Thanks for the answer, just wanted to say, EU farmers rely much much less on GMO. At least if the stories we are being told are any true.
Audio,
A strong movement have been broke out against GM crops when side effects were highlighted. Some countries have even announced ban in GM crops.GM technologies could have been spread like cancer.
NATURE | NEWS
Paper claiming GM link with tumours republished
Change of journal does not convince critics that rat diseases were caused by genetically modified maize.
YVES HERMAN/Reuters/Corbis
Gilles-Eric Séralini talking to reporters in Brussels in 2012.
A controversial paper linking genetically modified maize to the development of tumours and other severe disease in rats, which was published in 2012 and retracted in 2013, has now been published again, by a different journal.
Four other journals offered to publish the paper, lead author Gilles-Eric Séralini says. He and his team chose the journal
Environmental Sciences Europe, he says, because it is open access so would make the study’s findings available to the whole scientific community.
The paper that went online today
1 was slightly amended from the original, notably in the way the data were analysed. Four of the authors, including Séralini, also wrote an accompanying commentary
2 in which they say that they were the victims of censorship and that that their critics had “serious yet undisclosed conflicts of interests”.
The authors also published their raw data; Séralini says that he wanted to be a paragon of transparency, and hopes that companies making and selling genetically modified (GM) food will follow his example. He insists that his work complies with standard international practice for toxicity studies, and laments the fact that Monsanto and other companies publish no toxicity data for their products. “Not a single study has been conducted on the long-term effects of Roundup on rats’ blood,” he says, referring to the popular brand of pesticide made by Monsanto and used with Roundup-resistant GM maize. “This is completely abnormal, and a scientific anomaly.”
Paper retracted
The journal that originally published the paper
3,
Food and Chemical Toxicology (
FCT), retracted it in a storm of criticism in November 2013 after Séralini’s team refused to withdraw it (see ‘
Study linking GM maize to rat tumours is retracted’). A post-publication review of the paper found that “the data were inconclusive, and therefore the conclusions described in the article were unreliable.” However
FCT found “no evidence of fraud or intentional misrepresentation of the data”, according to the journal's publisher, Elsevier in Amsterdam.
Séralini's team had found th
at rats fed for two years with a glyphosate-resistant type of maize (corn) made by Monsanto developed many more tumours and died earlier than did control animals. It also found that the rats developed tumours when Roundup was added to their drinking water.
Environmental Sciences Europe (
ESEU) decided to re-publish the paper to give the scientific community guaranteed long-term access to the data in the retracted paper, editor-in-chief Henner Hollert told
Nature. “We were Springer Publishing’s first open access journal on the environment, and are a platform for discussion on science and regulation at a European and regional level.”
ESEU conducted no scientific peer review, he adds, “because this had already been conducted by
Food and Chemical Toxicology, and had concluded there had been no fraud nor misrepresentation.” The role of the three reviewers hired by
ESEU was to check that there had been no change in the scientific content of the paper, Hollert adds.
The publication of the new version of the paper gives critics no reason to change their mind, says food-allergy researcher Richard Goodman of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and biotechnology editor at
FCT. "To my knowledge, no-one has demonstrated that a two-year feeding study of Sprague Dawley rats has uncovered any hazard that actually poses a risk to human or farm-animal health," he says, referring to the breed of rodents used in the study.
Health issues
Sprague Dawley rats, one of the most commonly used lab animals, become prone to health issues once they pass 18 months of age, making the results by Séralini and his colleagues “uninterpretable”, Goodman says. “If you look closely at Séralini’s data, giving glyphosate and the GMO protected one group of rats compared to those having a single treatment. The study was — and, I believe, remains — flawed."
Séralini claims that Goodman, who worked for Monsanto for seven years, was pulled from the
FCTpost-publication review committee after the research team complained about potential conflicts of interest. Goodman acknowledges that he withdrew from the committee at Séralini's request, because "this was the only way that Séralini would produce the data the committee needed to evaluate the paper". But, he adds, “I had no part in
FCT's decision to retract the paper, and I do not see why my wealth of experience and information is considered a conflict of interest rather than useful."
David Spiegelhalter, a statistician at the University of Cambridge, UK, says: "The article still does not appear to have had proper statistical refereeing, and the methods and reporting are obscure. The claimed effects show no dose-response, and so the conclusions rest entirely on a comparison with ten control rats of each sex. This is inadequate."
Spiegelhalter also says: "The study needs replicating by a truly independent laboratory using appropriate sample sizes. I agree with the authors that this whole area would benefit from greater transparency of data and improved experimental and statistical methods."
Nature
doi:10.1038/nature.2014.15463
-----------------------------------------
Correction ,18 months that is why I said that I need to look again.
Now,it appears as if,Mr.Goodman and Mr.Seralini ,both seem to protect their investment and benefits.
If Mr.Seralini will be accepted than he will become a reputable scientist-
While Monsanto desperately tries to defend themselves.
I see more politics than science,and trust me shit happens when scientists began to do dirty corporate politics.
Regards
Please see this post:
GM Crop Production
Countries Growing GMOs
The world’s leading producers of GM crops are the United States,Argentina, Brazil, Canada, India and China. In 2006, GM crop production also reached noteworthy levels in Paraguay,South Africa, Uruguay andAustralia. In the EU,
GM crops have remained uncommon. Appreciable GM maize production in the EU only took place in Spain on an area of nearly 60,000 hectares. In Portugal, Germany, France and the Czech Republic,
transgenic crops were primarily grown for small-scale field trials.
In 2005, Iran and the Czech Republic were added to the list of countries commercially growing transgenic crops. As of 2006, 38 percent of GM crops are grown in developing countries.
Global Area of Genetically Engineered Crops, 1996 to 2006: By Country (Million Hectares)
Country USA Argentina Brazil Canada China Paraguay
1996 1.5 0.1 -- 0.1 -- --
1997 8.1 1.4 -- 1.3 0.0 --
1998 20.5 4.3 -- 2.8 <0.1 --
1999 28.7 65.7 1.4* 4.0 0.3 --
2000 30.3 10.0 3.6* 3.0 0.5 --
2001 35.7 11.8 5.7* 3.2 1.5 --
2002 39.0 13.5 6.3* 3.5 2.1 --
2003 42.8 13.9 3.0 4.4 2.8 --
2004 47.6 16.2 5.0 5.4 3.7 1.2
2005 49.8 17.1 9.0 5.8 3.3 1.8
2006 54.6 18.0 11.5 6.1 3.5 2.0
*illegal cultivation of gmos: calculated area
Global Area of Genetically Engineered Crops, 1996 to 2006: By Country (Million Hectares)
Country India South Africa Uruguay Aus-tralia Mexico Romania
1996 -- -- -- <0.1 <0.1 --
1997 -- -- -- 0.1 <0.1 --
1998 -- <0.1 -- 0.1 -- --
1999 -- 0.1 -- 0.1 <0.1 <0.1
2000 -- 0.2 <0.1 0.2 <0.1 <0.1
2001 -- 0.2 <0.1 0.2 <0.1 <0.1
2002 <0.1 0.3 <0.1 0.1 <0.1 <0.1
2003 0.1 0.4 0.1 0.1 <0.1 <0.1
2004 0.5 0.5. 0.3 0.2 0.1 0.1
2005 1.3 0.5 0.3 0.3 0.1 0.1
2006 3.8 1.4 0.4 0.2 0.1 0.1
Global Area of Genetically Engineered Crops, 1996 to 2006: By Country (Million Hectares)
Country Philippines Honduras Colombia Iran Spain Por- tugal Ger- many
1996 -- -- -- -- -- -- --
1997 -- -- -- -- -- -- --
1998 -- -- -- -- <0.1 -- --
1999 -- -- -- -- <0.1 <0.1 --
2000 -- -- -- -- <0.1 -- <0.1
2001 -- -- -- -- <0.1 -- <0.1
2002 -- <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 -- <0.1
2003 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 0.1 <0.1 -- <0.1
2004 0.1 <0.1 <0.1 0.5 0.1 -- <0.1
2005 0.1 <0.1 <0.1 1.3 0.1 <0.1 <0.1
2006 0.2 <0.1 <0.1 <0.1 0.1 <0.1 <0.1
Source: ISAAA, Clive James, 2006.
"In addition to
France and
Germany, other European countries that placed bans on the cultivation and sale of GMOs include Austria,
Hungary,
Greece, and
Luxembourg.
Poland has also tried to institute a ban, with backlash from the European Commission."
-wiki
GM crops showed some side effects when they were brought to EU and its cultivation bagan .For example:
Proof Bees Dying
From GM Crops?
5-12-7
LONDON (AFP) - Research by a leading German zoologist has shown that genes used to genetically modify crops can jump the species barrier, newspapers reported here on Sunday. A three-year study by Professor Hans-Heinrich Kaatz at the University of Jena found that the gene used to modify oil-seed rape had transferred to bacteria living inside honey bees. The findings will undermine claims by the biotech industry and supporters of GM foods that genes cannot spread.
They will also increase pressure on farmers across Europe to destroy fields of oil-seed rape contaminated with GM seeds. In an interview for The Observer newspaper, Kaatz said: "I have found the herbicide-resistant genes in the rapeseed transferred across to the bacteria and yeast inside the intestines of young bees. This happened rarely, but it did happen." Asked if his findings had implications for the bacteria inside the human gut, Kaatz replied: "Maybe, but I am not an expert on this."
The Observer said Kaatz was reluctant to talk about his work until it is officially published and reviewed by fellow scientists. The reports come a day after Britain's Agriculture Minister Nick Brown urged farmers to destroy crops contaminated with genetically modified seeds. Up to 600 farmers in Britain are believed to have inadvertently planted more than 30,000 acres of oilseed rape contaminated with GM rape seeds, supplied by Anglo-Dutch seed company Advanta. Similar crops have been planted elsewhere in Europe, including in France, Germany and Sweden. The French and Swedish governments have already announced they are ordering the uprooting of the crops.
_____
Modified Crop Genes 'Jump The Species Barrier'
By AnthonyBarnett
Public Affairs Editor - The Observer
A leading zoologist has found evidence that genes used to modify crops can jump the species barrier and cause bacteria to mutate, prompting fears that GM technology could pose serious health risks.
A four-year study by Professor Hans-Hinrich Kaatz, a respected German zoologist, found that the alien gene used to modify oilseed rape had transferred to bacteria living inside the guts of honey bees.
The research - which has yet to be published and has not been reviewed by fellow scientists - is highly significant because it suggests that all types of bacteria could become contaminated by genes used in genetically modified technology, including those that live inside the human digestive system. If this happened, it could have an impact on the bacteria's vital role in helping the human body fight disease, aid digestion and facilitate blood clotting.
Agriculture Minister Nick Brown, who was yesterday advising farmers who have accidentally grown contaminated GM oilseed rape in Britain to rip up their crops, confirmed the potential significance of Kaatz's research. He said: 'If this is true, then it would be very serious.'
The 47-year-old Kaatz has been reluctant to talk about his research until it has been published in a scientific journal, because he fears a backlash from the scientific community similar to that faced by Dr Arpad Pustzai, who claimed that genetically modified potatoes damaged the stomach lining of rats. Pustzai was sacked and had his work discredited.
But in his first newspaper interview, Kaatz told The Observer: 'It is true, I have found the herbicide-resistant genes in the rapeseed transferred across to the bacteria and yeast inside the intestines of young bees. This happened rarely, but it did happen.' Although Kaatz realised the potential 'significance' of his findings, he said he 'was not surprised' at the results. Asked if this had implications for the bacteria inside the human gut, he said: 'Maybe, but I am not an expert on this.' Dr Mae-Wan Ho, geneticist at Open University and a critic of GM technology, has no doubts about the dangers. She said: 'These findings are very worrying and provide the first real evidence of what many have feared. Everybody is keen to exploit GM technology, but nobody is looking at the risk of horizontal gene transfer.
'We are playing about with genetic structures that existed for millions of years and the experiment is running out of control.' One of the biggest concerns is if the anti-biotic resistant gene used in some GM crops crossed over to bacteria. 'If this happened it would leave us unable to treat major illnesses like meningitis and E coli .'
Kaatz, who works at the respected Institute for Bee Research at the University of Jena in Germany, built nets in a field planted with genetically modified rapeseed produced by AgrEvo. He let the bees fly freely within the net. At the beehives, he installed pollen traps in order to sample the pollen from the bees' hindlegs when entering the hive. This pollen was fed to young honey bees in the laboratory. Pollen is the natural diet of young bees, which need a high protein diet. Kaatz then extracted the intestine of the young bees and discovered that the gene from the GM rape-seed had been transferred in the bee gut to the microbes.
Professor Robert Pickard, director-general of the Institute of the British Nutrition Foundation, is a bee expert as well as being a biologist and has visited the institute where Kaatz works. He said: 'There is no doubt that, if Kaatz's research is substantiated, then it poses very interesting questions and will need to be looked at very closely. 'But it must be remembered that the human body has been coping perfectly well with strange DNA for millions of years. And we also know many people have been eating GM products for years without showing any signs of ill health.' (link to
rense.com
Gene transfer to bacteria inside the bees intestine. Maybe that's a contributing factor in their disappearance.
Next blast by seralini:
GM causes cancer.
The warfare is now turned again MONSANTO .GM crops,herbicide ,pesticide all are at question.
Regards
)
