[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 70 (Tuesday, May 24, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1081-E1082]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  FDA AND GENETICALLY ENGINEERED FOODS

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. DENNIS J. KUCINICH

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, May 24, 2005

  Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, I wish to bring the following article to 
the attention of my colleagues. We must continue to challenge the FDA's 
assumption that all genetically engineered food is safe.

                 [From the Independent, May 22, 2005.]

         Revealed: Health Fears Over Secret Study Into GM Food

                           (By Geoffrey Lean)

       Rats fed on a diet rich in genetically modified corn 
     developed abnormalities to internal organs and changes to 
     their blood, raising fears that human health could be 
     affected by eating GM food.
       The Independent on Sunday can today reveal details of 
     secret research carried out by Monsanto, the GM food giant, 
     which shows that rats fed the modified corn had smaller 
     kidneys and variations in the composition of their blood.
       According to the confidential 1,139-page report, these 
     health problems were absent from another batch of rodents fed 
     non-GM food as part of the research project.
       The disclosures come as European countries, including 
     Britain, prepare to vote on whether the GM-modified corn 
     should go on sale to the public. A vote last week by the 
     European Union failed to secure agreement over whether the 
     product should be sold here, after Britain and nine other 
     countries voted in favour.
       However, the disclosure of the health effects on the 
     Monsanto rats has intensified the row over whether the corn 
     is safe to eat without further research. Doctors said the 
     changes in the blood of the rodents could indicate that the 
     rat's immune system had been damaged or that a disorder such 
     as a tumour had grown and the system was mobilising to fight 
     it.
       Dr. Vyvyan Howard, a senior lecturer on human anatomy and 
     cell biology at Liverpool University, called for the 
     publication of the full study, saying the summary gave 
     ``prima facie cause for concern''.
       Dr. Michael Antoniu, an expert in molecular genetics at 
     Guy's Hospital Medical School, described the findings as 
     ``very worrying from a medical point of view'', adding: ``I 
     have been amazed at the number of significant differences 
     they found [in the rat experiment].''
       Although Monsanto last night dismissed the abnormalities in 
     rats as meaningless and due to chance, reflecting normal 
     variations between rats, a senior British government 
     source said ministers were so worried by the findings that 
     they had called for further information.
       Environmentalists will see the findings as vindication of 
     British research seven years ago, which suggested that rats 
     that ate GM potatoes suffered damage to their health. That 
     research, which was roundly denounced by ministers and the 
     British scientific establishment, was halted and Dr. Arpad 
     Pusztai, the scientist behind the controversial findings, was 
     forced into retirement amid a huge row over the claim.
       Dr. Pusztai reported a ``huge list of significant 
     differences'' between rats fed GM and conventional corn, 
     saying the results strongly indicate that eating significant 
     amounts of it can damage health. The new study is into a 
     corn, codenamed MON 863, which has been modified by Monsanto 
     to protect itself against corn rootworm, which the company 
     describes as ``one of the most pernicious pests affecting 
     maize crops around the world''.
       Now, however, any decision to allow the corn to be marketed 
     in the UK will cause widespread alarm. The full details of 
     the rat research are included in the main report, which 
     Monsanto refuses to release on the grounds that ``it contains 
     confidential business information which could be of 
     commercial use to our competitors''.
       A Monsanto spokesman said yesterday: ``If any such well-
     known anti-biotech critics had doubts about the credibility 
     of these studies

[[Page E1082]]

     they should have raised them with the regulators. After all, 
     MON 863 isn't new, having been approved to be as safe as 
     conventional maize by nine other global authorities since 
     2003.''

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