I thought I should add an addendum to my previous reply. It seems that report you linked has received a lot of criticism from the scientific community for not following (or at least describing) a proper methodology. For instance, the exact amounts feed given to the rats or the exact amounts of residue found to be on those GM + R samples. Further, the type of rat they used was the albino Sprague-Dawley - a rat which is particularly susceptible to developing cancer (especially mammary cancers) when over-fed or allowed to live too long. That's something I didn't know. Amercian Association for Cancer Research: Spontaneous Tumors in Sprague-Dawley Rats and Swiss Mice They are not a well picked species for 2-year testing, as spontaneous tumor incidents occur in as little as 140 days and reach their peak around 500 days (which is where Gilles-Eric Séralini's team noticed their most dramatic findings. Largely, these cancers were in the pituitary in males, and mammary in females... just like they should be according to Table 1. There were also concerns over their statistical analysis, which I've heard described as "statistical fishing trips", but I wouldn't be able to verify because I'm horrible with statistics. Lastly, it should be of no small concern that the group CRIIGEN was a major source of their funding. I didn't know who they were at first, but apparently they are an Anti-GMO advocacy group lobbying to ban (or highly restrict) GMO crops. Their bias is lain bare, and for the paper to thank them for their support in their research and yet still declare "No conflict of interest" is a red flag that this research paper is rigged to give the results that CRIIGEN is paying for.
Hey, thanks for the reply. Hope you're doing well also. The report you linked to was fairly interesting, and I gave it a full read-through. It makes a very strong case for extended full-life trials for GMO products, and presents a strong case against NK603 maize - which had previously been under investigation. Especially when used in conjunction with Roundup Herbicides, there seems to be a synergistic effect. It seems most of deleterious effects stemmed from either the Roundup herbicide (diluted in water), or in combination with NK603 (as a residue). However, some tumors were also induced within rats fed with non-R treated NK603, both in pure and mixed feed tests. This seems to be the result of the disruption in the production of ferulic acid, an antioxidant found in the cellular walls of many plants that has been demonstrated to induce apoptosis in many types of cancers - especially mammary cancers, which was the most common developed among the non-R NK603 fed rats. So it seems it wasn't so much of a case of the GMO causing the tumors, but their disruption of a cancer preventative that they had no other means of obtaining on their controlled diet. It's not clear whether or not these results would translate to humans, and humans typically do regiment themselves on such highly controlled diets - so effects in them may be high reduced by receiving ferulic acid from other sources. Still, it's worth a bit of concern considering how much of a staple food corn (and it's derivatives) have become, and how little fresh vegetables and fruits the typical American consumer eats. While I don't see this paper as an indictment of GMOs in general, we do find common ground here in that we both agree that more testing and better testing methods are called for. Had these studies been done much earlier, perhaps rather than fighting the regulators and controversy, Monsanto could have worked on developing an updated strain that did not restrict the production of ferulic acid - rather than dumping a carcinogen on top of a product that's anti-cancerous properties have been sabotaged. Supplement: Role of NADPH oxidase-mediated generation of reactive oxygen species in the mechanism of apoptosis induced by phenolic acids in HepG2 human hepatoma cells.
Hey man, hope you're doing well and everything. I stumbled upon some information about GMOs, a study that was done on it by a few Universities in Europe I believe... I thought you'd be interested based upon the talks we had, so I wanted you to see it. Massive Tumors in Rats Fed GMOs in First Long-Term Study: While numerous 90-day studies have already linked GMO foods to allergies and other health problems, this is the first-ever long term animal study on the health effects of genetically engineered foods. You can read the study here: http://bit.ly/OF3zZR. ~Jessica
Hey man, just wanted to let you know that despite our differences on the creation of the world, God, and other things, I reserve no hard feelings or harsh judgement against you as a person. I actually enjoy talking with you, and I agree with OLAF down there. LOL But yeah, if you've ever felt that I was being combative, it's cause I'm strong in defending my stance, that's all. Much love to you.
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