Switzerland Votes on GM Crop Ban

[Clara T]

Last Updated: Sunday, 27 November 2005, 03:48 GMT


Switzerland votes on GM crop ban
Imogen Foulkes
BBC News, Berne

The influential biotechnology industry opposes a ban
Switzerland is holding a vote on a proposal to ban all genetically modified crops for a five-year period.
Supporters of the proposal, including many farmers, say a ban would allow more time to assess the possible risks of GM crops before introducing them.

But the country's influential biotechnology industry has been campaigning hard against a ban.

It says Switzerland must not turn away from new developments which could harm domestic scientific research.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4475044.stm

[EC]

1. They were right to wait, look what happened in

Australia...

Of Mice and Men: Rodent Trials Show Biotech is Squeaky Unclean
by Lila Rajiva

A $3 million, ten-year trial of genetic modification (GM) on field peas at The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), Australia’s national science research organization, was scrapped last week (November 18, 2005) when the GM pea caused inflammation in the lungs of mice it was fed to. Pea weevil takes a 30% whack out of Australia’s $100 million pea industry and the GM strain, which inserted a bean gene into the peas that the pesky weevil could not digest, was touted to reduce the need for insecticide to tackle the problem. But scientists at the John Curtin School of Medical Research in Canberra who led the immunological research found that when inserted into the pea, the bean gene triggered an immune reaction in mice. Their results were published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. Slight as it seems, the case has fired up the anti-GM movement and may even have the potential to derail the biotech juggernaut. Point by point, here’s why....(full article)

http://www.dissidentvoice.org/

[Clara T]

2. This study also corroborates

Abstract The present work has been designed to study the effect of
feeding on transgenic potatoes, which carry the CryI gene of Bacillus
thuringiensis var. kurstaki strain HD1, on the light and electron
microscopic structure of the mice ileum, in comparison with feeding on potatoes treated with the -endotoxin isolated from the same bacterial
strain. The microscopic architecture of the enterocytes of the ileum
of both groups of mice revealed certain common features such as the
appearance of mitochondria with signs of degeneration and disrupted
short microvilli at the luminal surface. However, in the group of mice
fed on the -endotoxin, several villi appeared with an abnormally large
number of enterocytes (151.8 in control group versus 197 and 155.8 in
endotoxin and transgenic-treated groups, respectively). Fifty percent
of these cells were hypertrophied and multinucleated. The mean area of
enterocyte was significantly increased (105.3 µm2 in control group
versus 165.4 µm2 and 116.5 µm2 in endotoxin and transgenic-treated
groups, respectively). Several forms of secondary lysosomes or
auotophagic vacuoles were recognized in these cells. These changes
were confirmed with the scanning electron microscope which revealed a
remarkable increase in the topographic contour of enterocytes (23 µm
in control group versus 44 µm and 28 µm in endotoxin and
transgenic-treated groups, respectively) at the divulged surface of
the villi. The basal lamina along the base of the enterocytes was
damaged at several foci. Several disrupted microvilli appeared in
association with variable-shaped cytoplasmic fragments. Some of these
fragments contained endoplasmic reticulum, as well as ring-shaped
annulate lamellae. In addition, the Paneth cells were highly activated
and contained a large number of secretory granules. These changes may
suggest that -endotoxin-treated potatoes resulted in the development
of hyperplastic cells in the mice ileum. Although mild changes are
reported in the structural configuration of the ileum of mice fed on
transgenic potatoes, nevertheless, thorough tests of these new types
of genetically engineered crops must be made to avoid the risks before
marketing.
http://www.purefood.org/gefood/iliumstudy.cfm


Go here for a list of studies:http://www.thebigcarrot.ca/biotech2.htm