Study Finds Tumors in Rats Fed Monsanto GM Corn
Controversial data prompt's EU agricultural vice-chairman Bove to call for Euro wide suspension of GMOs
A new study released Wednesday by a team of scientists in France claims to have discovered a noticeable increase in tumors and kidney disease in lab rats that have been fed GMO foods produced by big ag corporation Monsanto.
The controversial study, which quickly came under fire from several GMO experts around the world, prompted France's Jose Bove, vice-chairman of the European Parliament's commission for agriculture and GMO opponent, to claim "the study finally shows we are right and that it is urgent to quickly review all GMO evaluation processes."
The study, published by the peer-reviewed journal Food and Chemical Toxicology and conducted by scientists at the University of Caen, said rats fed on a diet containing NK603, a seed variety made tolerant to Monsanto's Roundup weedkiller, or given water with Roundup at levels permitted in the United States, died earlier than those on a standard diet.
According to the data, rats on the GM diet developed mammary tumors, as well as severe liver and kidney damage.
A scientific community has come out fighting against the study in defense of GMO products, saying the data is not trustworthy, and the scientists who conducted the study went on a "statistical fishing trip," to prove their case.
However, those already skeptical of the safety of genetically modified products, took the data as one more reason to be weary of GMO's.
California Right to Know, the group fighting for California's Prop. 37 to require labeling of GMO foods, immediately released a statement:
The results of this study are worrying. They underscore the importance of giving California families the right to know whether our food is genetically engineered, and to decide for ourselves whether we want to gamble with our health by eating GMO foods that have not been adequately studied and have not been proven safe.
Genetically modified food production, a process which has been around for 15 years, has not been extensively tested for long term effects on consumer health, as well as for effects on top soil and overall effects on the environment.
On Sunday, France's Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault had announced that France will continue its ban on Monsanto's corn, the only GMO currently allowed in Europe.
Following the release of the study on Wednesday, France's agricultural vice-chairman Bove called for an immediate suspension of all EU cultivation and import authorizations of GM crops. "National and European food security agencies must carry out new studies financed by public funding to guarantee healthy food for European consumers," he said in his statement.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
A new study released Wednesday by a team of scientists in France claims to have discovered a noticeable increase in tumors and kidney disease in lab rats that have been fed GMO foods produced by big ag corporation Monsanto.
The controversial study, which quickly came under fire from several GMO experts around the world, prompted France's Jose Bove, vice-chairman of the European Parliament's commission for agriculture and GMO opponent, to claim "the study finally shows we are right and that it is urgent to quickly review all GMO evaluation processes."
The study, published by the peer-reviewed journal Food and Chemical Toxicology and conducted by scientists at the University of Caen, said rats fed on a diet containing NK603, a seed variety made tolerant to Monsanto's Roundup weedkiller, or given water with Roundup at levels permitted in the United States, died earlier than those on a standard diet.
According to the data, rats on the GM diet developed mammary tumors, as well as severe liver and kidney damage.
A scientific community has come out fighting against the study in defense of GMO products, saying the data is not trustworthy, and the scientists who conducted the study went on a "statistical fishing trip," to prove their case.
However, those already skeptical of the safety of genetically modified products, took the data as one more reason to be weary of GMO's.
California Right to Know, the group fighting for California's Prop. 37 to require labeling of GMO foods, immediately released a statement:
The results of this study are worrying. They underscore the importance of giving California families the right to know whether our food is genetically engineered, and to decide for ourselves whether we want to gamble with our health by eating GMO foods that have not been adequately studied and have not been proven safe.
Genetically modified food production, a process which has been around for 15 years, has not been extensively tested for long term effects on consumer health, as well as for effects on top soil and overall effects on the environment.
On Sunday, France's Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault had announced that France will continue its ban on Monsanto's corn, the only GMO currently allowed in Europe.
Following the release of the study on Wednesday, France's agricultural vice-chairman Bove called for an immediate suspension of all EU cultivation and import authorizations of GM crops. "National and European food security agencies must carry out new studies financed by public funding to guarantee healthy food for European consumers," he said in his statement.
A new study released Wednesday by a team of scientists in France claims to have discovered a noticeable increase in tumors and kidney disease in lab rats that have been fed GMO foods produced by big ag corporation Monsanto.
The controversial study, which quickly came under fire from several GMO experts around the world, prompted France's Jose Bove, vice-chairman of the European Parliament's commission for agriculture and GMO opponent, to claim "the study finally shows we are right and that it is urgent to quickly review all GMO evaluation processes."
The study, published by the peer-reviewed journal Food and Chemical Toxicology and conducted by scientists at the University of Caen, said rats fed on a diet containing NK603, a seed variety made tolerant to Monsanto's Roundup weedkiller, or given water with Roundup at levels permitted in the United States, died earlier than those on a standard diet.
According to the data, rats on the GM diet developed mammary tumors, as well as severe liver and kidney damage.
A scientific community has come out fighting against the study in defense of GMO products, saying the data is not trustworthy, and the scientists who conducted the study went on a "statistical fishing trip," to prove their case.
However, those already skeptical of the safety of genetically modified products, took the data as one more reason to be weary of GMO's.
California Right to Know, the group fighting for California's Prop. 37 to require labeling of GMO foods, immediately released a statement:
The results of this study are worrying. They underscore the importance of giving California families the right to know whether our food is genetically engineered, and to decide for ourselves whether we want to gamble with our health by eating GMO foods that have not been adequately studied and have not been proven safe.
Genetically modified food production, a process which has been around for 15 years, has not been extensively tested for long term effects on consumer health, as well as for effects on top soil and overall effects on the environment.
On Sunday, France's Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault had announced that France will continue its ban on Monsanto's corn, the only GMO currently allowed in Europe.
Following the release of the study on Wednesday, France's agricultural vice-chairman Bove called for an immediate suspension of all EU cultivation and import authorizations of GM crops. "National and European food security agencies must carry out new studies financed by public funding to guarantee healthy food for European consumers," he said in his statement.