Gene Altered Potatoes Change Rat Guts
DATE: Thu, 21 Oct 1999 15:35:06 From: James DeMeo <demeo@mind.net> To: *OBRL_News <obrl-news@lists.village.virginia.edu>
Subject:- Gene Altered Potatoes (McDonald's?) Changes Rat Guts.
Orgone Biophysical Research Lab <demeo@mind.net> http://www.orgonelab.org Forwarded News Item
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Study Fuels Debate Over Genetically Altered food
LONDON (Associated Press) -- Research claiming to provide evidence that rats developed tissue damage after being fed genetically altered potatoes has finally been published, renewing a fierce debate over the safety of such modified foods.
Some hailed the publication as a vindication of the researchers' claims, first aired in an interview on British television last year. But others argued the study was deeply flawed and that publication gave it a credibility it doesn't deserve.
The editor of the Lancet, the prestigious British medical journal that published the findings in this week's issue, felt compelled to write a commentary defending his decision.
"We did not lower our standards" Dr. Richard Horton told the Associated Press. "We published it both on grounds of scientific merit and on grounds of public interest."
"A component of genetically modified food does seem to cause changes in rat intestines" he said. "The question now is, are those changes harmful and is it relevant to human?. I think if we hadn't published it, we'd be accused of censorship."
The move toward genetically modified crops has caused great concern in Europe, where anxiety about food technology runs high after a spate of deaths related to so-called mad cow disease, brought on by eating British beef -- even though the beef was not genetically modified.
Genetic engineering involves introducing a gene from one organism to another, often unrelated, plant or animal. Scientists hope to use the technology to create more nutritious crops or food containing vaccines. They already have genetically altered corn, soybeans and other crops to resist insects and week-killers.
Although genetic engineering has met relatively little resistance in the United States, concern has grown since a Cornell University study found evidence that pollen from a genetically modified corn can kill larvae of the monarch butterfly.
Horton said six experts scrutinized the British research before it was published -- twice the normal number -- and a majority recommended publishing it because it had scientific merit.
One reviewer said that, although the quality of the work was weak, it should be published to avoid criticism that it was suppressed, and another was strongly against publication.
Anticipating criticism, Horton wrote: "At least (the findings) are now out in the open for debate... Only by welcoming that debate will the standard of public conversation about science be raised."
(Medford Mail Tribune, 15 October 1999)
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