texas Tech Universiy sudy showedha Roundup inhibied mouse seroid producion.27Furher research has shown ha Roundup also has anegaive impac during eal developmen in ras andon human embryonic cells.28 Anoher sudy showedha glyphosae concenraions 100 imes lower hanheir recommended agriculural use disruped endo-crine enzymes in human placenal cells.29

GM Crops Speed Upthe Chemical Treadmill

Ubiquious applicaion o Roundup has spawnedglyphosae-resisan weeds, a problem ha is drivingarmers o apply more-oxic herbicides, like 2,4-D andDicamba.30 The chemical 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyaceic acid(2,4-D) once made up hal o he herbicide mix knownas Agen Orange.31 There is concern regarding 2,4-Ds

endocrine disrupion poenial and eecs on devel-opmen.32 Ras exposed o 2,4-D exhibied depressedhyroid hormone levels, which can aec normal me-abolism and brain uncioning.33 Sudies ound hamen who applied 2,4-D had lower sperm couns andmore sperm abnormaliies han hose unexposed o heherbicide.34

To help manage weeds and allow armers o apply 2,4-Dgenerously o crops, Dow AgroScience has engineered2,4-D-resisan corn. This crop could be dangerous oea because a meabolie o 2,4-D is known o cause skinsores, liver damage and someimes deah in animals.35Scieniss rom he French Naional Insiue or Agricul-ural Research sugges ha, ollowing 2,4-D reamen,2,4-D oleran plans may no be accepable or humanconsumpion.36


3/3

We Have a Right to Know

We have a righ o know how much a and sodium arein our ood, and a ull lis o ingrediens is available onood packaging. Bu we don know i he oods we areeaing are geneically modiied, or i he animals haproduced our ood were ed GM eed, despie he risksha hese oods pose o public healh, armers and heenvironmen.

Take Action

In he EU, pressure is mouning o use labels o inormconsumers when animals were no ed a GM die, oenable shoppers o avoid eaing GM oods. Europeslarges dairy company, Campina, and larges reailer,Carreour, already use such labels.

Wrie o your supermarke oday asking hem whenhey are going o ell you which mea, milk, eggs andcheese did no come rom GM-ed animals.

Endnotes1 Shoemaker, Robbin (Ed.). U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA),

Economic Research Service (ERS). Economic Issues in AgriculturalBiotechnology. (AIB-762). 2001 at 9.

2 Fernandez-Cornejo, Jorge. USDA ERS. The Seed Industry in U.S.Agriculture. (AIB-786). January 2004 at 2.

3 U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO). Genetically ModifiedFoods: Experts View Regimen of Safety Tests as Adequate, butFDA's Evaluation Process Could Be Enhanced. Report to Congres-sional Requesters. (GAO-02-566). 2002 at 30.

4 USDA ERS. Adoption of Genetically Engineered Crops in theU.S. From Corn and Soybean spreadsheets. Available at http://www.ers.usda.gov/Data/BiotechCrops/. Updated July 1, 2011.Accessed July 6, 2011.

5 Pollack, Andrew. Crop Scientists Say Biotechnology Seed Compa-nies Are Thwarting Research. The New York Times. February 20,2009.

6 de Vendomois, Joel Spiroux et al. A Comparison of the Effects ofThree GM Corn Varieties on Mammalian Health. InternationalJournal of Biological Sciences, vol. 5, iss. 7. 2009 at 716 to 718.

7 Malatesta, Manuela et al. Ultrastructural Morphometrical and Im-munocytochemical Analyses of Hepatocyte Nuclei from Mice Fedon Genetically Modified Soybean. Cell Structure and Function,vol. 27. 2002 at Abstract.

8 Cisterna, B. et al. Can a genetically-modified organism-containingdiet influence embryo development? A preliminary study on pre-implantation mouse embryos. European Journal of Histochemis-try. 2008 at 263.

9 Sralini, Gilles-Eric et al. Long term toxicity of a Roundup herbi-cide and a Roundup-tolerant genetically modified maize. Foodand Chemical Toxicology, Volume 50, Issue 11. November 2012.

10 Agodi, Antonella et al. Detection of genetically modified DNAsequences in milk from the Italian market. International Journal ofHygiene and Environmental Health. January 10, 2006 at Abstract.

11 Mesnage, R. et al. Cytotoxicity on human cells of Cry1Ab andCry1Ac Bt insecticidal toxins alone or with a glyphosate-basedherbicide.Journal of Applied Toxicology. 2012 at Abstract.

12 Fernandez-Cornejo, Jorge and Margriet Caswell. USDA ERS.The First Decade of Genetically Engineered Crops in the UnitedStates. (EIB No. 11). April 2006 at 3.

13 European Parliament and Council. Regulation (EC) No 1829/2003of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 September2003 on genetically modified food and feed. Official Journal ofthe European Union. October 18, 2003 at L 268/2 to 268/3.

14 Little, Julian. Retailers should copy GM move by Morrisons. The

Grocer. March 31, 2012.15 Gillam, Carey. Cancer cause or crop aid? Herbicide faces big

test. Reuters. April 8, 2011.

16 Miller, A. et al. National Pesticide Information Center. GlyphosateTechnical Fact Sheet. September 2010 at 1.

17 Aspelin, Arnold L. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).Pesticides Industry Sales and Usage: 1994 and 1995 Estimates.August 1997 at Table 8; Grube, Arthur et al. EPA. Pesticides In-dustry Sales and Usage: 2006 and 2007 Market Estimates. Febru-ary 2011 at Table 3.6

18 Benachour, Nora and Gilles-Eric Seralini. University of Caen,France. Glyphosate Formulations Induce Apoptosis and Necrosisin Human Umbilical, Embryonic, and Placental Cells. ChemicalResearch in Toxicology, vol 22. 2009 at 97.

19 Peluso, M. et al. P-Postlabeling Detection of DNA Adducts inMice Treated With the Herbicide Roundup. Environmental andMolecular Mutagenesis. 1998 at 55.

20 Maas, F. et al. Genotoxicity of AMPA, the environmental metab-olite of glyphosate, assessed by the Comet assay and cytogenetictests. Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety, vol. 72. 2009 at834 to 837.

21 Marc, J et al. Glyphosate-based pesticides affect cell cycle regula-tion. Biology of the Cell, vol. 96. 2004 at 245 to 249.

22 Marc, J. et al. Formulated glyphosate activates the DNA-responsecheckpoint of the cell cycle leading to the prevention of G2/Mtransition. Toxicological Sciences, vol. 82. 2004 at 436 to 442.

23 De Roos, A. et al. Cancer incidence among glyphosate-exposedpesticide applicators in the Agricultural Health Study. Environmen-tal Health Perspectives, vol. 113, iss. 1. 2005 at 49 to 54.

24 Garry, V.F. et al. Birth defects, season of conception, and sex ofchildren born to pesticide applicators living in the Red River Val-ley of Minnesota, USA. Environmental Health Perspectives, vol.

110, suppl. 3. 2002 at 441 to 449.25 Barbosa, E.R. et al. Parkinsonism after glycine-derivate exposure.

Movement Disorders, vol. 16, iss. 3. 2001 at 565 to 568.

26 Paganelli, Alejandra et al. Glyphosate-Based Herbicides ProduceTeratogenic Effects on Vertebrates by Impairing Reinoic Acid Sig-naling. Chemical Research in Toxicology, vol. 23. August 2010 at1586.

27 Walsh, L.P. et al. Roundup inhibits steroidogenesis by disruptingsteroidogenic acute regulatory (StAR) protein expression. Environ-mental Health Perspectives, vol. 108, iss. 8. 2000 at 769 to 776.

28 Benachour, N. et al. Time- and dose-dependent effects ofroundup on human embryonic and placental cells.Archives ofEnvironmental Contamination and Toxicology, vol. 53. 2007 at126 to 133; Dallegrave, E. et al. The teratogenic potential of theherbicide glyphosate-Roundup in Wistar rats. Toxicology Letters,

vol. 142, iss. 12. 2003 at 45 to 52.29 Richard, S. et al. Differential effects of glyphosate and Roundup

on human placental cells and aromatase. Environmental HealthPerspectives, vol. 113. 2005 at 716 to 720.

30 U.S. National Research Council. The impact of genetically engi-neered crops on farm sustainability in the United States. April 13,2010 at S-3 and S-13. (Pre-Publication Copy).

31 Martin, Michael F. Congressional Research Service. VietnameseVictims of Agent Orange and U.S.-Vietnam Relations. 2009 at 11to 13.

32 Ibrahim, Michael A. et al. Weight of the Evidence on the HumanCarcinogenicity of 2,4-D. Environmental Health Perspectives,vol. 96. 1991 at 213.

33 Charles, Jeffrey et al. Comparative Subchronic Studies on 2,4-Di-chloropehnoxyacetic Acid, Amine, and Ester in Rats. Toxicologi-

cal Sciences, vol. 33, iss. 2. 1996 at Abstract.34 Lerda, D. and R. Rizzi. Study of Reproductive Function in PersonsOccupationally Exposed to 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D).Mutation Research, vol. 262, iss. 1. January 1991 at 49.

35 Laurent, Franois et al. Metabolism of [14C]-2,4-dichlorophenolin edible plants. Pest Management Science, vol. 62. 2006 at 558.

36 Ibid. at 558.

For more information:

Rue dEdimbourg 26

1050 Brussels, Belgium

T: +32 (0)2 893 10 45

E: [email protected]

Copyright February 2013 Food & Water Europe

genetically modified food: human health risks

Documents