Cancer From "Safe" Levels of Herbicides & GM Corn

Here is a study that didn`t get the coverage it deserved by mass media last week. New findings from the first long-term peer-reviewed toxicity study on the world’s most popular herbicide--Roundup--and GM (genetically-modified) crop engineered to tolerate Roundup show an increase in cancer rates.

The two-year study reports that consumption of relatively low and ‘safe’ levels of the GM Roundup-tolerant maize--or the herbicide itself--resulted in significantly higher incidence of breast tumours, kidney and liver damage, and premature death in laboratory rats.

The researchers say the findings call into question the adequacy of the current regulatory process for GM foods in Europe. They explained that all current evidence on the safety of GM foods is based on 90-day feeding studies--which, for rats, is the equivalent to late teenage years/early adulthood.

However, similar to humans, cancers usually don`t show up until later in life. As a result, the new study was designed to analyze any adverse effects from long-term feeding of relatively low levels of the commercial GM corn and/or Roundup. The study lasted approximately two years, which covers the entire lifespan of rats.

The results show that consumption of even the low levels (regarded as "safe" by regulators) resulted in serious health problems-- Interestingly, these only became apparent when the rats were older than 90 days--likely the reason why short-term studies were used in the safety evidence submitted previously. The first tumour was observed after 120 days, but the research showed that the majority were only detected after 18 months.

The researchers added that their findings correspond to levels ‘likely to arise’ from consumption or exposure (including the consumption of GM crops) to Roundup, or exposure to contaminated drinking water that falls within the authorized limits.

It should be noted that this was only a very small study that needs to be replicated in a larger better-designed study, but the results are scary, and considerably more reason to consume only organic foods.

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Source: Long term toxicity of a Roundup herbicide and a Roundup-tolerant genetically modified maize

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