​Right to Know GMO Mississippi

Studies.

In the beginning the U.S.'s stance on the use of GMOs in food and feed products was that they have not proven to be harmful and that they were the substantial equivalent of non GMO. Substantial equivalent is a conceptual tool used  by tobacco industry to facilitate the approval process of something for which no human trials have been conducted; this was the justification given for why they were introducing these products into the U.S. diet without safety trials to see what would be the results. When trials were finally completed by the biotech corporations, invariably they deemed their products to be safe; safe, but with bias. New trials are coming out, trials by independent scientists and even government agencies. Some are noted below:

A trial done by Glyphosate’s claimed mechanism of action in plants is the disruption of the shikimate pathway, which is involved with the synthesis of the essential aromatic amino acids, phenylalanine, tyrosine, and tryptophan. The currently accepted dogma is that glyphosate is not harmful to humans or to any mammals because the shikimate pathway is absent in all animals. However, this pathway is present in gut bacteria, which play an important and heretofore largely overlooked role in human physiology through an integrated biosemiotic relationship with the human host. In addition to aiding digestion, the gut microbiota synthesize vitamins, detoxify xenobiotics, and participitate in immune system homeostasis and gastrointestinal tract permeability. Furthermore, dietary factors modulate the microbial composition of the gut. The incidence of inflammatory bowel diseases such as juvenile onset Crohn’s disease has increased substantially in the last decade in Western Europe and the United States. It is reasonable to suspect that glyphosate’s impact on gut bacteria may be contributing to these diseases and conditions.

​http://www.mdpi.com/1099-4300/15/4/1416

 

A groundbreaking new study shows that pigs were harmed by the consumption of feed containing genetically modified (GM) crops.

​The new study lends scientific credibility to anecdotal evidence from farmers and veterinarians, who have for some years reported reproductive and digestive problems in pigs fed on a diet containing GM soy and corn.

http://www.organic-systems.org/journal/81/8106.pdf

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/06/11/us-gmo-pigs-study-idUSBRE95A14K20130611

There is a USDA-ARS Southern Weed Science Research farm in Stoneville, MS, that did field studies to examine the effects of simple agronomic practices on Apergillus flavus in soil and levels of aflatoxin and fumonisin in corn and cotton seed. Corn and cotton seed are frequently contaminated with aflatoxins and fumonisins produced by Aspergillus and Fusarium fungi, making them unfit for human and animal consumption. Mycotoxin contamination is influenced by the level of infestation by toxigenic fungi and vironmental factors that stress crop plants. In 1998, drought and high temperatures in Mississippi contributed to significant levels of both aflatoxin and fumonisin in corn. Because of food safety concerns, it is critical to investigate cultural practices and crop management techniques that maximize crop yields and minimize inoculum potential of the causal fungi and mycotoxin production. Glyphosate inhibits the enzyme 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phophate synthase (EPSPS) in the shikimate pathway. Roundup Ready corn and cotton created by stable integration of a transgene that code for insensitive EPSPS are resistant to lyphosate.

Fungi possess a sensitive EPSPS and are susceptible to glyphosate.

These results indicate the potential for increased flatoxin levels (1 of 3 years) in corn and a stimulation of A. flavus populations in a Roundup Ready cropping system under climatic conditions encountered in Mississippi.

http://www.ars.usda.gov/SP2UserFiles/Place/64022000/Posters/2005/2005_SWSS_KNR.pdf