Advocates against genetically modified (GM) crops in Britain are calling for trials of GM potatoes this spring to be halted after releasing more evidence of links with cancers in laboratory rats. Alan Simpson, a Labour MP and green campaigner, said the findings, which showed that lab rats developed tumors, were released by anti-GM campaigners in Wales. Arpad Pusztai, whose work was criticised by the Royal Society and the Netherlands State Institute for Quality Control, and a colleague used potatoes that had been genetically modified to produce a protein, lectin. They found cell damage in the rats' stomachs, and in parts of their intestines.
The research is likely to spark a fresh row about GM crops in Britain. Graham Thompson, a Greenpeace campaigner, said: "It is important because it backs up the research by Pusztai, which was smeared at the time by the industry."
Brian John of GM Free Cymru, who released the findings, said the research was conducted in 1998 by the Institute of Nutrition of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences and has been suppressed for eight years.
It showed that the potatoes did considerable damage to the rats' organs. Those in the "control groups" that were fed non-GM potatoes suffered ill-effects, but those fed GM potatoes suffered more serious organ and tissue damage.
Cited story.
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Okay, but was the damage done because the potatoes were genetically modified, or specifically because of the lectin? Did the control group rats get lectin along with their non-GM potatoes? Were the potatoes meant to eventually be for human consumption, or were they a way to produce lectin which would then be harvested for lab use?
More info can be found at:
http://www.edie.net/news/news_story.asp?id=1791
Thanks fhabets!
I'm no fan of GM crops being grown and sold to an uninformed public, but in all fairness, you should also mention the fact that even Greenpeace considers the study flawed. The article pointed to by fhabets gives many good reasons why a proper study should be conducted so that if GM-potatoes are to blame, they can be blamed unequivocally.