Environment
The pesticide experiment
• Foes of Modified Corn Find Support in a Study
By ANDREW POLLACK
Rats fed either genetically engineered corn or the herbicide Roundup had an increased risk of developing tumors, suffering organ damage and dying prematurely, according to a new study that was immediately swept up into the furor surrounding crop biotechnology when it was released Wednesday.
The study, conducted by a prominent opponent of genetically engineered crops, was immediately criticized by some other scientists, who said the methods were flawed and that other research had not found similar problems.
But in California, proponents of a ballot measure that would require genetically modified foods to be labeled immediately seized on the study as support for their cause. The French government ordered a review of the findings, saying they could possibly result in the suspension of European imports of that type of corn.
The study
http://research.sustainablefoodtrust.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Final-Paper.pdf,
which is being published in the peer-reviewed journal Food and Chemical Toxicology, was led by Gilles-Eric Séralini at the University of Caen in France. He is also a leader of the Committee for Independent Research and Information on Genetic Engineering, which sponsored the research.
The study followed 200 rats for two years, essentially their entire lives, far longer than the typical 90-day feeding studies used to win regulatory approval of genetically engineered crops in some countries.
While there have been some other long-term studies, none has involved as many animals or as many detailed measurements.
“The results were really alarming,” Dr. Séralini said in a telephone news conference conducted by an organization in Britain opposed to genetically modified crops. He said that the tumors did not develop until well after 90 days, meaning they might have been missed by shorter studies.
The rats in the study were split into 10 groups, each containing 10 male and 10 female rats. Six of the groups were fed different amounts of a corn developed by Monsanto to be resistant to the herbicide Roundup. In some cases the corn had been sprayed in the field with Roundup.
Three other groups were given different doses of Roundup in their drinking water, with the lowest dose corresponding to what might be found in tap water in the United States, the authors said….
• A tragic example of the global pesticide experiment with fertilisers (arsenic and cadmium) and pesticides being proposed by WHO and the Sri Lankan Government as the the probable cause of the kidney disease epidemic in Sri Lanka:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-19628295
Alison Bleaney: Any idea, anyone, if Tasmanian Public Health have looked at these causes in Tasmania with our ‘alarming’ rate of chronic kidney disease? Arsenic is a naturally occurring metal and is also associated with mining. Could this be a problem in NW Tasmania?
See Menzies Research Unit media release
2009: Tasmania’s ‘silent killer’ on the rise
I quote:
“A team of researchers at the Menzies Research Institute has identified an alarming rate of Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) in Tasmania. One in six Tasmanians has diagnosed CKD and researchers believe the numbers could be much higher. …Dr Jose says that Tasmania has a relatively high prevalence [of CKD], at around eleven per cent for females and nine per cent for males.”
“The prevalence [of CKD] differs geographically within the state and is highest in the North West.”
“Tasmania will spend more than $130 million on dialysis treatment over the next 10 years.”
“While many of us may associate chronic disease with the elderly, chronic disease can hit the young and healthy.
Old Beach resident Kylie McCulloch was diagnosed with kidney disease at 24 years of age. One week before her wedding she noticed severely swollen ankles and after a trip to the doctor and a kidney biopsy, she was given the devastating news that her kidneys were failing. After receiving a transplant, Kylie says she feels her life is back to ‘normal’.”
The Tasmania DHHS also has a weblink on kidney disease; note the risk factors with no mention of fertilisers or pesticides or other environmental factors apart from the usual culprit, smoking.
http://www.dhhs.tas.gov.au/healthpromotion/information_for_consumers/kidney_disease
• FIRST PEER REVIEWED LIFETIME FEEDING TRIAL FINDS “SAFE” LEVELS OF GM CORN AND ROUNDUP CAN CAUSE TUMOURS AND MULTIPLE ORGAN DAMAGE
The first animal feeding trial studying the lifetime effects of exposure to Roundup tolerant GM corn,
and Roundup, the world’s best-selling weedkiller, shows that levels currently considered safe can
cause tumours and multiple organ damage and lead to premature death in laboratory rats, according
to research published online today by the scientific journal Food and Chemical Toxicology.
Researchers found that rats fed on a diet containing NK603 Roundup tolerant GM corn, or given water
containing Roundup at levels permitted in drinking water and GM crops in the US, died earlier than
rats fed on a standard diet. They suffered mammary tumours and severe liver and kidney damage.
The paper, “Long term toxicity of a Roundup herbicide and a Roundup-tolerant genetically modified
corn” reports on a study conducted by a team of scientists led by molecular biologist and
endocrinologist Professor Gilles-Eric Seralini, co-director of the Risk Quality and Sustainable
Environment Unit at the University of Caen, France, who is an authority on studies into the health
impact of GMO’s and pesticides. It was supported by independent research organisation, CRIIGEN.
Dr Michael Antoniou, molecular biologist at Kings College, London, and a member of the
CRIIGEN scientific council, says:
“This is the most thorough research ever published into the health effects of GM food crops and the
herbicide Roundup on rats. It shows an extraordinary number of tumours developing earlier and more
aggressively – particularly in female animals. I am shocked by the extreme negative health impacts.”
“The rat has long been used as a surrogate for human toxicity. All new pharmaceutical, agricultural
and household substances are, prior to their approval, tested on rats. This is as good an indicator as
we can expect that the consumption of GM corn and the herbicide Roundup, impacts seriously on
human health.”
In the peer reviewed paper, the research team say they believe this is the first long-term animal
feeding trial to examine the effects of Roundup, the world’s most used herbicide, and a commercial
Roundup tolerant GM corn. Researchers studied 10 groups, each containing 10 male and 10 female
rats, over their normal lifetime – two years.
Three groups were given Roundup in their drinking water, at three different levels consistent with
exposure through the food chain from crops sprayed with the weedkiller: the mid level corresponded to
the maximum level permitted in the US in some GM feed; the lowest corresponded to contamination
found in some tap waters. Three groups were fed diets which contained different proportions of NK603
– 11%, 22% and 33%. Three groups were given both Roundup and NK603 at the same three
dosages. The final control group was fed an equivalent diet with no Roundup or NK603 but containing
33% of equivalent non-GM corn.
Researchers found that NK603 and Roundup both caused similar damage to the rats’ health whether
they were consumed on their own or together. Females developed fatal mammary tumours and
pituitary disorders. Males suffered liver damage, developed kidney and skin tumours and experienced
problems with their digestive system. The team also identified a “threshold effect” where even the
lowest doses were associated with severe health problems.
The report states: “Similar degrees of pathological symptoms were noticed in this study to occur from
the lowest to the highest doses suggesting a threshold effect. This corresponds to levels likely to arise
from consumption or environmental exposure, such as either 11% GM corn in food, or 50ng/L of
glyphosate in R-formulation [the lowest concentration of Roundup in the rats’ drinking water] as can be
found in some contaminated drinking tap waters, and which falls within authorized limits.”
• Up to 50% of males and 70% of females died prematurely (before deaths could be put down to
normal aging) compared with only 30% and 20% in the control group.
• Across all treatments and both sexes, researchers found treated rats developed 2-3 times more
large tumours than the control group, defined as 17.5mm in females and 20mm in males.
• By the beginning of the 24th month 50%-80% of females in all treated groups had developed large
tumours, with up to three per animal. Only 30% of the controls were affected.
• The tumours “were deleterious to health due to a very large size”, making it difficult for the rats to
breathe, causing problems with their digestion and resulting in haemorrhaging.
• The first large detectable tumours appeared after four and seven months in males and females
respectively but only after 14 months in the female control group and 23 months in a control male.
However, the majority of tumours were only detectable after 18 months.
Treated males suffered severe liver and kidney dysfunction. Liver congestions and necrosis were 2.5
to 5.5 times higher than in the control group. There were also 1.3 – 2.3 times more instances of
“marked and severe” kidney disease.
The lowest dose tested in the study (50 nanograms per litre) is below safety limits for glyphosate in
water and crops. EU legislation sets the maximum permitted concentration (MPC) in water at 0.1
μg/litre, 1 mg/kg in corn, and 20 mg/kg in other animal feeds like soy, oats and barley. The US sets a
Maximum Residual Level (MRL) in some animal feed of 400mg/kg.
The research findings raise serious questions about the current regulatory process for licensing
industrial chemicals, pesticides and other novel crops. The scientists observe that GM crops have
been approved safe for consumption on the basis of 90-day animal feeding trials. They also point out
that only Roundup’s active principle, glyphosate, has been tested rather than the commercial product,
which includes ingredients that enable the glyphosate to penetrate plants more efficiently.
The research also highlights the urgent need for more research into the long-term effects of all GM
food crops, which are currently grown on 1.8% of the world’s agricultural land. In the US, 70% of
processed foods contain GM ingredients without GM labeling, and 85% of corn now grown in the U.S.
is GM. In the UK and Europe, GM corn is not consumed directly by humans but it is widely included in
animal feed. Hundreds of thousands of tons of GM corn are imported to the UK each year for use in
the diets of chickens, pigs and dairy cows. Meat and dairy products from animals fed on GM are
currently sold in British supermarkets without any requirement for GM labeling.
Scott Kinnear, Founder and Director for the Safe Food Foundation, says:
“This research raises a number of serious issues and it is now essential that regulators examine the
findings carefully and that other researchers replicate this study on a larger scale to see if the same
results are obtained.
“Looking critically at all aspects of food production, be they intensive, low input, organic or GM crops,
has become a priority given that we can no longer be sure that global food supplies will be capable of
feeding the growing global population. GM crops hold out the promise of helping to meet the triple
challenges of climate change, resource depletion and population increase, but if they have negative
effects on health we need to recognise this as quickly as possible and apply our energies in other
areas.
“On the basis of this study, we have to conclude that there is now a serious question mark over the
safety of at least one GM crop. This suggests that all currently licensed GM crops should be reSafe
evaluated and that in future safety studies in laboratory animals must be conducted over significantly
longer periods of time that are equivalent to the animals’ normal life span not simply their
adolescence.”
The researchers hypothesize that the reason why NK603 GM corn, NK603 sprayed with Roundup,
and Roundup on its own, all produced very similar negative health outcomes, is that both the GM corn
and the weedkiller Roundup “may cause hormonal disturbances in the same biochemical and
physiological pathway.”
Glyphosate, the active ingredient in the herbicide Roundup is a known endocrine disruptor, and
previous research has shown that it can cause liver and kidney failure if consumed above maximum
permitted residue levels. However, this is the first research that suggests that even very low levels,
such as those found in drinking water, are harmful when consumed over an extended period.
The paper says: “The results of the study presented here clearly demonstrate that lower levels of
complete agricultural glyphosate herbicide formulations, at concentrations well below officially set
safety limits, induce severe hormone-dependent mammary, hepatic [liver] and kidney disturbances.”
It suggests that overexpression of the GM “transgene” EPSPS, which makes NK603 tolerant to
Roundup in the field, may disrupt biosynthetic pathways and cause similar problems. Most edible GM
crops use EPSPS to make them tolerant to Roundup.
Prof Seralini’s co-authors are Emilie Clair, Robin Mesnage, Steeve Gress, Nicolas Defarge, Manuela
Malatesta, Didier Hennequin, and Joel Spiroux de Vendomois.
Copies of the research can be obtained on request from CRIIGEN www.criigen.org
and from Food and Chemical Toxicology www.journals.elsevier.com/food-and-chemicaltoxicology
Download:
SFF_Overview_of_Research_20120920.pdf