Over the last four
months, 121 Nobel
laureates have signed
a letter extolling the
safety and benefits of
genetically modified
(GM) crops and
alleging that
organizations and
individuals that don’t
support their
unfettered
introduction are
committing a “crime
against humanity”. The
campaign to obtain the
signatures was
organized by Richard
Roberts, chief
scientific officer of
New England Biolabs,
who, with assistance
from Monsanto’s former
head of corporate
communications, staged
a press conference in
Washington, D.C. to
publicize the letter.
Not surprisingly, this
letter has had a major
impact. However,
although it purports
to be science-based,
most of its chief
assertions are
demonstrably false.
Among them is the
claim that scientific
and regulatory
agencies have
“consistently” found
that GM crops are “as
safe or safer” than
conventional ones.
This is clearly
untrue, and multiple
scientific panels have
concluded otherwise.
For instance, an
expert panel of the
Royal Society of
Canada asserted that
the “default
prediction” for every
GM food should be that
it contains unintended
and potentially
harmful side effects.
Other respected
institutions, such as
the British Medical
Association and the
Public Health
Association of
Australia have also
expressed concerns,
with the Australian
association calling
for an “indefinite
freeze” on GM crops
until their safety has
been demonstrated.
Most recently,
Vladimir Putin, on the
advice of Russian
scientists, signed a
ban on GM crops into
law.
Equally false is the
letter’s assertion
that “there has never
been a single
confirmed case of a
negative health
outcome for humans or
animals” caused by
consuming a GM
product. In fact, many
people died and
thousands were
sickened by a food
supplement of
tryptophan produced
from GM bacteria. And
a large body of
peer-reviewed
scientific literature
demonstrates adverse
health effects on
laboratory and farm
animals caused by GM
foods, as well as by
chemicals required for
their cultivation.
Bogus claims
about GMO golden
rice
The letter’s claims
about the only GM
product it
specifically mentions,
Golden Rice, are also
bogus. That product,
which is designed to
overproduce
beta-carotene, the
precursor to vitamin
A, was developed in
hopes of solving the
widespread vitamin A
deficiency in parts of
Asia, which can lead
to blindness and even
death. Astonishingly,
the letter insinuates
not only that the rice
will solve the
problem, but that
those who question its
safety have
unconscionably caused
millions of deaths by
blocking its use. Yet,
in reality, it’s not
in circulation because
it hasn’t performed
well and is nowhere
near readiness; and
the International Rice
Research Institute has
stated it’s still
unclear whether the
rice is capable of
curing the deficiency.
Furthermore, even if
this GM rice were
fully efficacious and
ready, from the
perspective of a
scientist who has
studied beta-carotene
in the context of
brain development (a
perspective one of us
possesses), it should
be delayed because it
poses a major health
risk.
First, as recognized
by the recent National
Academy of Science
(NAS) report on GM
crops, the type of
modification required
to make golden rice is
prone to generate
unwanted byproducts.
Second, some of the
rice’s abundant
byproducts will likely
be related to retinoic
acid, a compound that
causes birth defects
even at ultra-low
levels. Perhaps more
worrisome, proponents
apparently want to
feed this experimental
rice to multitudes of
children without first
performing rigorous
testing to make sure
that it won’t harm
mice!
The letter’s other
main claims are
contrary to fact as
well. For example, it
boasts that GM crops
are “less damaging to
the environment” and
are necessary to “feed
the world”. But in
reality, GM
monocropping and the
high levels of
herbicides it requires
have decimated the
population of monarch
butterflies, induced
the development of
herbicide-resistant
superweeds, and
contaminated the
bodies of the human
population in the
developed world with
glyphosate: a toxin,
endocrine disrupter,
and potential
carcinogen. Moreover,
an extensive study
sponsored by the World
Bank and four United
Nations agencies
determined that GM
crops are not needed
to feed the world and
that sustainable
agroecological
techniques should
instead be utilized.
So why would more than
a hundred Nobel
laureates sign a
grossly inaccurate
letter that was
apparently intended to
suppress serious
discussion about the
risks of GM foods?
The most likely
explanation is they
were not aware of the
relevant facts,
trusted that the
letter was accurate,
and assumed they were
upholding science and
supporting an
important humanitarian
cause. A substantial
percentage are
physicists and
economists (one even
received her prize for
literature). We’d be
willing to bet that
none of the biologists
was aware of the
pertinent facts either
— and that if they had
been adequately
informed, they would
not have lent their
names to such a
devious public
relations ploy. We’re
also confident that if
they knew the truth
about golden rice, and
how questionable it
is, they would not
promote it unless it
had gone through
extensive safety
testing in animals and
there was a rigorous
post-release
monitoring program in
place.
It would be a shame if
their unfairly
obtained endorsements
afford the deceptive
letter an aura of
scientific authority
it doesn’t deserve —
and persuade policy
makers to weaken the
current set of
regulations that are
already inadequate to
screen for the
abnormal risks of GM
crops about which so
many independent
experts have warned.
While GM technology
may have valuable
applications in fields
such as medicine, its
current use in food
production entails
substantial risks that
are routinely
misrepresented. The
letter signed by the
laureates does not
reflect reality, and
they should confirm
this fact for
themselves and then
denounce it as an
affront to science and
the public trust.
David Schubert, PhD
Professor, Salk
Institute for
Biological Studies
La Jolla, CA 92037
Steven M. Druker, JD
Executive Director,
Alliance for
Bio-Integrity
Author of Altered
Genes, Twisted
Truth: How the
Venture to
Genetically Engineer
Our Food Has
Subverted Science,
Corrupted
Government, and
Systematically
Deceived the Public
Read this article
on the GMWatch
website here: http://gmwatch.org/news/latest-news/17320
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