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Friday, January 27
Most Offspring Died When Mother Rats Ate GM Soy Diet
by
Linda Thieman
on Fri 27 Jan 2006 07:00 AM CST
 Most Offspring Died When Mother Rats Ate GM Soy Diet
By Jeffrey M. Smith, author of Seeds of Deception
The Russian scientist planned a simple experiment to see if eating genetically modified (GM) soy might influence offspring. What she got, however, was an astounding result that may threaten a multi-billion dollar industry.
Irina Ermakova, a leading scientist at the Institute of Higher Nervous Activity and Neurophysiology of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), added GM soy flour (5-7 grams) to the diet of female rats. Other females were fed non-GM soy or no soy at all. The experimental diet began two weeks before the rats conceived and continued through pregnancy and nursing.
Ermakova's first surprise came when her pregnant rats started giving birth. Some pups from GM-fed mothers were quite a bit smaller. After 2 weeks, 36% of them weighed less than 20 grams compared to about 6% from the other groups.
But the real shock came when the rats started dying. Within three weeks, 25 of the 45 (55.6%) rats from the GM soy group died compared to only 3 of 33 (9%) from the non-GM soy group and 3 of 44 (6.8%) from the non-soy controls.
Ermakova preserved several major organs from the mother rats and offspring, drew up designs for a detailed organ analysis, created plans to repeat and expand the feeding trial, and promptly ran out of research money. The $70,000 needed was not expected to arrive for a year. Therefore, when she was invited to present her research at a symposium organized by the National Association for Genetic Security, Ermakova wrote 'PRELIMINARY STUDIES' on the top of her paper. She presented it on October 10, 2005 at a session devoted to the risks of GM food.
Her findings are hardly welcome by an industry already steeped in controversy.
GM Soy's Divisive Past
The soy she was testing was Monsanto's Roundup Ready variety. Its DNA has bacterial genes added that allow the soy plant to survive applications of Monsanto's 'Roundup' brand herbicide. About 85% of the soy grown in the US is Roundup Ready. Since soy derivatives, including oil, flour and lecithin, are found in the majority of processed foods sold in the US, many Americans eat ingredients derived from Roundup Ready soy everyday.
The FDA does not require any safety tests on genetically modified foods. If Monsanto or other biotech companies declare their foods safe, the agency has no further questions. The rationale for this hands-off position is a sentence in the FDA's 1992 policy that states, "The agency is not aware of any information showing that foods derived by these new methods differ from other foods in any meaningful or uniform way."[1] The statement, it turns out, was deceptive. Documents made public from a lawsuit years later revealed that the FDA's own experts agreed that GM foods are different and might lead to hard-to-detect allergens, toxins, new diseases or nutritional problems. They had urged their superiors to require long-term safety studies, but were ignored. The person in charge of FDA policy was, conveniently, Monsanto's former attorney (and later their vice president). One FDA microbiologist described the GM food policy as "just a political document" without scientific basis, and warned that industry would "not do the tests that they would normally do" since the FDA didn't require any.[2] He was correct.
There have been less than 20 published, peer-reviewed animal feeding safety studies and no human clinical trials' in spite of the fact that millions of people eat GM soy, corn, cotton, or canola daily. There are no adequate tests on "biochemistry, immunology, tissue pathology, gut function, liver function and kidney function,"[3] and animal feeding studies are too short to adequately test for cancer, reproductive problems, or effects in the next generation. This makes Ermakova's research particularly significant. It's the first of its kind.
Past Studies Show Significant Effects
Other studies on Roundup Ready soy also raise serious questions. Research on the liver, the body's major de-toxifier, showed that rats fed GM soy developed misshapen nuclei and other cellular anomalies.[4] This indicates increased metabolic activity, probably resulting from a major insult to that organ. Rats also showed changes in the pancreas, including a huge drop in the production of a major enzyme (alpha-amylase),[5] which could inhibit digestion. Cooked GM soy contains about twice the amount of soy lectin, which can also block nutrient assimilation.[6] And one study showed that GM soy has 12-14% less isoflavones, which are touted as cancer fighting.[7]
more »
Sunday, January 22
What’s Good about Choice in Iowa?
by
Linda Thieman
on Sun 22 Jan 2006 05:00 PM CST
 What’s Good about Choice in Iowa?
To
top off Blog for Iowa’s contribution to Blog for Choice day, here is a
round-up of some of the positive choice-related things in Iowa that our
few remaining freedoms still bring us, in alphabetical order.
Cyclones for Choice:
The first and only pro-choice campus organization at Iowa State
University. Cyclones for Choice meet every first and third Sunday
of the month from 8 - 9 pm at the Sloss House Center on campus in
Ames. And they’ve got a terribly crude bang-up slogan to
boot! Too suggestive to print on Blog for Iowa. Click here
to read it!
Emma Goldman Clinic:
This Iowa City clinic promotes participatory health care, informed
decision making, client rights, advocacy for women, and expansion and
support of women's choices. Their website provides pro-choice
resources and options, information on non-surgical abortions, national
reproductive rights organizations, sexual health information resources,
eastern Iowa feminist organizations, national feminist organizations,
feminist magazines and online feminist journals. By far, this is
the most comprehensive resource list I've ever seen.
Insurance Coverage for Contraception:
Iowa law requires health insurance plans that cover prescription drugs
to provide the same coverage for contraception. If a health
insurance plan provides coverage for outpatient prescription drugs or
devices or outpatient services, it must provide coverage for Food and
Drug Administration-approved prescription contraceptive drugs or
devices and outpatient contraceptive services. (Source)
Medical Students for Choice:
This group was formed to ensure that new doctors are fully trained to
meet the reproductive health needs of women. Key issues include
addressing the provider shortage and the lack of training/coverage in
med school curricula. Iowa is included in Region 4 of the
Midwestern states.
NARAL Pro-choice Iowa:
Their mission is to develop and sustain a constituency that uses the
political process to guarantee every woman the right to make personal
decisions regarding the full range of reproductive choices, including
preventing unintended pregnancy, choosing legal abortion, and having a
healthy pregnancy. Learn about the issues here or look up
activities/events on their calendar.
Planned Parenthood of Greater Iowa:
The PPGI agency offers a full range of quality reproductive health care
services to residents in 85 Iowa counties and three counties in
Illinois through 16 medical centers and an education and resource
center. You can contact PPGI if you need medical attention
related to reproductive health and contraception.
Pro-Choice Panthers:
This University of Northern Iowa student organization is an abortion
and reproductive rights advocacy organization created to serve the UNI
community. It is affiliated with NARAL Pro-choice America.
Wednesday, January 4
Dr. Susan Wood to Speak in Des Moines on Thursday, Jan. 5, on Women's Health, Emergency Contraception and the FDA
by
Linda Thieman
on Wed 04 Jan 2006 04:00 AM CST
Dr. Susan Wood to Speak in Des Moines on Thursday, Jan. 5, on Women's Health, Emergency Contraception and the FDA
Dr.
Susan Wood will be speaking at Drake University (Bulldog Theatre) on
Thursday, January 5th. This event is free and open to the public,
RSVP today! Event details are outlined below.
WOMEN'S HEALTH, EMERGENCY CONTRACEPTION AND THE FDA
Why Science is Important in Health Care Policy Decisions
Planned Parenthood of Greater Iowa invites you to attend a discussion with Dr.
Susan Wood, former Assistant Commissioner for Women’s Health and
Director of the Office of Women’s Health at the Food and Drug
Administration.
Dr. Wood resigned
on August 31, 2005, from the FDA in protest over continued delays in
approving over-the-counter status for Plan B emergency contraception.
Though
the FDA’s own scientists and advisory panels have approved Plan B for
over-the-counter status, this status has been continually delayed since
2003. These delays "continue to limit women's access to a product
that would reduce unintended pregnancies and reduce abortions," writes
Wood in her resignation, and are "contrary to [her] core commitment to
improving and advancing women's health.”
Please join us on Thursday, January 5, 2006 as Dr. Wood discusses the value of sound science when making health care policy decisions.
Who: Dr. Susan Wood
Former FDA Director of Women's Health
Date: Thursday, January 5, 2006
Time: 5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Place: Bulldog Theatre
Drake University - 29th & University
Des Moines, Iowa
RSVP
Contact Family Planning Council of Iowa at FPCI@FPCOUNCIL.COM or 515-288-9028
FREE & OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
Event sponsors:
Family Planning Council of Iowa, Planned Parenthood of Greater Iowa,
Drake University College of Pharmacy, Iowa Commission on the Status of
Women and Iowa Pharmacists Association
The Right To Mother - At the Right Time
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