Health impacts of GE Foods

Many health professionals around the world have sounded the alarm on GE foods. The British Medical Association, for example, has called for an indefinite moratorium on GE foods. [1] The health hazards of GE foods include:

Allergens. The novel proteins in GE foods can cause unexpected allergic reactions. For example, in 1996 researchers found that soybeans engineered with a gene from a Brazil nut caused potentially fatal allergic reactions in those with Brazil nut allergies. These soybeans would likely have come to market if the researchers had not done more investigation than requested by the product developer, Pioneer Hi-Bred. Moreover, in this case, researchers knew to look for a Brazil nut reaction, but testing for unexpected allergens is exceedingly difficult and expensive.

Toxins. GE foods may have toxic effects. For example, Monsanto's GE (or recombinant) bovine growth hormone (rBGH) is used in milk production, where it raises the level of Insulin-like Growth Factor-1 (IGF-1). Studies suggest that people with elevated levels of IGF-1 are more likely to get prostate cancer [2], breast cancer [3] and lung cancer [4] than those with normal levels. [5] Another example: GE potatoes were found to weaken rats' immune systems and adversely affect their kidneys, thymuses, spleens, guts and brains. [6]

Antibiotic resistance. For technical reasons having to do with the imprecise nature of gene insertion, most GE organisms are also given a gene conferring resistance to antibiotics. [7] Although these antibiotic resistance genes are only used early in the process, they generally remain fully functional in the host organism. When eaten, these foods could reduce the effectiveness of antibiotics to fight disease when taken with meals. Another danger of this is that, although unlikely, it is possible that antibiotic resistance could be passed to dangerous microbes, exacerbating the current crisis of antibiotic resistant infection.

Nutrition. There is evidence that some GE foods have reduced nutritional quality. For example, a 1999 study found that beneficial phytoestrogen compounds (believed to protect against heart disease and cancer) were lower in GE soybeans. [8]

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[1] "The Impact of Genetic Modification on Agriculture, Food and Health", British Medical Association, May 1999.

[2] Science. January 1998.

[3] The Lancet. May 1998.

[4] Journal of the NCI. January 1999.

[5] Milk with rBGH also has increased levels of antibiotics (because rBGH causes more frequent udder infections in cows), which the U.S. Government Accounting Office declared a significant health risk. No other industrialized country allows the use of rBGH.

[6] The Lancet. May 1998.

[7] Since not all organisms will successfully take up foreign genes during gene insertion, antibiotic resistance genes are added to the foreign genes as a package. This allows engineers to kill off the unmodified organisms using antibiotics.