Critical Observer

OVER 4000 ‘GENES’ ALTERED WITH LOW-DOSE ROUNDUP EXPOSURE

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Liver and kidney damage due to a diet full of genetically modified food has already been shown in a notable, yet controversial study that was once forced to be retracted, and then later republished by the Journal of Food and Chemical Toxicology. This study, titled the “Long Term Toxicity of Roundup Herbicide and a Roundup-Tolerant Genetically Modified Maize” is joined now by a new, peer-reviewed study showing that even at the levels of glyphosate the general public is exposed to in drinking water, over 4000 genes and their proper functioning are altered in the livers and kidneys of rats. 
 
Are we affected too? 
 
Published in the Environmental Health Journal, the new study suggests that even super low levels of Roundup exposure are deadly. 
 
The study results showed that exposure to low-dose glyphosate concentrations, in an established laboratory animal toxicity model system, can result in liver and kidney damage, with potential significant health implications for people as well as our pets and wildlife populations. 
 
 
Here is an overview given by the study abstract: 
 
“Glyphosate-based herbicides (GBH) are the major pesticides used worldwide. Converging evidence suggests that GBH, such as Roundup, pose a particular health risk to liver and kidneys although low environmentally relevant doses have not been examined. To address this issue, a 2-year study in rats administering 0.1 ppb Roundup (50 ng/L glyphosate equivalent) via drinking water…was conducted. 
 
A marked increased incidence of anatomorphological and blood/urine biochemical changes was indicative of liver and kidney structure and functional pathology….” 
This follow-up investigation conducted by Dr. Michael Antoniou’s team at King’s College London was a follow up to Seralini’s 2-year study of rats exposed to Roundup that the biotech industry tried desperately to silence. Sites like the Genetic Literacy Project are still attempting to dismiss Seralini’s findings, but with additional studies like Antoniou’s, their arguments become baseless. 
 
Here’s why: 
 
The Seralini investigation administered a commercial Roundup formulation at 0.1 ppb (parts per billion)/50 ppt (parts per trillion) glyphosate via drinking water for 2 years.Liver and kidney pathologies were found in the rats. The new study by Dr. Antoniou’s team investigated whether heightened liver and kidney pathology observed at an anatomical and biochemical level was reflected in the gene expression pattern. “Transcriptome” was analyzed, by comparing liver and kidney tissues from the Roundup treatment group with those of the control animals.Here’s what Dr. Antoniou said about what they found, “The findings of our study are very worrying as they confirm that a very low level of consumption of Roundup weedkiller over the long term can result in liver and kidney damage. Our results also suggest that regulators should re-consider the safety evaluation of glyphosate-based herbicides.” 
Dr. Antoniou and his team also found that a consistent pattern of alteration was found in the gene function of the liver and kidneys at this extremely low level of exposure. 
More than 4000 of the genes in the rats studied were found to have either increased or decreased function, and over 1300 of these affected both organs. 
The changes were highly statistically significant. This was not a small sample size that was affected. 
The gene changes affected important biological functions like respiration and metabolism. 
The gene changes caused health issues such as fibrosis (scarring), necrosis (the creation of areas of dead tissue), phospholipidosis (disturbed fat metabolism) and damage to mitochondria (the center of respiration in cells). 
These changes in pathology were confirmed at multiple levels: histological (through a microscope), and biochemical (by testing blood and urine samples.) 
Considering that the European Union and Australia have water which is 14,000 times lower in glyphosate levels than that permitted in drinking water in the USA, we can expect to see greater liver and kidney pathologies, as did the rats. 
 
The researchers noted that the observed liver and kidney pathologies may have arisen from glyphosate, the adjuvants present in the Roundup formulation, or a combination of the two. They also still do not understand how Roundup caused this increased pathology specifically, but given the extremely low doses at which pathology occurred, it is likely the upset happens through the endocrine system, and hormonal interference. 
 
With both Seralini and Antoniou’s work we now have more evidence that Roundup causes damage to the liver and kidneys. Despite this, and the numerous other findings, such as the recent news from Argentina that children are suffering from genetic damage at heavily sprayed GM soy sites in the country, there has been no international move to heavily examine Roundup, and hold Monsanto accountable for its poisoning of the people. 
 
Will we have to wait decades, as we did with lawsuits surrounding Monsanto-made Agent Orange or PCBs to finally receive partial restitution for the insidious actions of a corporation with no soul? 
 
“The backlog of Agent Orange cases needing attention at the Veterans Administration has been placed at half a million.  Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has declined to find the chemical companies responsible for Agent Orange health problems, in the US or Vietnam.” 
Will Monsanto and its best-selling herbicide, Roundup, have its way with the population to such a large degree that we will have to stand by idly and watch as multiple generations suffer physical and mental damage? 
 
The results rest largely on our shoulders, as we have seen our elected officials care little about the damage that Big Biotech unleashes on the world. I urge you to ask that farmers in your area stop spraying Roundup, tell that stores to stop selling it, only eat organic food (also demanding that grocery stores stop selling chemically covered GM foods) and of course, when you can, grow your own organic food. 
 
This article originally appeared at Natural Society.

OVER 4000 ‘GENES’ ALTERED WITH LOW-DOSE ROUNDUP EXPOSURE

Liver and kidney damage due to a diet full of genetically modified food has already been shown in a notable, yet controversial study that...

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Pesticide Exposure From GMO Crops in Hawaii

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Hawaiians have seen firsthand that people near agrichemical companies’ test plots of genetically engineered (GMO) crops are at increased risk of being exposed to toxic chemicals that drift off the fields. And they’re fighting back. 
 
State and local representatives in Hawaii are working to pass laws to protect vulnerable communities from the harmful pesticides blanketing nearby GMO crops designed to be herbicide-tolerant. 
 
In a recent article (Aug. 23) in The Guardian, journalist Christopher Pala wrote about the town of Waimea on the island of Kauai, downhill from some of the test plots, where a middle school and a hospital are less than 2,000 feet from a Syngenta test field. Pala noted that the companies are not required to disclose much about the chemicals they’re testing as they develop new varieties of herbicide-resistant crops. 
 
In the contiguous 48 states, EWG analyses have shown that 3,200 elementary schools and 12,000 churches are located near fields where GMO corn and soybean are likely grown. And a report by the Center for Food Safety in May indicated that those numbers are probably underestimates, given the number of communities near GMO corn and soybean test plots in Hawaii. 
 
The Center’s report found that agrichemical giants taking advantage of Hawaii’s extended growing season spray 17 times more pesticides on fields on the island of Kauai than on cornfields on the U.S. mainland. 
 
Right now, Hawaiians are battling agrichemical companies at the county level, in the state house and in the courts over issues of pesticide disclosure, buffer zones and restrictions on GMO cultivation. Their efforts could be fruitless, however, if the U.S. Senate passes a bill – dubbed by opponents the “Deny Americans the Right to Know” or “DARK” Act – that could preempt any Hawaiian GMO laws that get on the books. If Hawaii or any other state were to pass a law requiring GMO foods to be labeled – as Connecticut, Maine and Vermont have done – the DARK Act, which has already passed the House, would block the state from implementing it. 
 
One reason nine out of 10 consumers – regardless of political party, gender, education or race – want mandatory GMO labeling is the growing concern over the escalating amounts of toxic weed killers needed to grow the vast majority of GMO crops. 
 
No matter where they shop, people should have the right to know which foods were made with GMOs, as consumers in 64 other countries already do. 
 
By Mary Ellen Kustin, Senior Policy Analyst of EWG.org

Pesticide Exposure From GMO Crops in Hawaii

Hawaiians have seen firsthand that people near agrichemical companies’ test plots of genetically engineered (GMO) crops are at increased ...

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Greece and Latvia ban Monsanto's GMO Crops

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Two more European countries are rejecting genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Latvia and Greece have specifically said no to growing Monsanto‘s genetically modified maize, or MON810, that’s widely grown in America and Asia but is the only variety grown in Europe. 
 
Lativia and Greece have chosen the “opt-out” clause of a European Union rule passed in March that allows member countries to abstain from growing GM crops, even if they are authorized by the EU. Scotland and Germany also made headlines in recent weeks for seeking a similar ban on GMOs. 
 
According to Reuters, in many European countries, there is widespread criticism against the agribusiness giant’s pest-resistant crops, claiming that GM-cultivation threatens biodiversity. 
 
Monsanto said it would abide by Latvia’s and Greece’s request to not grow the crops. The company, however, accused the two countries of ignoring science and refusing GMOs out of “arbitrary political grounds.” 
 
In a statement, Monsanto said that the move from the two countries “contradicts and undermines the scientific consensus on the safety of MON810.” 
 
Monsanto also told Reuters that since the growth of GM-crops in Europe is so small, the opt-outs will not affect their business. 
 
“Nevertheless,” the company continued, “we regret that some countries are deviating from a science-based approach to innovation in agriculture and have elected to prohibit the cultivation of a successful GM product on arbitrary political grounds.” 
 
According to NewsWire, the EU’s opt-out clause “directly confronts U.S. free trade deal supported by EU, under which the Union should open its doors widely for the US GM industry.” 
 
In a statement on Thursday, the European Commission confirmed its zero-tolerance policy against non-authorized GM products. The commission said that it’s also consulting with the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) in order to answer “a scientific question” on GMO crops that’s unrelated to trade negotiations with the U.S. The EFSA announced that it would release a scientific opinion on the question by the end of 2017. 
 
The environmental group, Friends of the Earth Europe, however, has accused the European Commission of “bowing to pressure from large biotech companies to minimize the level of health and safety checks on imports” of GM crops. 
 
“The Commission is working behind closed doors to undermine rules that guarantee Europe’s food is GM-free,” said Mute Schimpf, a Friends of the Earth Europe food campaigner, said in a statement. “They’re bowing to pressure from big biotech companies who want to bring GM-crops through the backdoor as part of the EU-U.S. trade deal.” 
 
The group cites a leaked letter suggesting that the European Commission has asked the EFSA to explore bypassing food safety checks in the case of GM-imports. 
 
“Undermining current food safety laws would mean the food on our plates could be contaminated with GMOs and we’d never know,” Schimpf continued. “It would have severe consequences for the food sector — low-level contamination could not be traced and products could never be guaranteed GM-free.” 
 
By Lorraine Chow / EcoWatch

Greece and Latvia ban Monsanto's GMO Crops

Two more European countries are rejecting genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Latvia and Greece have specifically said no to growing M...

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Germany Seeking Ban on GMO Seeds just like Scotland

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Germany is taking steps to outlaw the cultivation of genetically modified crops in Europe’s biggest economy. The Agriculture Ministry plans to officially request that producers of GMOs exclude Germany when applying to sell seeds in European Union, Christian Fronczak, a spokesman for the ministry, said Tuesday. Scotland took similar measures earlier this month. 
 
“The German government is clear in that it seeks a nationwide cultivation ban,” Fronczak said by phone from Berlin. “There’s resistance from all sides, from the public to the farmers.” 
 
Germany is taking advantage of new measures allowing countries to opt out of growing gene-modified crops. Switzerland’s Syngenta AG and U.S. rival Monsanto Co. have been among the strongest proponents of the seeds, which are mostly banned in the EU because of what some say are uncertain environmental and health effects. Monsanto maintains the products are safe. 
 
The Agriculture Ministry has asked for the backing of state ministries in a letter sent in the past few days, Fronczak said. Germany gave state governments a deadline until Sept. 11 to reply. If it doesn’t hear any objections from the states, it will ask that companies exclude Germany from their applications to sell GMO seeds, Fronczak said. 
 
There is one genetically modified crop, a variety of corn designed to be pest-resistant, already grown in the EU and eight pending applications for GMO seeds, according to an April statement from the European Commission. 
 
By: Stefan Nicola of Bloomberg Business

Germany Seeking Ban on GMO Seeds just like Scotland

Germany is taking steps to outlaw the cultivation of genetically modified crops in Europe’s biggest economy. The Agriculture Ministry pla...

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