gm maize study finds fertility lowered in mice

Submitted by turbosprout on Tue, 2008-11-18 19:22

pic: greenpeacepic: greenpeaceOr "Why Eating GM could lower your fertility!", as reported by the Mail Online article.

In a long-term feeding trial commissioned by the Austrian government and published last week, mice fed on GM corn (maize) were found to have fewer offspring and lower birth rates.

Professor Dr Jurgen Zentek, Professor for Veterinary Medicine at the University of Vienna and lead author of the study, said a GM diet effected the fertility of mice.

One of the studies was a reproductive assessment by continuous breeding (RACB) trial, in which the same parent generation gave birth to several litters of baby mice. The parents were fed either with a diet containing 33per cent of GM maize, a hybrid of Monsanto's MON 810 and another variety, and a normal feed mix.

The team found changes that were 'statistically significant' in the third and fourth litters produced by the mice given a GM diet. There were fewer offspring, while the young mice were smaller.

Prof Zentek said there was a direct link between the changes seen and the GM diet.

From the study abstract:
"The RACB trial showed time related negative reproductive effects of the GM maize under the given experimental conditions."
"The outcome of this study suggests that future studies on the safety of GM feed and food should include reproduction studies."

Perhaps this is the environmentally friendly benefit of using GM seed that Monsanto has been touting - they're unwittingly helping to reduce population growth!

More links on this story:
Greenpeace article
Author summary on GMO Pundit
Full report, in German

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Mouse feeding study

Submitted by Gurling (not verified) on Tue, 2008-11-25 11:37.

I read an interesting article on the AgBioView newsletter today where they discuss this report. They claim there are some serious errors in the report. Anyone interested in reading this can contact me at gurlingbo@yahoo.co.uk . I pasted the article into word (6 pages). I will mail it to anyone interested, unless I can post it somewhere. Even if one disagrees with them, the take home message would be that one has to be careful how you analyse data and the conclusions one makes from such data. Regards Gurling

Mouse feeding study.

Submitted by Glenn (not verified) on Tue, 2008-12-02 22:27.

Re the AgBioView newsletter, i would not trust anything they say. Prof Prakash, a strident pro GM cheerleader has consistently lied and twisted the truth to fit his his world view. For more view
http://ngin.tripod.com/140902a.htm
There is more about the Agbioworld nonsense at
http://www.mindfully.org/GE/2003/Prakash-To-Go13may03.htm
Its a waste of bandwidth sending that sort of nonsense across cyberspace - and i say this with full confidence, having read the rubbish in this report Gurling mentions above.
What is far more worrying is the constant barrage of research showing exactly why those of us opposed to GM, and demanding more science not less, have been correct from the outset. I have personally called for serious multigerational testing, at least on small mammals like mice, rats and rabbits.
And what do we find when this has happened? We find indications of sterility, that instead of being analysed by supposed scientists like Prakash, are instead rejected out of hand.
I would also suggest those interested in this topic view the article indicating that GM food can negatively affect the immune system. It is posted at http://www.i-sis.org.uk/MON810gmMaizeMiceImmuneSystem.php
In light of these two articles as well as the Irmakova (http://www.somloquesembrem.org/img_editor/file/Ermakovasoja.pdf) study, which has also predictably been trashed by Agbioview (perhaps it would be useful to deem anything trashed by Agbioview as being worthy of closer investigation. Perhaps we should call them agbiomyopia while we are about it!)i think that in the south african context at the very least, we should have an independent scientific review panel repeat these experiments. The fact we live in the epicenter of the HIV and AIDS pandemic and we are eating a staple that may affect CD4 and other indicators of immune health, is a profound indictment of the supposed science used to justify the introduction of these crops and foods into South Africa.
But then i have been saying this for the past 10 years. The light at the end of the tunnel is that our goverment has finally begun to move to label all GM food in spite of the misinformation emanating from the Pro GM movement in SA.
Aluta continua. Forward for better food and a stronger nation! No to GMOs and yes to agro-ecological farming solutions!