Science
Politics |
- leading research scientist for the Canadian government (35 years; former head of biotechnology at Agriculture Canada's Summerland Research Station)
- reassured the public that genetically engineered foods were safe to eat
- after retirement (2002), exposed to contrary data
- now a strong public speaker on GMO dangers
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- not much published pre-2002 on dangers or political battles (gardening & organic wife exposed him)
- worldwide pattern: just accepted that FDA was right
- 2002 Human Genome Project showed the genome to be a complex ecosystem; one-gene/one-protein theory (basis for GMOs) hopelessly naive
- disturbances create "rogue" malformed proteins
- can disable normal function, or create toxins (many plant toxins are proteins)
- direct danger of Roundup as a chelator and broad-spectrum antibiotic
- concern about always-on viral promoter (already shown to happen in creating carcinogen)
- damage to gut bacteria
- non-industry studies w/mice & rats: gastrointestinal disorders, obesity, diabetes, heart disease, infertility and
cancer; no way to know w/humans w/out labeling; potential for autism, depression, Alzheimers
- Bt toxin in Canadian pregnant non-rural women/fetuses -- Health Canada says non-toxic, makes no sense since its purpose is to puncture cells
- Séralani study -- it's good he has own website to fight back, and that EU implicitly gave study its blessing
- Mark Lynas -- "born again" GMO proponent, formerly unknown "leader" in anti-GMO
- (Ted talk on importance and failure of weed control (superweeds), resulting in GM'ing for stronger herbicides (e.g., 2,4-D)
- same with Bt insecticide and superbugs (but no alternative available for Bt)
- antibiotic-resistant marker gene threat, Chinese find in all their rivers, no North American research; shown in lab to transfer to soil bacteria, not yet found in soil
- horizontal transfer of GM to gut bacteria possible because normal plant/bacteria incompatibility is sidestepped by GM -- plant DNA can't transfer to a bacteria, but bacterial DNA can; plant promoter gene won't work in bacteria, but viral promoter will
- Since Bt toxin would normally wash out of blood quickly, its presence in 93% of the Canadian women (above) implies it is being manufactured in the body.
- Biotech industry funds research institutes and universities, then generates controversy to cloud the issue (like tobacco -- which government got good tax money from -- asbestos, lead in gas/paint)
- Change? not in regulators, a small amount in science, mostly it's on the street
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