Jan 10 2009

GAO says oversight of GM crops could be better

The Government Accountability Office has just produced a report looking at the way the federal agencies regulate (or don’t regulate) genetically modified crops.  At issue is the escape of unauthorized modified genes into supposedly non-GM crops, animals, or the environment.  The report notes six such incidents.  These, it says, caused not harm to human or animal health but did result in “lost trade opportunities.”  The report documents long-standing gaps in coordination and direction among the three regulatory agencies involved: FDA, USDA, and EPA. If I count right, it’s been nearly 15 years since the FDA approved the first genetically modified food (bovine growth hormone, quickly followed by tomatoes) and the government still can’t figure out what to do about them.

It’s interesting that this report comes just as Monsanto is asking the FDA to approve the company’s new supposedly drought-tolerant.  If this corn really does what it is claimed to, it could fulfill what biotechnology companies have long promised.  We will have to wait and see on this one.

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Please correct me if I am wrong, but I don’t think there are any GMO foods that contain bovine growth hormone. The link you provide for it lists only plant modifications. To my knowledge, there is no Genetic engineering approved in any meat animal.

As an expert with a wide following, confusing the use of a pharmaceutical (rBST) with the presence of GMO meat in our food supply does a great disservice to the hard-working farmers who raise animal protein.

  • Bix
  • January 11, 2009
  • 7:02 am

Hi Sara. May I ask…
If we feed livestock genetically modified grain crops, and we eat the livestock, are we consuming anything that has been genetically engineered?

Only to the extent that the particular modified protein passes through the digestive system wall. In a healthy animal, most proteins are broken down before they are passed into the blood.

Remember, herbivores eat plants that would be toxic to us, yet we can eat their meat without reaction.

  • Bix
  • January 13, 2009
  • 8:22 am

I found this study which found that genetically engineered DNA in GMO crops passed intact into the intestines and was incorporated into the animals’ tissues:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16506822

“This study confirms that feed-ingested DNA fragments (endogenous and transgenic) do survive to the terminal GI tract and that uptake into gut epithelial tissues does occur.”

It’s hard to know what to believe.

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