[Mike]

http://foodbiz.tiz.co.nz/stories/storyReader$1647

At a briefing to be held in Parliament tomorrow, the Independent
Science Panel (a group representing more than 1 000 scientists around
the world) will release its new dossier of evidence on the problems
and hazards of GM as well as the proven successes and benefits of
sustainable agriculture. It makes the case for banning all
environmental releases of GM crops and for a comprehensive shift to
sustainable agriculture.

The ISP will call for a thorough enquiry into GM food safety and the
systematic abuse of science that has allowed commercial approval in
the face of damning evidence indicating that GM food is far from
safe. There is ample evidence to indicate all is not well with GM
food and feed. But the findings have been systematically suppressed,
ignored, misrepresented or simply not followed up.

The latest in a long series of scandals is the European Food Safety
Authority’s positive assessment of Monsanto’s GM maize Mon863,
despite damning evidence of serious health impacts: kidney
malformations and increase in white blood cells in male rats,
increase in blood glucose and reduced immature red blood cells in
female rats.

Other evidence includes the following.

Villagers in the south of the Philippines living near fields
planted with Monsanto’s GM hybrid maize containing Bt toxin suffered
debilitating illnesses in two successive growing seasons.

Between 2001 and 2002, twelve dairy cows died on a farm in Hesse,
Germany, after eating Syngenta’s Bt176 GM maize, and others in the
herd had to be slaughtered on account of mysterious illnesses.

Arpad Pusztai and colleagues found that GM potatoes with snowdrop
lectin adversely affected every organ system of young rats, and the
stomach and small intestine lining grew up to twice the thickness of
controls.

Scientists in Egypt found similar results in the gastrointestinal
tract of mice fed GM potato with Bt toxin.

US Food and Drug Administration had data since the early 1990s
showing that rats fed GM tomatoes with antisense gene to delay
ripening developed small holes in their stomach.

Aventis (now Bayer) found 100% increase in deaths of broiler
chickens fed glufosinate-tolerant GM maize T25 compared to controls.

Numerous anecdotes from farmers and others indicating that
livestock, wildlife and lab animals avoid GM feed, and fail to thrive
or die when forced to eat it.