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EU sides with Monsanto in 'GMO Cancer Corn' word war
The European Food Safety Authority has rejected a controversial study by French scientists linking GM corn to cancer. Many in Europe are already calling for stricter controls on GMOs, as farmers weigh the lucrative crops against health concerns.
RT,
5
October, 2012
In
September, French scientists from the University of Caen released a
study claiming that rats fed on a diet containing NK603 – a corn
seed variety made tolerant to amounts of Monsanto's Roundup
weed-killer – or given water mixed with the product at levels
permitted in the United States died earlier than those on a standard
diet.
The
study elicited calls for stricter controls on already unpopular
genetically modified (GM) crops in Europe. France had already issued
a temporary ban on another Monsanto corn seed (MON810) in May due to
a similar study.
However,
the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) claimed the study lacked
enough specific information on Friday, and asked the scientists who
conducted it to provide more details on their testing methods. The
move adds to the constant back and forth in the debate over
genetically modified organisms (GMOs).
The
"design, reporting and analysis of the study … are
inadequate," the EFSA said in its review, concluding that it
could not "regard the authors' conclusions as scientifically
sound."
The
EFSA took issue with the type of rat used in the study, specifically
the albino Sprague-Dawley strain of rat. Sprague-Dawley rats have a
tendency to develop cancers naturally over the course of their
two-year life span, which was also the duration of the study.
"This
means the observed frequency of tumors is influenced by the natural
incidence of tumors typical of this strain, regardless of any
treatment. This is neither taken into account nor discussed by the
authors," the EFSA said.
Gilles-Eric
Seralini, the French researcher who conducted the study with his
colleagues and published the results in the journal of Food and
Chemical Toxicology in London was incredulous at the EFSA’s
decision, and stated that he would not release any more information
to the EFSA unless it provided justification for its conclusion.
"It
is absolutely scandalous that [the EFSA] keeps secret the information
on which they based their evaluation [of NK603],” he said.
"In
any event, we will not give them anything. We will put the
information in the public domain when they do," Seralini said in
an AFP report.
Please
pass the GMO?
The
French study caused waves of alarm across Europe, and even prompted a
ban on the NK603 corn in Russia. A group of Russian scientists who
oppose GMOs are hoping to conduct their own rat experiment, set to
begin in March of 2013. They expect that their year-long experiment
will show whether the controversial cultivation process has effects
as dangerous as the French study claims.
In
an effort to conduct their study as publicly as possible, Russian
researchers from the National Association for Genetic Safety (NAGS)
came up with the idea of web cameras installed in cages with the test
rats, which will broadcast all stages of the experiment online. The
unique reality show will be available on the internet 24/7 worldwide.
“This
is a unique experiment,” project author Elena Sharoykina told RT.
“There
hasn’t been anything like it before – open, public research by
opponents and supporters of GMO.”
Many
GM crops are banned or controversial throughout Europe. France has
strict regulations of GM crops, while GMOs are completely banned in
Germany, Greece, Austria, Luxembourg, Hungary, and the UK over health
concerns. GM crops are altered to be resistant to pesticides, a
development which has caused an increase in the use of chemicals that
have been linked to cancer and birth defects.
Still,
the crops are attractive to farmers, Arkady Zlochevsky, president of
the Russian Grain Union, told RT. For example, the Monsanto GMO NK603
corn in question has been modified to be resistant to Monsanto's
“Roundup” weed-killer, making the product easier and cheaper to
grow with delivering better yields.
“The
seed may be more expensive, but the development is significantly
cheaper,” he said, stating that European GMO farmers find a 20 per
cent increase in profit combined with a highly-marketable,
top-quality product.
Study
versus study
The
EFSA’s criticism of the French study echoed that of numerous other
experts across Europe that refuted the results. But as more and more
studies emerge on both sides of the issue, the harder it becomes to
identity where fact meets fiction.
Zlochevsky
told RT that “There is no reliable proof of the ills of GMO; so far
there have only been attempts to prove it.”
Monsanto’s
study published in 2002 on corn strain NK603 concluded that “NK603
is as safe and nutritious as conventional corn currently being
marketed,” and the specific proteins in the corn genetically
altered to make the corn pesticide resistant “are not toxic to
non-target organisms, including humans, animals and beneficial
insects.”
But
a study published recently in the UK by a genetic engineer from
London’s King’s College of Medicine signaled that GM foods pose a
more serious threat than advocates of research would have the public
believe.
“GM
crops are promoted on the basis of ambitious claims – that they are
safe to eat, environmentally beneficial, increase yields, reduce
reliance on pesticides and can help solve world hunger," said
Dr. Michael Antoniou, author of the report, which claims that
research into GM crops is incomplete and tests on the effect of their
consumption are not comprehensive enough.
Regulatory
industries worldwide rely on companies selling GM products rather
than independent testing, stipulates the paper.
Director
of corporate communications for Monsanto, Phil Angell, summed up his
company’s take on the issue in a report by food author Michael
Pollan for New York Times Magazine in 1998: "Monsanto should not
have to vouch for the safety of biotech food. Our interest is in
selling as much of it as possible. Assuring its safety is the FDA's
job."
