The Huffington Post Reports: "Monsanto's Corn Linked to Organ Failure"

The Huffington Post first published a story in 2010, which then was updated this year and has been reposted several times recently (perhaps because the GMO debate is really heating up again) that the International Journal of Biological Sciences has found that GMO corn consumption is linked to organ failure in test rats.

The conclusion of the report states that:
"Effects were mostly concentrated in kidney and liver function, the two major diet detoxification organs, but in detail differed with each GM type. In addition, some effects on heart, adrenal, spleen and blood cells were also frequently noted. As there normally exists sex differences in liver and kidney metabolism, the highly statistically significant disturbances in the function of these organs, seen between male and female rats, cannot be dismissed as biologically insignificant as has been proposed by others. We therefore conclude that our data strongly suggests that these GM maize varieties induce a state of hepatorenal toxicity....These substances have never before been an integral part of the human or animal diet and therefore their health consequences for those who consume them, especially over long time periods are currently unknown."

What it comes down to - is that it doesn't matter if GMOs are good or bad (though the health and environmental threats are daunting), the fact that scientists are questioning the safety of GMOs is enough.  Until GMOs are deemed safe or not - we at least deserve the right to choose whether to risk it or not.  In my search for images of GMO Protests, the first several photos were all from different countries.  These global protests are not against scientific progress - they are against the "unknown" and the unanswered questions surrounding GMO food safety.

Bulgaria: http://lesconcepts.wordpress.com/tag/ichiro-sato/

South Korea:
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/include/print.asp?newsIdx=20476

Spain:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2010/04/20/858692/-Genetically-Modified-Plants,-New-Study-Released

Ireland: http://www.gmfreeireland.org/potato/photos.php

Keep telling the Food and Drug Administration how you feel about GMOs by adding comments to legal petition (Docket # FDA-2011-P-0723-0001/CP) calling on the FDA to label genetically engineered (GE) food.

All the best,
Kristiane
kristiane@ctnofa.org