Most important news

These texts are excerpts from our News page, where you will find more news, and more extensive versions of the accounts below. You will find the news page when you continue into the website by way of the 2-step introduction. If you want to go directly to step one, click here.

Organic farming could feed the world

No need for genetic engineering and industrial agriculture

A large study at the University of Michigan has found that organic farming can yield at least as much as industrial agriculture and may even yield 80% more.

This shatters the major argument for GE food which has been that it is required for preventing world hunger. It is now well established that there is in reality no need at all for GE-foods.

GE foods are likely to increase the risk for world hunger

Two factors, not considered so far, have both the effect that extensive dependence on GE food production for feeding the world as planned by the biotech industry, increases the risk for mass starvation. They are:

• An increased risk for crop failure caused by extreme climate conditions due to Global Warming. This is because GE crops are more sensitive to extreme conditions.
• Global oil shortage predicted to occur within less than ten years according to leading experts. GE food production is heavily dependent on oil.

Recent research proves - gene technology is inherently unsafe

Gene technology is based on the belief that genes are carriers of single traits. So it was believed that you can transfer traits by transferring single genes. But in June 2007 a worldwide consensus was reached among leading scientists that this is definitely wrong.

The effects of every gene is determined by the total situation in the cell. When genes are transferred to a foreign environment, their effects is therefore inevitably unpredictable. Unexpected substances may appear, which may be harmful.

A very important consequence of this conclusion is that the present method for assessing the safety of GE foods is highly insufficient. It is not designed for detecting unexpected harmful substances. All GE foods on the market have to be withdrawn for this reason.

37 persons killed and 1500 permanently disabled by a highly poisonous substance

New evidence indicate that genetic engineering was the cause

After eating a food supplement produced by genetically engineered bacteria, 37 persons were killed 1500 people were permanently disabled in the US in a disease called eosonophil myalgia syndrome (EMS). It was caused by one or more extremely poisonous substances that unexpectdedly appeared in this food supplement.

The biotech lobby maintained that reduced filtration of impurities was the cause. But new evidence found by the american attorney William Crist proves that many fell ill before the reduction of filtration.

Our analysis, against the background of the new evidence, concludes that it is extremely unlikely that anything else than genetic engineering caused the appearance of the poison.

Cows ate GE maize and died - the same gene as in GE maize for humans

Twelve dairy cows died in Hesse, Germany after being fed Syngenta's Bt 176 GE maize; and other cows had to be slaughtered due to mysterious illnesses.

A chief suspect for the death of the cows is the toxic Bt protein contained in the Bt 176 Maize. Syngenta says that the same toxic protein is found in Bt 11-Maize intended for human food.

Studies conducted in Japan in 2003 clearly showed that undigested Bt toxin is present in calf stomach, intestine and dung after being fed Bt 11 maize; and these results have been replicated in further experiments in pigs. This supports the suspiscion that it was the Bt-toxin that killed the cows.

The fact that Syngenta has not withdrawn its Bt-Maize in spite of this indicates a serious lack of responsibility. It indicates that it is dangerous to let the biotech corporations make the safety assessment of their products (as is the practice today, see "Inadequate safety assessment of GE foods") and not independent institutes.

Over 50% of newborn rats died within 3 weeks when mothers were fed with GE soya

36% were severely stunted

More than half the offspring of soya fed rats died in the the first three weeks of life. This was six times as many as with normal diet. Of those who survived, six times many as those eating normal diet, had underweight.

"The morphology and biochemical structures of rats are very similar to those of humans, and this makes the results very disturbing" according to the scientists who did the research.

Virus genes from GE foods can end up among your own genes

Genes (DNA) from the cells, including the meat, of chicken who had eaten only genetically engineered Bt corn contained pieces of DNA from this food. This DNA contains virus genes that are suspected to be cancerogenic or otherwise pathogenic. This means that if you eat GE foods, virus genes that may be harmful, can end up in your cells.

Liver changes from GE food

Liver changes were found in mice fed on Genetically Engineered Soy Beans. Ultramicroscopic study revealed significant changes in the cell nucleus.

This abnormality in the liver cells indicates that GE foods may cause serious disturbances in cellular function that may affect health.

Mass death of Sheep from grazing GE cotton field

At least 1 820 sheep were reported dead after grazing on post-harvest Bt cotton crops; the symptoms and post-mortem findings strongly suggest they died from severe toxicity.

This was uncovered in a preliminary investigation conducted by civil society organisations in just four villages in India. The actual problem is likely to be much greater.

This is the second instance of GE-plants killing animals feeding upon it. In both this case, and that of cows killed as described above, the plants were genetically manipulated with a gene producing the insect toxin of Bacillus Thuringiensis (Bt).

The serious thing about this is that the same toxin-producing gene is found in some GE-foods intended for human consumption, including GE-maize (for example Syngenta Bt11 Maize) and GE-potatoes (recently offered to Russia).

GE soy may cause long time allergy problems

GE Maize approved as human food caused negative effects in mice

The research on NK603 maize from Monsanto was independently assessed by the independent french research institute CRIIGEN. In a report, released in June 2007, they pointed out that there were 60 significant differences between rats that were fed the GE maize and those fed normal maize (all for 90 days). The first group showed differences in their kidney, brain, heart and liver measurements, as well as significant weight differences. CRIIGEN concludes that the results indicate a negative effect of the maize.

Animals Avoid GE Food

Experimental and anecdotal evidence shows that animals seek to avoid GE food and do not thrive if forced to consume such food.

In a study, the mortality rate was twice as high among the chickens eating GE maize as compared with those fed commercial non-GE hybrid maize.

An anonymous scientist reported: "Generally, the reports are concerned with Bt maize. Many farmers feed maize to their cattle just as it grows, without mixing in other feedstuffs. Typical reports are that the farmer buys a new shipment of maize, which his cattle either refuse to eat or eat with reduced consumption. Upon making enquiries, he discovers that the maize is a genetically modified variety. When he replaces it with a non-modified maize, the cattle start eating again. There have been dozens of such reports over the last two years."

GE crops causing agricultural crisis in Argentina

Argentina has suffered an environmental crisis with 'superweeds' overrunning the countryside and farmers reporting health problems, experts warn.

Since 1997, genetically-modified soya has been planted over almost half the country's arable land. Now farmers are having to use more and more herbicides to control the resistant weeds, damaging the soil's fertility for generations.

A study, detailed in the respected journal New Scientist, has found that over-use of weedkillers is rendering the soil 'inert' - and directly affecting human health.

FDA suppressed report on harmful effects of GE food

The safety of the first GE product intended for human food, the GE-tomato Flavrsavr, was studied very extensively and the result was used as a showcase of the safety of GE food. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of USA stated that the "proven safety of FlavrSavr" demonstrated that GE-foods in general are safe, and decided consequently not to demand as rigorous safety examinations for other GE-foods. In stead a very liberal procedure based on the principle of "substantial equivalence" was established, which did not require any careful testing of toxic or other harmful substances.

This decision was completely unscientific, as it is a well established fact that every case of genetic engineering has unique effects, so it is not justified to draw a general conclusion from a special case.

Moreover, several years later it was discovered that, in one of the "safety showcase" reports, it was found that the GE-tomato Flavrsavr caused lesions in the stomachs of mice. However, this finding was suppressed by FDA.

The liberal safety assessment procedure established by FDA in 1994 has been applied on all GE foods in the market today and it is still applied in spite of extensive and serious critisism from a large number of scientific experts.

Leading Scientist sacked after presidential intervention

Dr Arpad Pusztai, a world renowned nutrition expert, expressed doubts about the safety of GE foods on BBC TV "World In Action broadcast" in August 1998. Because he was a leading expert, this was a great sensation. So Pusztai's critisim was aired all over the world.

But a few days later again, all over the world, the story was aired that he was an old man (68) who had confused his results, making wrong conclusions. This was however a lie. Now it has been revealed that Blair was forced by President Clinton to sack him and to create a suitable excuse to disregard Pusztais opinion.

These are only a few selected news items among the increasing number of disquieting facts presented at this website. Please return to the start page for more.