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The work of press agents consists of not just getting
the media to carry news favorable to their clients, but also to
suppress information inimical to their business. Jargon in the
traditional newsroom has an aptly descriptive phrase for it: “Kill
story!”
One story that has suffered down
play—as of this writing—comes from a scientific study, which
found that genetically modified (GM) corn approved by Philippine
authorities shows signs of toxicity to mammals. The giant
agribusiness multinational Monsanto markets the GM corn in several
countries, including ours, for animal feeds, food processing and
human consumption.
That the issue has a direct
bearing on public health should be apparent. Yet many major news
organizations failed to give it the prominence it obviously
deserves—if they ran the story at all.
The study, written by a panel of
three scientists in France, showed that laboratory rats fed with GMO
corn Monsanto (MON) 863 YieldGard Rootwom displayed kidney and
liver toxicity.
MON 863 is corn genetically
manipulated to produce its own insecticide called “modified
Cry3Bb1” to kill rootworm insects in the soil. It contains gene
coding for antibiotic resistance.
Entitled “New Analysis of a Rat
Feeding Study with a Genetically Modified Maize Reveals Signs of
Hepatorenal Toxicity,” the study was published in the scientific
journal Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology (www.springerlink.com/content/1432-0703).
The study analyzed results of
safety tests submitted by Monsanto to the European Commission (EC)
when the company was seeking authorization to market MON 863 in the
European Union.
Although data showed significant
health risks associated with the GMO corn, the EC still granted
licenses to market MON 863 for consumption by both humans and
animals.
The incriminating data were
obtained by Greenpeace following a court case, and was passed on for
evaluation by a team of experts headed by Professor Gilles Eric Séralini,
a governmental expert in genetic engineering from the University of
Caen in France.
“This case is especially
significant to the Philippines right now in the light of the Bureau
of Plant Industry’s claims [last] week that they enforce stringent
regulatory systems for the approval of GMOs,” said Daniel Ocampo,
Greenpeace Southeast Asia genetic engineering campaigner.
MON 863 was approved in several
countries around the world and in the Philippines by the BPI in
October 2003. “However, the approval of a GMO is not a guarantee
of its safety,” Ocampo said.
According to Greenpeace, the
genetic manipulation of organisms is dangerously unpredictable. No
GMO has ever undergone long-term testing.
“The MON 863 case is the first
time that a GMO product authorized for use as food for humans and
animals has been shown to have adverse effects on internal
organs,” Ocampo said. “It is a clear warning of the inherent
risks of GMOs.”
MON 863 was approved by the EC,
despite opposition from a majority of EU member states, which raised
concerns over the GMO’s safety.
Séralini’s study validates
these concerns. As the study points out, “with the present data it
cannot be concluded that GMO corn MON 863 is a safe product.”
At a press conference with
Greenpeace in Berlin last week, Séralini also questioned
Monsanto’s analyses of MON 863, which was used as a basis for its
approval.
“Monsanto’s analyses do not
stand up to rigorous scrutiny,” the French professor said. “To
begin with, their statistical protocols are highly questionable.”
Greenpeace demanded the complete
and immediate withdrawal of MON 863 corn from the global market and
is calling on governments to reassess all other authorized GE
products and review current testing methods.
The environmental group also
sought a moratorium on the approval of GMOs for human consumption.
In the Philippines, 25 GMO food
crops—including corn, soybean, sugar beet, alfalfa, potato and
cotton—have been approved by the BPI for direct use in food, feed
and processing. The BPI has also permitted four GMO corn crops for
propagation.
If this is the first time you got
wind of this news, then the GMO propagators’ PR gremlins have
obviously been hard at work.
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