GMO Myths and Truths

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GMO Myths and Truths An evidence-based examination of the claims made for the safety and efficacy of genetically modified crops Version 1.3b by Michael Antoniou Claire Robinson John Fagan © Earth Open Source www.earthopensource.org 2nd Floor 145–157, St John Street, London EC1V 4PY, United Kingdom Contact email: claire.robinson@earthopensource.org June 2012 Disclaimer The views and opinions expressed in this paper, or otherwise published by EOS, are those of the authors and do not represent the official policy, position, or views of other organizations, universities, companies, or corporations that the authors may be affiliated with. GMO Myths and Truths 2
About the authors Michael Antoniou, PhD is reader in molecular genetics and head, Gene Expression and Therapy Group, King’s College London School of Medicine, London, UK. He has 28 years’ experience in the use of genetic engineering technology investigating gene organisation and control, with over 40 peer reviewed publications of original work, and holds inventor status on a number of gene expression biotechnology patents. Dr Antoniou has a large network of collaborators in industry and academia who are making use of his discoveries in gene control mechanisms for the production of research, diagnostic and therapeutic products and safe and efficacious human somatic gene therapy for inherited and acquired genetic disorders. Claire Robinson, MPhil, is research director at Earth Open Source. She has a background in investigative reporting and the communication of topics relating to public health, science and policy, and the environment. She is an editor at GMWatch (www.gmwatch.org), a public information service on issues relating to genetic modification, and was formerly managing editor at SpinProfiles (now Powerbase.org). John Fagan, PhD is a leading authority on sustainability in the food system, biosafety, and GMO testing. He is founder and chief scientific officer of one of the world’s first GMO testing and certification companies, through which he has pioneered the development of innovative tools to verify and advance food purity, safety and sustainability. He co-founded Earth Open Source, which uses open source collaboration to advance sustainable food production. Earlier, he conducted cancer research at the US National Institutes of Health. He holds a PhD in biochemistry and molecular and cell biology from Cornell University. Earth Open Source Earth Open Source is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to assuring the sustainability, security, and safety of the global food system. It supports agroecological, farmer-based systems that conserve soil, water, and energy and that produce healthy and nutritious food free from unnecessary toxins. It challenges the use of pesticides, artificial fertilizer and genetically modified organisms (GMOs) on the grounds of the scientifically proven hazards that they pose to health and the environment and because of the negative social and economic impacts of these technologies. Earth Open Source holds that our crop seeds and food system are common goods that belong in the hands of farmers and citizens, not of the GMO and chemical industry. Earth Open Source has established three lines of action, each of which fulfils a specific aspect of its mission: ● Science and policy platform ● Scientific research ● Sustainable rural development. Science and policy Because the quality of our food supply is intimately connected with political and regulatory decisions, for example, on pesticides and GMOs, Earth Open Source functions as a science and policy platform to provide input to decision-makers on issues relating to the safety, security and sustainability of our food system. Earth Open Source has published and co-published several reports that have had impact internationally: ● Roundup and birth defects: Is the public being kept in the dark? ● GM Soy: Sustainable? Responsible? ● Conflicts on the menu: A decade of industry influence at the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) ● Europe’s pesticide and food safety regulators – Who do they work for? Scientific research and sustainable rural development Earth Open Source has laboratory and field research projects under way on several continents. Farmerled agricultural development projects are ongoing in Asia. Details will be released as these projects come to fruition. GMO Myths and Truths 3
Page 1: GMO Myths and Truths An evidence-ba
Page 5 and 6: 3.1.5. Regulators currently do not
Page 7 and 8: Truth: Co-existence means widesprea
Page 9 and 10: 1. THE GENETIC ENGINEERING TECHNIQU
Page 11 and 12: 1.2 Myth: Genetic engineering is pr
Page 13 and 14: ornamental plants. 9 It also includ
Page 15 and 16: successfully incorporate the GM gen
Page 17 and 18: “conventionally bred” varieties
Page 19 and 20: inspection. Their scrutiny cannot e
Page 21 and 22: Conclusion to Section 1 GM proponen
Page 23 and 24: 2. SCIENCE AND REGULATION 2.1 Myth:
Page 25 and 26: of a protein (prion), a difference
Page 27 and 28: data on GMOs available on the Inter
Page 29 and 30: 2.1.8. GM corporations and the US g
Page 31 and 32: the defamation and intimidation cam
Page 33 and 34: lacked proper controls. Both claims
Page 35 and 36: 18. Pusztai A, Bardocz S, Ewen SWB.
Page 37 and 38: 3. HEALTH HAZARDS OF GM FOODS 3.1 M
Page 39 and 40: their lambs showed cellular changes
Page 41 and 42: well known to have different effect
Page 43 and 44: developing multi-trait crops becaus
Page 45 and 46: 3.2.2. Schrøder (2007) 23 A study
Page 47 and 48: 3.4 Myth: GM foods have been proven
Page 49 and 50: However, the authors of a 1990 stud
Page 51 and 52: 3.6 Myth: GM Bt insecticidal crops
Page 53 and 54:
3.7 Myth: GM foods are properly tes
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acute allergenicity problems to a l
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3.9 Myth: Genetic engineering will
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poor and hungry in the Global South
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30. European Food Safety Authority
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sheep and pigs fed Roundup Ready ca
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4.1 Myth: Roundup is a safe herbici
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100% of air and rain samples taken
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11. Romano RM, Romano MA, Bernardi
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“Over the past decade, corporate
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supposedly high-yielding GM soybean
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often use more glyphosate herbicide
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5.4 Myth: GM Bt crops reduce insect
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has called GM crops “pesticide pl
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5.6 Myth: Roundup is a benign and b
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fixation and reduce the growth of r
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5.9 Myth: GM crops bring economic b
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5.10 Myth: GM crops can “coexist
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5.11 Myth: If GM contamination occu
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acterium, thereby creating a “sup
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een found to be unreliable and inco
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emergence of resistant and secondar
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mycorrhizal symbiosis in experiment
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Canada: Organic Agriculture Protect
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6.1 Myth: GM will deliver climate-r
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6.3 Myth: GM will solve the nitroge
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Agriculture cannot continue to depe
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7.1 Myth: GM crops are needed to fe
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A 2003 report on the project calcul
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Previously, agricultural markets we
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and the Caribbean have found that o
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7.3 Myth: GM is needed to provide t
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King produced this example when und
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IAASTD report, commissioned by the
Page 121 and 122:
LifeScientist. 12 March 2012. http:
Page 123:
mixtures of chemicals in an attempt
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