If as Munkvold says the 'Debate surrounding the use of genetically modified
crops should be based on risk/benefit assessment, including environmental
impacts, livestock impacts, and potential human health threats,' I wonder
how we can do an honest "risk/benefit assessment" of the existence of other
non-target species? How much is a monarch worth? Who gets to play God?
Aren't there alternatives like in the cow's milk benefit to feeding milk
cows contaminated corn in the first place? And the biggie question, how
long will it take with the widespread dispersal of the BT's toxin thoughout
the environment for this to become ineffective throught the evolution of
resistant pest? Coffee anyone? Mike Miller
MODIFIED CORN COULD HAVE HUMAN HEALTH BENEFITS
ST. PAUL, Minnesota, October 18, 1999 (ENS) - Controversial genetically
modified corn hybrids that produce a substance toxic to insects may protect
human health, says a scientist from Iowa State University. Plant
pathologist Gary Munkvold says Bt corn, a hybrid engineered to produce the
toxic soil bacterium Bacillus thurigiensis, may reduce human exposure to
toxins from diseases that attack corn. By reducing insect damage to the
corn, the Bt toxin also reduces the plant’s susceptibility to fungal plant
diseases. These fungi produce mycotoxins and aflatoxins that can be
dangerous to humans and livestock, whether they are eaten whole or found in
milk from cows consuming contaminated corn.
"Lower mycotoxin concentrations in Bt corn hybrids clearly represent a
benefit to consumers," says Munkvold. "Studies show Bt corn hybrids that
control European corn borer damage to kernels usually have very little
Fusarium ear rot, and consequently, lower fumonisin concentrations." The
use of Bt corn and other modified crops has come under attack this year
because of a study showing the Bt toxin may harm insects like monarch
butterflies. "Debate surrounding the use of genetically modified crops
should be based on risk/benefit assessment, including environmental
impacts, livestock impacts, and potential human health threats," says
Munkvold. "Consumers and regulatory agencies should consider the food
safety and environmental implications of Bt corn when making decisions
about its use." Munkvold’s article on Bt corn can be found on the American
Phytopathological Society’s website at:
http://www.scisoc.org/feature/BtCorn/Top.html
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