First Peer Reviewed Lifetime Feeding Trial Finds “Safe” Levels Of GM Maize And Roundup Can Cause Tumors And Multiple Organ Damage

LONDON, Sept. 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — The first animal feeding trial studying the lifetime effects of exposure to Roundup tolerant GM maize, and Roundup, the world’s best-selling weedkiller, shows that levels currently considered safe can cause tumors and multiple organ damage and lead to premature death in laboratory rats, according to research published online today by the scientific journal Food and Chemical Toxicology.

Researchers found that rats fed on a diet containing NK603 Roundup tolerant GM maize, or given water containing Roundup at levels permitted in drinking water and GM crops in the US, died earlier than rats fed on a standard diet. They suffered mammary tumors and severe liver and kidney damage.

The paper, “Long term toxicity of a Roundup herbicide and a Roundup-tolerant genetically modified maize” reports on a study conducted by a team of scientists led by molecular biologist and endocrinologist Professor Gilles-Eric Seralini, co-director of the Risk Quality and Sustainable Environment Unit at the University of Caen, France, who is an authority on studies into the health impact of GMO’s and pesticides. It was supported by independent research organization, CRIIGEN.

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/first-peer-reviewed-lifetime-feeding-trial-finds-safe-levels-of-gm-maize-and-roundup-can-cause-tumors-and-multiple-organ-damage-170315086.html

Farmer’s vegetables have significantly higher nutritional value than average produce

By Alana Melanson

M.L. Altobelli’s crops have a secret: The nutritional values of the vegetables she grows are significantly higher than those ofaverage produce found at a traditional grocery store. No, the land at her Woody End Farm does not have magical properties that cause it to create superbly efficient plants. The key is what Altobelli adds to the soil prior to planting, she said.

There isn’t one specific ingredient that will ensure the plants will grow to their highest possible level of functionality, rather, it is a mix of several that are necessary, the amounts of which are highly dependent upon the soil composition and the desired outcome; measuring and balancing out what  elements are already present in the soil and supplementing them with others, she said.

China Suspends Commercialization of Genetically-Engineered Rice

China Suspends Commercialization of Genetically-Engineered (GE) Rice. In late 2011, China’s major financial weekly, the Economic Observer, quoted an information source close to the Ministry of Agriculture saying that China had suspended the commercialization of GE rice. The campaign against GE rice focused on its threat to Chinese food sovereignty as multi-national companies – not Chinese farmers – stand to profit from the commercialization of GE rice from investments in technology and patents.

Grow Wyo: More trade show trends

By Tom Heald, for the Star-Tribune