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Health See other Health Articles Title: GENETICALLY MODIFIED SOY LINKED TO STERILITY, INFANT MORTALITY GENETICALLY MODIFIED SOY LINKED TO STERILITY, INFANT MORTALITY By Jeffrey Smith "This study was just routine," said Russian biologist Alexey V. Surov, in what could end up as the understatement of this century. Surov and his colleagues set out to discover if Monsanto's genetically modified (GM) soy, grown on 91% of US soybean fields, leads to problems in growth or reproduction. What he discovered may uproot a multi-billion dollar industry. After feeding hamsters for two years over three generations, those on the GM diet, and especially the group on the maximum GM soy diet, showed devastating results. By the third generation, most GM soy-fed hamsters lost the ability to have babies. They also suffered slower growth, and a high mortality rate among the pups. And if this isn't shocking enough, some in the third generation even had hair growing inside their mouths - a phenomenon rarely seen, but apparently more prevalent among hamsters eating GM soy. The study, jointly conducted by Surov's Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the National Association for Gene Security, is expected to be published in three months (July 2010) --so the technical details will have to wait. But Surov sketched out the basic set up for me in an email. He used Campbell hamsters, with a fast reproduction rate, divided into 4 groups. All were fed a normal diet, but one was without any soy, another had non-GM soy, a third used GM soy, and a fourth contained higher amounts of GM soy. They used 5 pairs of hamsters per group, each of which produced 7-8 litters, totally 140 animals. Surov told The Voice of Russia, "Originally, everything went smoothly. However, we noticed quite a serious effect when we selected new pairs from their cubs and continued to feed them as before. These pairs' growth rate was slower and reached their sexual maturity slowly." He selected new pairs from each group, which generated another 39 litters. There were 52 pups born to the control group and 78 to the non-GM soy group. In the GM soy group, however, only 40 pups were born. And of these, 25% died. This was a fivefold higher death rate than the 5% seen among the controls. Of the hamsters that ate high GM soy content, only a single female hamster gave birth. She had 16 pups; about 20% died. Surov said "The low numbers in F2 [third generation] showed that many animals were sterile." The published paper will also include measurements of organ size for the third generation animals, including testes, spleen, uterus, etc. And if the team can raise sufficient funds, they will also analyze hormone levels in collected blood samples. Hair Growing in the Mouth Earlier this year, Surov co-authored a paper in Doklady Biological Sciences showing that in rare instances, hair grows inside recessed pouches in the mouths of hamsters. "Some of these pouches contained single hairs; others, thick bundles of colorless or pigmented hairs reaching as high as the chewing surface of the teeth. Sometimes, the tooth row was surrounded with a regular brush of hair bundles on both sides. The hairs grew vertically and had sharp ends, often covered with lumps of a mucous." (The photos of these hair bundles are truly disgusting. Trust me, or look for yourself.) At the conclusion of the study, the authors surmise that such an astounding defect may be due to the diet of hamsters raised in the laboratory. They write, "This pathology may be exacerbated by elements of the food that are absent in natural food, such as genetically modified (GM) ingredients (GM soybean or maize meal) or contaminants (pesticides, mycotoxins, heavy metals, etc.)." Indeed, the number of hairy mouthed hamsters was much higher among the third generation of GM soy fed animals than anywhere Surov had seen before. Preliminary, but Ominous Surov warns against jumping to early conclusions. He said, "It is quite possible that the GMO does not cause these effects by itself." Surov wants to make the analysis of the feed components a priority, to discover just what is causing the effect and how. In addition to the GMOs, it could be contaminants, he said, or higher herbicide residues, such as Roundup. There is in fact much higher levels of Roundup on these beans; they're called "Roundup Ready." Bacterial genes are forced into their DNA so that the plants can tolerate Monsanto's Roundup herbicide. Therefore, GM soy always carries the double threat of higher herbicide content, couple with any side effects of genetic engineering. Years of Reproductive Disorders from GMO-Feed Surov's hamsters are just the latest animals to suffer from reproductive disorders after consuming GMOs. In 2005, Irina Ermakova, also with the Russian National Academy of Sciences, reported that more than half the babies from mother rats fed GM soy died within three weeks. This was also five times higher than the 10% death rate of the non-GMO soy group. The babies in the GM group were also smaller (see photo) and could not reproduce. In a telling coincidence, after Ermakova's feeding trials, her laboratory started feeding all the rats in the facility a commercial rat chow using GM soy. Within two months, the infant mortality facility-wide reached 55%. When Ermakova fed male rats GM soy, their testicles changed from the normal pink to dark blue! Italian scientists similarly found changes in mice testes (PDF), including damaged young sperm cells. Furthermore, the DNA of embryos from parent mice fed GM soy functioned differently. An Austrian government study published in November 2008 showed that the more GM corn was fed to mice, the fewer the babies they had (PDF), and the smaller the babies were. Central Iowa Farmer Jerry Rosman also had trouble with pigs and cows becoming sterile. Some of his pigs even had false pregnancies or gave birth to bags of water. After months of investigations and testing, he finally traced the problem to GM corn feed. Every time a newspaper, magazine, or TV show reported Jerry's problems, he would receive calls from more farmers complaining of livestock sterility on their farm, linked to GM corn. Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine accidentally discovered that rats raised on corncob bedding "neither breed nor exhibit reproductive behavior." Tests on the corn material revealed two compounds that stopped the sexual cycle in females "at concentrations approximately two-hundredfold lower than classical phytoestrogens." One compound also curtailed male sexual behavior and both substances contributed to the growth of breast and prostate cancer cell cultures. Researchers found that the amount of the substances varied with GM corn varieties. The crushed corncob used at Baylor was likely shipped from central Iowa, near the farm of Jerry Rosman and others complaining of sterile livestock. In Haryana, India, a team of investigating veterinarians report that buffalo consuming GM cottonseed suffer from infertility, as well as frequent abortions, premature deliveries, and prolapsed uteruses. Many adult and young buffalo have also died mysteriously. Denial, Attack and Canceled Follow-up Scientists who discover adverse findings from GMOs are regularly attacked, ridiculed, denied funding, and even fired. When Ermakova reported the high infant mortality among GM soy fed offspring, for example, she appealed to the scientific community to repeat and verify her preliminary results. She also sought additional funds to analyze preserved organs. Instead, she was attacked and vilified. Samples were stolen from her lab, papers were burnt on her desk, and she said that her boss, under pressure from his boss, told her to stop doing any more GMO research. No one has yet repeated Ermakova's simple, inexpensive studies. In an attempt to offer her sympathy, one of her colleagues suggested that maybe the GM soy will solve the over population problem! Surov reports that so far, he has not been under any pressure. Opting Out of the Massive GMO Feeding Experiment Without detailed tests, no one can pinpoint exactly what is causing the reproductive travesties in Russian hamsters and rats, Italian and Austrian mice, and livestock in India and America. And we can only speculate about the relationship between the introduction of genetically modified foods in 1996, and the corresponding upsurge in low birth weight babies, infertility, and other problems among the US population. But many scientists, physicians, and concerned citizens don't think that the public should remain the lab animals for the biotech industry's massive uncontrolled experiment. Alexey Surov says, "We have no right to use GMOs until we understand the possible adverse effects, not only to ourselves but to future generations as well. We definitely need fully detailed studies to clarify this. Any type of contamination has to be tested before we consume it, and GMO is just one of them." © 2010 Jeffrey Smith - All Rights Reserved
Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest Begin Trace Mode for Comment # 15.
#6. To: Original_Intent (#0)
That was just the first few words of the article .... in essence, it is TOTAL BS CRAP based upon unfounded effort and supportive scientific characteristics of published work. Man ... you have a long way to go ... before using Newswithviews as a resource for your pseudo scientific crapola.
No so far as you, Monsanto whore..... For one thing, Buck, you claim GM crops use less water........this is bovine excrement!!! What they claim is less pestisides, if you buy ROUND-UP in bulk and an increased crop yield, which as NEVER been substantiated. What farmers get is LESS yeild while having to buy the herbicide. In fact, the GM crops use just as much, if not more water, with LESS yeild. Hence, 200K Indian farmers committing suicide. YOU have a long way to go.
As a poster in a chat-channel, I said that .. and stand by the same post you identified. I also want to point out that GMO characteristics lessen the arid farmlands for crop watering while reducing fertilization requirements within a CO2 mixture of gases. So, YOU don't understand with any precision what is occurring to feed a world-wide population base of seven Bn people (and climbing) while these GMO processes are occurring; and even the precise reason WHY. Crop yields are based on many attributes. You limited your discussion to what you read in a chit-chat channel without reference to real world documentation. Not true. The GMO plants are not promising the nutritious value of their harvested GMO crops based on the multi-national firms. That is why you see the lawsuits EVERYWHERE. You see, you can't have BILLIONS of people sucking the natural resources of the world. But before you see the TRUTH... you have to face FACTS ... not bunk.
The GMO plants are not promising the nutritious value of their harvested GMO crops based on the multi-national firms. Tell that to the 200K farmers who killed themselves because the crops left them nothing but debt. Why are you lying Buck? There is NO evidence that GM crops require less water. That isn't even the main selling point. They require less fertilization.......only because the farmer gets LESS yield. What part of that don't you understand? YOU limit your discussion, while I LOOK TO THE FACTS. Chit chat channel.......you are the star of that channel Buck. Your dishonesty is at a point of complete disgust. You cash your checks while screwing the world over.......it's pathetic. Which brings me to your quoted BS line right here. The GMO plants are PROMISING not the same but BETTER yields............only the farmer gets fucked in the end. But what care is that of yours? This is why organic farming in the US has gone from 3.7% in 1997 to 37% in 2010. It's all bullshit and the farmers know it........only you and Monsanto continue to lie about it.
#18. To: abraxas (#15)
In the modern world, a few heart-broken little farmers are not the issue for this thread. It is the HUGE multi-national or international SUBSIDIZED farming-industrial complex that sell their produce to you via the vast distribution outlets while you confidently count your pennies at the check-out stand, thinking you have a GREAT DEAL. As “Telly” Savalas once said.... "we love ya baby....."
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