GM crops have adverse effects on environment as well as health

[philb]

50 Harmful Effects of Genetically Modified Foods, Nathan Batalian, Americans for Safe Food, 2000, http://www.cqs.com/50harm.htm

Most of the 50 involve adverse health effects, including causing cancer. But the book also documents widespread environmental effects that do no appear to be controllable.


(10) Commonly used GM foods have been found to contain new proteins never digested by humans or animals.
(11) There is no regulated system of testing GM foods for health and safety, and it would be difficult and expensive to do so.
(12) Radical Change in Diet: Humanity has evolved for thousands of years by adapting gradually to its natural environment - including nature's foods. Within just three years a fundamental transformation of the human diet has occurred. This was made possible by massive consolidations among agri-business. Ten companies now own about 40% of all US seed production and sales.
(13) GM crops result in increased soil toxicity and sterility.
(14) Loss of genetic variability in crops and seeds of plants that have widespread GM seeds used.
(15) Superweeds resistant to herbicides develop within one generation when GM crops resistant to herbicides are used.
(16) GM trees or "supertrees" are being developed which can be sprayed from the air to kill literally all of surrounding life, except the GM trees. There is an attempt underway to transform international forestry by introducing multiple species of such trees. The trees themselves are often sterile and flowerless. This is in contrast to rainforests teaming with life, or where a single tree can host thousands of unique species of insects, fungi, mammals and birds in an interconnected ecosphere. This kind of development has been called "death-engineering" rather than "life-" or "bio-engineering." More ominously pollen from such trees, because of their height, has traveled as much as 400 miles or 600 kilometers - roughly 1/5 of the distance across the United States.
(17) Some GM foods have been found to be poisonous to mammals (rats) – damaging vital organs, the stomach lining and immune system.
Etc.


Iowa University Professor Links Butterfly Mortality and Bt Corn
http://www.netlink.de/gen/Zeitung/2000/000919.html