Study: GM corn causes organ failure in mice

http://www.biolsci.org/v05p0706.htm#headingA11

by georgecmu • 16 years ago

73 46 16 years ago

rfugger• 16 years ago

Study from 2009. I wonder why I haven't heard much about this.

pyre• 16 years ago

Either because it was debunked or because corn farmers have a large lobby/subsidies/etc. Take your pick, though the first theory is probably easier to prove that the second one.

luu• 16 years ago

You can see studies which cite that study (which would include debunkings) by doing a google scholar search: http://scholar.google.com/scholar?cites=3661119272352849363&...

One of the those studies has this to say about the study linked by the OP: "Weaknesses in the statistical methods used for reanalysis (see Doull et al. . .) " [1].

That paper also has a nice summary of other studies on GM foods.

[1] G. Flachowsky and C. Wenk, The role of animal feeding trials for the nutritionaland safety assessment of feeds from genetically modified plants – Present stage and future challenges, Journal of Animal and Feed Sciences, 19, 2010, 149–170

16s• 16 years ago

Corn farmers have children and eat corn too.

silentbicycle• 16 years ago

Either funding for repeat studies have been choked, or they had unsurprising results. At least they gave passably good instructions to duplicate their findings - beats many CS papers.

Regardless of what it says, my experience is that GE corn tastes bland. Maybe due to shipping.

Sniffnoy• 16 years ago

Even if this is true, the way it's written qualifies it as (not necessarily deliberate) scaremongering, as it identifies the commonality between the experimental varieties of corn as being that they were genetically modified, rather than that they were genetically modified to produce pesticides. The latter could plausibly have such a uniform effect, whereas the former could not. They need to be precise and say what they mean.

NHQ• 16 years ago

The real results are the meta-results: that such a small and narrow study is all we have in the way of research into the possible effects of GM foods.

dandelany• 16 years ago

This is far from the only study that's been done on the matter:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetically_modified_food_contr...

"However, an article in 2007 by Vain found 692 research studies focusing on GM crop and food safety and identified a strong increase in the publication of such articles in recent years"

Though the veracity (and funding sources) of said studies is a different matter entirely.

runningdogx• 16 years ago

Agreed, I hate GM scaremongers as well.

The suspect species of corn (and soy, for that matter) with genes to produce pesticides, however, might cross-pollinate. In that case, it's not only GM corn that's suspect, but all corn.

edit... I still don't think it's clear whether the problem is with the gene producing pesticide, or excessive external pesticide/herbicide use.

Tomco• 16 years ago

This study has been debunked. It was paid for by an environmentalist group and the people behind the study used a faulty methodology to get the results that they wanted.

derwiki• 16 years ago

Citation?

theodore2• 16 years ago

Here is Monsanto's response to a more recent paper by the same authors:

"The authors present no new information, raise no new issues, and reiterate theoretical concerns that already have been dismissed by experts and regulatory authorities around the world."

http://www.monsanto.com/newsviews/Pages/IJBS-GMO-health-risk...

mattmcknight• 16 years ago

This study is actually a statistical reanalysis of earlier studies that was found lacking. The same group also produced a 2007 Greenpeace funded study that was rejected. The 2009 reanalysis was also widely rejected (by the French High Council of Biotechnologies Scientific Committee, The European Food Safety Authority GMO Panel, and Food Standards Australia New Zealand).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MON_863

gruseom2• 16 years ago

Who funded the debunking?

Dove• 16 years ago

I find it disturbing when conversations about the validity of studies (or criticisms thereof) center around things like funding or ideology rather than methodology. It is another way of saying, "I don't take seriously anyone who disagrees with me," which is not good intellectual hygiene.

tehwalrus• 16 years ago

The paper itself says it can't separate out the effects of the pesticides on the corn (or produced by the corn) and the GMness of the corn itself - you think greenpeace would fake a paper this inconclusive?

(That said, I have no special knowledge of the concept or this field.)

bugsy2• 16 years ago

How is that inconclusive?

ck2• 16 years ago

We are doomed because big business is protected by politicians on both sides.

It's too late now and it will never be banned.

And why the heck does the USA continue to do welfare for the corn industry which is massively profitable.

aaronbrethorst• 16 years ago

Corn is an Iowa thing; Iowa has the first Presidential caucus in the nation: U.S. Presidents are beholden to corn.

Bear in mind, this is a gross over-simplification of the core problem (e.g. Archer-Daniels-Midland seems to have an amazingly powerful set of lobbyists), but it should still give you a sense of what's what.

Setting aside native sons (Tom Harkin 1992; plus, Clinton's 'bimbo eruptions' didn't help), you have to go all the way back to 1988 to find a Presidential candidate who won without carrying Iowa.

watchandwait• 16 years ago

The wasteful corn ethanol subsidy is another example of American agri-corporatism.

stcredzero2• 16 years ago

There's a book about this. The Merchants of Grain. It's like the agribusiness Manufacturing Consent.

Joakal• 16 years ago

The Corn Republic? [0]

[0] https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Banana_republ...

asdfj843lkdjs• 16 years ago

Actually the exact opposite of a banana republic.

A banana republic depends on bananas or some other cash crop. The US dos NOT depend on corn. Quite the opposite, it uses tax revenue from OTHER profitable sectors of the economy to subsidize corn.

CWuestefeld• 16 years ago

big business is protected by politicians

One might also say that politicians are protected by big business. The problem isn't one particular group, but that the system has been perverted so that this symbiosis is profitable for both groups.

why the heck does the USA continue to do welfare for the corn industry

Read up on public choice economics: https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Public_choice...

brudgers• 16 years ago

King Corn [PBS documentary] http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/kingcorn/

Extended clip Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDurZc5Yr6c

davidw• 16 years ago

"The scientists concluded that orally administering one kilogram of the corn into the mice was fatal in 100% of cases"

stcredzero2• 16 years ago

Still, this was nothing compared to the results from the alternate administration groups.

mkup• 16 years ago

There is a clearer evidence of GM-soya hazardousness.

http://www.mindfully.org/GE/2005/Modified-Soya-Rats10oct05.h...

Similar to this case, it is also probably caused by RoundUp herbicide, rather that GM itself, but anyway numbers are dreadful.

middayc• 16 years ago

Similar results described here: http://www.democracynow.org/2010/12/23/wikileaks_cables_reve... at 18:10

British scientist (GMO advocate) that was payed by gov to figure out how to test for safety at GMO foods. He discovered that generic process (not the insecticide) of GM was probably the reason for smaller brains, livers and testicles..

unpolloloco• 16 years ago

This probably has to be one of the least-controlled experiments I've ever seen published! It did the experiments at different labs with different non-GM feeds with what was likely different strains of mice. Also, sample sizes were rather small...

There's a chance that there are effects. However, this study proves nothing.

bugsy2• 16 years ago

Hey Monsanto rep, how's it hanging? Glad you could create your new account an hour ago and post a single time using it.

FiReaNG3L• 16 years ago

Wow, at least try to argue the points he puts forward, or go back to Youtube to post comment.

tibbon• 16 years ago

Rats- not mice. Huge difference

Study: GM corn causes organ failure in mice

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