GM-Free Nillumbik - Health

Growing body of evidence of health concerns

In order to overcome natural species boundaries, scientists and their big business backers employ a crude gene insertion method where genes are literally coated onto gold and tungsten particles and blasted into a host organism from a gene gun, hoping that the new organism adopts the foreign genes. But nature doesn’t treat genes as leggo blocks, each with a single well-define function but rather as a complex network of genes working in holistic harmony. Due to the random nature of the GM process, there is potential for unintended effects. For example, independent research has highlighted the following concerns:

 

 

Test rats fed GM soybeans:

• Developed potentially pre-cancerous cell growth in the

   digestive tract.

• Had smaller brains, livers and testicles

• Suffered partial atrophy of the liver and immune 

   damage.

 

 

Other studies have highlighted concerns about:

• Reduced fertility and higher mortality in test animals.

• Soy allergies have skyrocketed by 50% in the U.K since

   the introduction of GM foods.

• GM peas generated an allergic-type inflammatory

   response in mice.

 

Not only has our government not followed up these valid concerns with further study, but GM proponents have actively campaigned to discredit and destroy the reputations of these independent scientists for speaking out against GM.

 

Are GM foods responsible for increased allergies?

 

MADGE looked at the approvals of GM foods in Australia and compared them to Australian hospital admission rates for anaphylaxis.

Our graph shows a strong correlation between the two.

 

Surely GM foods are rigorously tested?

FSANZ does no testing of GM foods – it only performs assessment. FSANZ does not have any labs. It is merely a pen and paper government department.

 

So, if FSANZ doesn’t do any testing, who does? The answer is the biotech companies themselves who stand to make money from GM foods. Clearly this is a conflict of interest. FSANZ merely accepts data from the applicant company and compares it against the discredited notion of substantial equivalence. Basically, this means that if the GM product looks, smells and tastes like its non-GM counterpart, then it is assumed safe and no further testing is required. Under the current regime, GM foods are assumed safe until proven otherwise.

 

GMFN, along with many environmental, public health and consumer groups around the world, are demanding that the precautionary principle be applied – that is, the onus is on biotech companies to prove their products are safe through rigorous and independent testing. Currently, the data used by FSANZ to assess the safety or otherwise of GM foods are rarely, if ever, published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal. FSANZ says that GM foods are the most rigorously tested foods in the world, yet FSANZ does not require any long-term animal feeding studies and there is no post-market surveillance of any GM foods once approved.

 

Would you trust tobacco companies to provide data as to the health effects of cigarettes? No? Then why are GM crops any different?

 

 

GM pig food anyone? Despite serious public health concerns, FSANZ has approved Monsanto’s genetically engineered (GE) high lysine corn. Designed for use as pig feed, it is the first GE food to be approved that was never intended for human consumption. Experts have expressed concern that the corn may trigger diseases such as alzheimer's, cancer and diabetes. In its approval of the corn FSANZ breached its own regulations by comparing the nutritional composition of the corn to that of another GE variety, rather than a non-GE variety as it is required to do. The approval is just the latest in string of controversial approvals revealing an organisation pandering to the wishes of multinational biotech companies, in its decisions, assessments and deliberations. The new variety of corn was developed for pig feed and contains high levels of lysine, an amino acid that usually has to be added as a supplement to pigs diets if they are fed solely on corn. In recognition of the fact that it is impossible to contain GE pollution, and that the corn was bound to end up contaminating human food, Monsanto applied to FSANZ to have the corn approved for human food use. However the corn was never intended for human consumption and serious concerns have been raised about its safety. It is not the absolute amount of lysine that is concerning about the corn, but the unusually high concentration of lysine in conjunction with all the sugars found in the corn. This variety of corn has extremely high levels of sugar: up to 4 times the amount of sugar in sweet corn. As an amino acid, lysine can react with sugars to form what are called “advanced glycoxidation end products” (AGEs). These have been implicated in causing the symptoms of Alzheimer’s, diabetes (and related autoimmunity), cancer, heart disease and kidney disease. As Dr. Jack Heinemann, of Canterbury University’s Centre for Integrated Research in Biosafety, points out “usually, people with susceptibility to these diseases, or that may suffer from them, are encouraged to eat foods low in compounds that produce AGEs, such as fruits and vegetables. We are concerned that by converting corn into a relatively enriched source of AGEs, everyone loses an important source of nutrition that does not increase our risk for these diseases.”

 

I’ll just read the labels and avoid GM foods …

If only it were that easy. Under Australia’s totally inadequate labelling laws, 48 of the 50 or so approved GM products are exempt from labelling, including this year’s entire maiden GM canola crop. GM supporters say we have an extensive labelling regime. But the truth is somewhat different.

 

Under the current labelling regime, GM foods are exempt from labelling if:

• The food is served in a restaurant or food outlet.

• The food is derived from animals (i.e. eggs, meat, dairy) that

    have been fed GM fodder.

• The food is oil, enzyme or industrial processing agent. 

• The food contains less than 1% of GM due to “unintentional”

    presence. 

 

Because GM foods are assumed to be safe, this allows most of them to avoid any rigorous labelling.

Act now!

 

- Download our petition here and distribute it to local crèches, kindergartens, food outlets community centres – anywhere in Nillumbik and ask residents to add their signature. GMFN can arrange to pick up the petition when its complete.

- Join our mailing list to receive weekly email updates and news about the campaign.

- Contact your local councillors and let them know that you support the GMFN campaign for a GM-free Nillumbik.

- Write to local papers such as Diamond Valley Leader. Mention that a GM-free Nillumbik helps ensure the food future and the environment for all.