Pigs fed a combination of genetically modified soy and corn suffer more frequent severe stomach inflammation and enlargement of the uterus than those who eat a non-GM diet, according to a new peer-reviewed long-term feeding study published Tuesday in the Organic Systems Journal.
The
study sounds rigorously done, is long term and peer reviewed but is already facing criticism because of where it was published, The Organic Systems Journal.
This is a significant finding in that almost all corn and soy available today in the US is already GMO. So even if you don't eat meat from animals that are fed GMO grains, corn or soy is found in many processed foods.
In pigs eating genetically modified crops, the average rate of severe stomach inflammation was nearly three times as high as that for other pigs (32 percent vs. 12 percent). Among male pigs eating a GM diet, the rate of severe stomach inflammation was four times higher.
“The results indicate that it would be prudent for GM crops that are destined for human food and animal feed … to undergo long-term animal feeding studies preferably before commercial planting, particularly for toxicological and reproductive effects,” concluded Carman and her colleagues, who include Iowa-based farmer as well as crop and livestock advisor Howard Vlieger.
Monsanto has already weighed in with its criticisms, saying the study is not valid because it doesn't measure pig health the 'normal' way, meaning 'feed conversion ratio'. This is of course not a measure of the pig's health but a statistic for the agribusiness producer to know how efficiently the pig is maximizing its feed and saving the producer money.
Monsanto, the dominant manufacturer of genetically modified seeds, questioned why the study focused on uterine size and stomach inflammation rather than "body weight and feed conversion." Those factors, it said, are "routinely used as endpoints in health assessments" and have "been measured in hundreds of studies where GM crops have been fed to poultry and livestock with no negative effects."
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Of course, if you pick the criteria you decide are important, it is easy to overlook negative health effects that you decide are insignificant.
In conclusion:
“This study raises serious questions about the long-term health impacts of genetically engineered foods,” said Andrew Kimbrell, the [Center for Food Safety's] executive director. “It is grossly negligent that neither the companies nor the government have conducted these rigorous types of studies in the 15 years that GE products have been on the market. Until further long-term, independent studies are done, the public are unwittingly participating in the safety testing of these products.”
The study is already undergoing the tried and true pattern. First there aren't any studies, then they aren't good enough, then when they are, quibble with the details of the results. One MD commented "is a severely inflamed stomach a health problem for a pig?" The only problem now is, how do you get the toothpaste back into the tube?
Mon Jun 17, 2013 at 8:06 AM PT: Here's a direct link to the Journal of Organic Systems. There is a PDF of the entire Vol 8 where the study can be found, and can be downloaded http://www.organic-systems.org/...