Crop Scientists Say Biotechnology Seed Companies Are Thwarting Research

-- New York Times   by Andrew Pollack - Feb. 20, 2009

You might ask, how is an article from 3 years ago still factual and what difference does it make now?

Because ShiftShapers contacted some GMO safety whistleblowers connected with the University of California who had done the research, and still today decline to talk. 

Because these truthtellers have been taken to the woodshed by Monsanto and its surrogate bullies at the UC, and don't want to talk about it any more.

Because the University of California still insists that genetically modified (GMO) crop seeds are the safe, sane salvation of the world's food supply and by the way, UC biotech students' career aspirations. All this, while in the back room where the GMO safety research is being done, the UC threatens with legal action any researcher who attempts to reveal the true negative results of their findings.

Still not convinced? Check out this one, published Oct. 2, 2012. 

Seralini and Science: an Open Letter

This letter appeared in the periodical Independent Science News:

"A new paper by the French group of Gilles-Eric Seralini describes harmful effects on rats fed diets containing genetically modified maize (GMO corn, variety NK603), with and without the herbicide Roundup, as well as Roundup alone...

"The Seralini publication, and resultant media attention, raise the profile of fundamental challenges faced by science in a world increasingly dominated by corporate influence. These challenges are important for all of science but are rarely discussed in scientific venues.

"History of Attacks on Risk-finding Studies. Seralini and colleagues are just the latest in a series of researchers whose findings have triggered orchestrated campaigns of harassment.

"Examples from just the last few years include Ignacio Chapela, a then untenured Assistant Professor at Berkeley, whose paper on GM contamination of maize in Mexico sparked an intensive internet-based campaign to discredit him. This campaign was reportedly masterminded by the Bivings Group, a public relations firm specializing in viral marketing – and frequently hired by Monsanto.

"The distinguished career of biochemist Arpad Pusztai, came to an effective end when he attempted to report his contradictory findings on GM potatoes. Everything from a gag order, forced retirement, seizure of data, and harassment by the British Royal Society were used to forestall his continued research. Even threats of physical violence have been used, most recently against Andres Carrasco, Professor of Molecular Embryology at the University of Buenos Aires, whose research identified health risks from glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup.

"Regulator Culpability. In our view a large part of the ultimate fault for this controversy lies with regulators.

"Regulators, such as EFSA (the European Food Safety Authority) in Europe and the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) and FDA (Food and Drug Administration) in the US, have enshrined protocols with little or no potential to detect adverse consequences of GMOs.

"GMOs are required to undergo few experiments, few endpoints are examined, and tests are solely conducted by the applicant or their agents.  Moreover, current regulatory protocols are simplistic and assumptions-based (RSC, 2001), which by design, will miss most gene expression changes..."
 
The letter is signed by more than 60 scientists, connected with different universities world wide, including Neil J. Carman PhD, representing the Sierra Club. (To read in detail the supporting information and footnotes, please use the link provided above.)