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St. Louis, Missouri
November 11, 2008
On November 11, 2008, Greenpeace
International published a press statement which questions the
safety of two of Monsanto’s
corn trait technologies, Roundup Ready Corn 2 (Event NK603) and
YieldGard Corn Borer technology (Event MON810). The statement
was based on a preliminary report of a study entitled,
“Biological effects of transgenic maize NK603 X MON 810 fed in
long term reproduction studies in mice” released on the same
day.
The full report is available on-line, and though it has not been
peer-reviewed, we will examine it fully. The author of the
study, Dr. Jurgen Zentek, remarked that his team’s three studies
show inconsistent results and should be considered preliminary.
Consistent with Dr. Zentek’s remarks, the scientific community
refrains from making any substantive conclusions based on a
preliminary report. The gold standard for communication of
scientific results is a thorough peer review by qualified
experts.
The Greenpeace press statement is inconsistent with over a
decade of reputable, peer-reviewed, scientific studies,
including multi-generational studies, which demonstrate and
confirm the safety of GM crops.
“These products have been proven to be safe. This report does
not provide any basis to conclude otherwise,” said Jerry Hjelle,
Ph.D., Vice President of Monsanto’s regulatory group.
Activist groups for years have attempted to call into question
the safety of biotech crops. “They have made multiple
allegations based on data taken out of context and lacking
rigorous scientific review. These have ultimately failed to be
substantiated,” said Dr. Hjelle.
“The safety of our products is our utmost priority,” he said.
“We are already examining the on-line report along with other
evidence assessing the safety of GM corn.”
The Austrian study focused on MON 810 and NK603 corn
technologies, which have a history of safe use since their
introduction in 1997 and 2001, respectively. These products have
been thoroughly tested and consumed for nearly a decade.
Regulatory authorities in more than 20 countries have concluded
that these products are as safe as conventional corn.
Monsanto Company is a leading global provider of
technology-based solutions and agricultural products that
improve farm productivity and food quality. Monsanto remains
focused on enabling both small-holder and large-scale farmers to
produce more from their land while conserving more of our
world's natural resources such as water and energy.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Source:
bioSicherheit
"Gen-Mais macht impotent." Oder:
Wie mit einer wissenschaftlichen Studie Politik gemacht wird.
Eine Langzeit-Fütterungsstudie mit Mäusen hat die Diskussion
über die Sicherheit von gentechnisch verändertem Mais neu
entfacht. Labormäuse, die mit einem bestimmten gv-Mais gefüttert
wurden, brachten weniger Nachkommen zur Welt. Während
Wissenschaftler vor voreiligen Schlussfolgerungen warnten und
weitere Untersuchungen anmahnten, sahen Gentechnik-kritische
Gruppen in der Studie den Beweis für die Gefährlichkeit von
"Gen-Mais".
http://www.biosicherheit.de/de/aktuell/665.doku.html |
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