GE Free NZ, 19th June  2003

Authorities admit there were NO clinical trials on GE food.(1)

The health of New Zealanders and the world population is at stake as a result of the sale of untested GE foods by multinationals promoting GE crops. The industry has a poor record for reporting and preventing any negative impacts on health and the environment of their products, but for the first time authorities responsible for protecting the public have admitted they have conducted no clinical tests on the impact of GE food. This is a grave abuse of their responsibility to the consumer.

After years of asking for assurances into the safety of GMO's during which the informed  public and GE Free NZ has and been labelled "luddites" and "scientifically ignorant" it is finally admitted there are still no confirmed studies to follow up the findings of the Rowett Institute on the health effects of GMO's. (1) An EU commentator reported recently the pro GE lobby had carried out "the most sustained, ruthless and unscrupulous propaganda campaign from corporate lobbyists, ever witnessed".

It is more concerning that people wanting to avoid the risks of GE foods are being denied any choice. Contamination has become a major problem in seed stock in the Americas, despite attempts at segregation. There are no longer GE Free conventional stocks of some crops genetically engineered in recent years and contamination of other grains with GE corn and soy is becoming problematic.

All GE crops need to go back to the laboratory and undergo proper scientific and clinical testing to prove they are safe", said Claire Bleakley.

New studies also seem to suggest that gene therapy may have a greater chance of causing cancer than previously indicated, adding weight to safety concerns (2).

Claire Bleakley (06) 3089842

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References:

House of Commons
Hansard
Written Answers text for
Friday 13 Jun 2003GM Crops

Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what clinical trials have been conducted into the effects on the human body of the ingestion of GM foods in the (a) long and (b) short term. [118577]

Ms Blears: I have been asked to reply.
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is unaware of any clinical trials conducted into the effects on the human body of the ingestion of genetically modified (GM) Foods. However, a number of research projects have been funded by the FSA on the safety of GM foods, which have included a project which has examined the survival of DNA in the digestive tract. 
Details of the work funded by the FSA are described in its annual research report.

(2) Cancer Risk Exceeds Outlook in Gene Therapy, Studies Find 
By ANDREW POLLACK

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