The Beef War
Moanin' over hormones
Hormonal politics
Nutty, dangerous genes
Guessing game?
Udder woes
The continuing controversy about the safety of artificial dairy hormones is reflected in this label.
More worries about genetically engineered food
As genetic engineers continue to move genes among various organisms, what other kinds of harm could result?
- Antibiotic resistance
- Most gene transfers fail because the target cells just don't take up the new gene. For convenience, genetic engineers often link the gene they are transferring to another that gives resistance to antibiotics. After attempting the gene transfer, they add antibiotic to the cells, and only the resistant cells -- those carrying the new genes -- survive.
Could antibiotic resistance be transferred to bacteria in the human gut? The standard answer is "no," because genes are destroyed by digestive chemicals. But in February, researchers from the Dutch State Institute for Quality Control of Agricultural Products reported that DNA stayed intact for several minutes in an artificial stomach. That raised the possibility that bacteria could receive antibiotic resistance in the gut (see "Crop Engineers..." in the bibliography).
How widespread are antibiotic resistant bacteria? Has anybody actually counted all the bacteria?
- That milk hormone again
- Remember bovine growth hormone (BGH), AKA BST or bovine somatotropin? This synthetic hormone, approved against great opposition in 1993 to raise production in U.S. dairy cows, is back in the news. Canadian regulators in the Health Protection Branch of Health Canada seem ready to reject an application for BST in Canada, citing incomplete safety evidence: " Both procedural and data gaps were found which fail to properly address the human safety requirements of this drug under the Food and Drugs Act and Regulations." Specifically, the report cited evidence that BST would be absorbed through the gastrointestinal tract, as could IGF-1, a growth hormone found in high levels in BST-treated milk. (See "The Monsanto Roundup..." in the bibliography).
- Environmental dangers
- The assumption that genetically engineered crops are safe for the environment suffered a body blow recently when monarch butterfly caterpillars were poisoned by an insect-killing toxin carried in the pollen of transgenic plants.
There's also new evidence for the transfer of genes from crops to weeds. Finally, some farmers seem to be ignoring plans to plant some fields with varieties lacking Bt, to slow the evolution of insects resistant to the natural pesticide, which is a mainstay of organic agriculture (see "Playing God..." in the bibliography).
Can't get enough? There's lots more in the bibliography.
