As I fixed* a computer today I had a very interesting article thrust into my hand. The article was accompanied by an equally interesting conversation. I will reprint the article below with the understading that I may yank it at anytime should I catch flak about it from the person who gave it to me, or from GreenPeace, because frankly I am afraid of them.**
The Application of BT Corn for the Reduction of Birth Defects
Bruce M. Chassy, Ph.D.,
Grain and other agricultural products are often contaminated with highly toxic and carcinogenic mold metabolites called mycotoxins. Mycotoxins have been shown to have direct negative effects on animal and human heatlth. It is estimated that the impact of mycotoxins on animal agriculture is more than $1 billion in the
Folic acid deficiency during the first trimester of pregnancy gives rise to babies with Neural Tube Defects (NTDs) at an alarmingly high rate. This fact prompted the Surgeon General to recommend increased folate intake for all women of childbearing age. Evidence has recently emerged from animal studies that fumonisins may have teratogenic effects on animals. It has also been deiemonstrated that fumonisin blocks the uptake of folic acid by cells. Thus, exposure to fumonisins could lead to NTDs in human babies even when sufficient folic acid is present in a mother’s diet. Research has shown that high levels of folate can, however, partially reverse fumonisin-induced inhibition of folate uptake in cultured cells.
The hypothesis that fumonisin could produce birth defects in humans is supported by recent epidemiological studies that show a higher incidence of NTDs in populations which consume large quantities of whole corn in their diets. Similar high levels of birth defects have been recorded in the Southwest US, Guatemala, and
Data from various investigators on several continents demonstrate that Bt-corn that is protected from boring insects has consistently much lower levels, often 5-20-fold, of fumonisin than conventional corn—presumably due to a reduction in the insect damage that serves as a site of mold infection. In contrast, 6 out of 6 brands tested of organic corn meal were found by the UK Food Standards Agency to contain fumonisin at levels in excess of a proposed 500ppb EC standard, while only 4 out of 24 conventional products exceeded the proposed limit. This is presumably because of the poorer insect control available to organic farmers.
A dispassionate reading of these observations would suggest that health regulatory authorities in countries where whole corn products are consumed should mandate, or at least encourage, the cultivation of Bt-corn. In some circumstances, the planting of Bt-corn could be the only means to insure acceptably low levels of fumonisin if safe maximums are set. Clearly, increased planting of Bt-corn could protect public health and reduce birth defects.
Unfortunately, activist opposition to the modern biotechnology used to produce Bt-corn has frightened consumers who might otherwise expect authorities to mandate a switch to safer corn. Some consumers buy organic foods in the belief that they are safer because chemical pesticides and GM seeds are not used in the production process. Ironically, they are actually exposed to far greater real health risks by their avoidance of GM crops (that often also contain no pesticides). The science community obviously needs to do a much better job of communicating a science-based food risk hierarchy to the consumer. The Bt-corn, fumonisin and NTD story is but one example of how misunderstaning science can damage public health and distract the public’s attention from real risks.
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*I was’nt fixing so much as hacking in this case, the administrator password had been lost and I had to pull out my Network Analyst equivalent of a hacksaw, and smash into the SAM database and change the password. Fun stuff.
