Recent study suggests that GMO foods are fundamentally flawed and are radically different than their non-GMO counterparts. And finally USDA report admits that GMOs could cause major environmental risks
An Australia-based Permaculture Research Institute has released new studies that show significant difference between GMOs and non-GMO foods. In fact, the leading author of the study, Dr Eva Sirinathsinghji says that concept of substantial equivalence of GMOs with non-GM crops is flawed and have miserably failed to protect public health and biodiversity.
“Several new studies carried out by scientists independent of the biotech industry are showing up glaring differences between GMOs and their non-GMO counterparts. This makes a mockery of the regulatory principle of ‘Substantial Equivalence’ which has facilitated approvals of GMOs with practically no protection for public health and the environment” say the researchers.
Biotech hypocrisy on how GMOs are so unique that are patentable but so substantially equivalent that don’t need to be labeled:
The concept of ‘Substantial Equivalence’ was introduced in 1993 with the principal that the new GMO foods can be treated the same way as the existing foods in regards to their safety. This concept has greatly benefited the giant Frankenfood companies by allowing them to approve new GM crops without any regulatory requirements or performing a range of toxicological tests.
All the regulatory agencies in US and all over the world have based their GM food safety regulations on substantial equivalence. No wonder why many consumers do not feel any protection by the governmental regulatory agencies in U.S or in fact, all over the world.
According to this research, in April 2013, the research led by Professor El-Sayed Shaltout at Alexandria University showed that Monsanto’s 810 Corn was radically different than non-GMO corn. According to researchers, Monsanto’s GM corn had “abnormal levels” of amino acids and fatty acids with an increased level of total protein, crude fat and decreased starch content.
The researchers suggest that these significant differences could be the reason behind the toxicity of GMO corn which has been revealed by the previous studies. Independent studies have linked GM corn to infertility, cancer, leukemia, organ failure and liver or kidney toxicity.
A more recent study led by Thomas Bohn at the Norwegian Centre for Biosafety also shows that chemical composition of protein, fat and sugar as well as individual amino acids, vitamins, and fatty acids in organic soy is radically different than GMO or conventional soy.
According to researchers “organic soy samples show significant differences from both GM and conventional non-GM soybean samples, with higher and lower levels of protein and saturated fats respectively, plus significant differences in levels of total as well as individual levels of amino acids, vitamins, and minerals”.
“A further statistical multivariate analysis of the compositional results found without exception that each individual soybean sample could be discriminated statistically into their respective agricultural background, even excluding the data on glyphosate/AMPA levels. The organic soybean was nutritionally superior to both conventionally grown non-GM soybean and GM soybean” researchers say.
Keep in mind that all soybeans have enzyme inhibitors known as trypsin that can block important enzymes needed for protein digestion. However, research shows that GM foods can result in much more serious digestive problems since GM soy has seven times more enzyme inhibitors than non-GMO soy: http://www.seattleorganicrestaurants.com/vegan-whole-food/genetically-modified-foods-gmos-linked-to-intestinal-permeability-gluten-related-diseases.php
The recent study concludes that “The numerous differences demonstrated between GM varieties and their non-GM counterpart may well impact consumer health and biodiversity, and clearly exposes the substantial equivalence principle as pseudoscience. In reality, genetic modification causes very real and substantial, unpredictable and uncontrollable changes in the host genome including mutations, and rearrangements as well as new transcripts and proteins. Further, glyphosate and GM crops have already been shown to cause damage to both health and the environment in many independent studies.”
USDA finally admits that GE crops could cause serious harm to the environment:
A new study published in US Department of Agriculture suggests that majority of US corn and soybeans in US are being genetically manipulated to withstand certain chemicals and climate conditions.
According to the report, more than 90% of soybeans planted in US last year were engineered to be resistant to glyphosate-based herbicides. The USDA experts say that the extensive use of the herbicide has ended up contaminating more and more US land fields:
“Because glyphosate is significantly less toxic and less persistent than traditional herbicides,”a portion of the report reads, “…the net impact of HT crop adoption is an improvement in environmental quality and a reduction in the health risks associated with herbicide use (even if there are slight increases in the total pounds of herbicide applied). However, glyphosate resistance among weed populations in recent years may have induced farmers to raise application rates .Thus, weed resistance may be offsetting some of the economic and environmental advantages of HT crop adoption regarding herbicide use. Moreover, herbicide toxicity may soon be negatively affected (compared to glyphosate) by the introduction (estimated for 2014) of crops tolerant to the herbicides dicamba and 2,4-D.”
Sources:
http://www.i-sis.org.uk/Substantial_Non-Equivalence.php
http://rt.com/usa/usda-gmo-risk-report-537/
http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/err-economic-research-report/err162.aspx#.UwuXoUqwUog
