Monday, June 17, 2013

Pigs Fed GMOs Suffer Severe Stomach Inflammation

Study:
A Long-Term Toxicology Study On Pigs Fed A Combined Genetically Modified (GM) Soy And GM Maize Diet, Journal of Organic Systems, 2013

There were two unusual findings in this study. First, the GM-fed female pigs had heavier wombs, indicating a diseased state:
"In this study, we found that female pigs fed the GM diet had median uterine weights that were 25% greater than non-GM-fed pigs (p=0.025). ... Such a biologically significant difference in uterine weights may reflect endometrial hyperplasia or carcinoma, endometritis, endometriosis, adenomyosis, inflammation, a thickening of the myometrium, or the presence of polyps."
Top photo from a non-GM-fed pig, bottom from a GM-fed pig.
Second, there was a higher rate of severe stomach inflammation in the GM-fed pigs:
"Pigs fed the mixed GM soy and GM corn diet showed 2.6 times the rate of severe stomach inflammation compared to non-GM fed pigs. This biologically significant finding was statistically significant (p=0.004). GM-fed male pigs showed severe stomach inflammation at a rate of 4.0 times that of the non GM fed male pigs (p=0.041); and female pigs showed a rate of severe stomach inflammation that was 2.2 the rate of the non-GM fed female pigs (p=0.034).

We found severe stomach inflammation in 22.2% of male pigs fed the GM diet and in 41.7% of female pigs fed the GM diet (compared to 5.6% and 18.9%, respectively, in pigs fed the non-GM diet.

One explanation for the inflammation results could lie with the proteins that these GM corn varieties are engineered to produce. They act as insecticides by inducing pore formation and disintegration of the gut tissue of certain grubs that attack corn plants."
The study is notable for its use of pigs, which the authors state have a similar gastrointestinal tract to that of humans, and for its use of a GM soy and corn mix which "is widely consumed by people, particularly in the USA."


Related:

A Long-Term Toxicology Study On Pigs Fed A Mixed GM Diet. Adverse Effects Of GM Crops Found., Study summary by lead author Dr. Judy Carman, 11 June 2013

The Problem With The Safety Of Roundup Ready Soybeans, Judy Carman, MPH, PhD Flinders University.
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3 comments:

Bix said...

Baby boomers (born 1946-1964) grew up without eating GMOs, which didn't appear in the market until the late 1990s. Today's youth will have been exposed to GMOs for most of their lives, beginning with infant formula.

At the moment, there is no genetically engineered wheat approved in the US, actually nowhere in the world. However, that may soon change:

Biotech wheat inevitable, industry says

Idaho Wheat Commission Executive Director Blaine Jacobson believes commercial genetically modified wheat in the U.S. market is about 8 to 10 years away, but it wouldn't surprise him to see it appear sooner in another country.

GMO bread. It's coming.

Bix said...

There's something else going on here, apart from any effect of proteins from foreign transgenes, that is, apart from the GMOs themselves.

Roundup Ready plants are designed to withstand applications of Roundup, an herbicide. So you can spray the plants directly, something you wouldn't do to conventional non-GMO plants, they'd die. The plants may then adsorb (onto surface) and absorb (internally) the herbicide.

Roundup has been shown to be an endocrine disruptor. This might be why the females had uterine abberations - heavier wombs. They didn't investigate the males because they were castrated, but Roundup has been shown to interfere with testosterone production.

Bix said...

The Journal of Organic Systems is a professional, peer-reviewed journal. Published studies such as Carman's had to pass muster:

"All manuscripts undergoing confidential review will be judged on the relevance of their content, brevity and clarity of presentation, validity of methodology used and conclusions made, accuracy in data, analysis, and literature citations."