from 

GMWatch <gmwatch-daily@gmwatch.eu

NOTE: GM lobbyists are claiming it doesn't matter if the Bt toxin is turning up
in people's blood because the Bt toxin is natural, known to be harmless to
humans, and has been safely used for decades in agriculture in the form of
natural insecticidal sprays, including in organic farming. In addition, they
say, Bt crops have been tested and approved as safe.

But the Bt toxin produced in GM crops is not the same as the natural Bt toxin.
The process of genetic engineering changes it. And testing is not actually
performed on the Bt toxin extracted from GM plants, which would be the
scientific way, as it is claimed that it is too expensive to isolate.

GM Bt toxins are engineered into plants with promoters designed to keep the Bt
toxin protein expressing in every cell of the plant. The Bt is ingested by
animals and people who consume crop plants like Bt maize. The natural Bt used in
agricultural sprays, by contrast, degrades rapidly in daylight and does not end
up being eaten by people, so it is unlikely to ever end up in consumers' bodies.


This is fortunate because even natural Bt can cause harm when ingested. Studies
show that it has ill effects on laboratory animals, producing a potent immune
response and enhancing the immune response to other substances.

Vázquez RI, Moreno-Fierros L, Neri-Bazan L, De La Riva GA, Lopez-Revilla R.
Bacillus thuringiensis Cry1Ac protoxin is a potent systemic and mucosal
adjuvant. Scand J Immunol. Jun 1999;49(6):578-584.

Vázquez-Padrón RI, Moreno-Fierros L, Neri-Bazan L, de la Riva GA, Lopez-Revilla
R. Intragastric and intraperitoneal administration of Cry1Ac protoxin from
Bacillus thuringiensis induces systemic and mucosal antibody responses in mice.
Life Sci. 1999;64(21):1897-1912.

Vázquez-Padrón RI, Moreno-Fierros L, Neri-Bazan L, Martinez-Gil AF, de-la-Riva
GA, Lopez-Revilla R. Characterization of the mucosal and systemic immune
response induced by Cry1Ac protein from Bacillus thuringiensis HD 73 in mice.
Braz J Med Biol Res. Feb 2000;33(2):147-155.
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Toxin from GM crops found in human blood: Study
Dinesh C. Sharma
India Today, May 11 2011
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/site/story/toxin-from-gm-crops-found-in-human-blood/1/137728.html

New Delhi - Fresh doubts have arisen about the safety of genetically modified
crops, with a new study reporting presence of Bt toxin, used widely in GM crops,
in human blood for the first time.

Genetically modified crops include genes extracted from bacteria to make them
resistant to pest attacks.

These genes make crops toxic to pests but are claimed to pose no danger to the
environment and human health. Genetically modified brinjal, whose commercial
release was stopped a year ago, has a toxin derived from a soil bacterium called
Bacillus thuringiensis ( Bt).

Till now, scientists and multinational corporations promoting GM crops have
maintained that Bt toxin poses no danger to human health as the protein breaks
down in the human gut. But the presence of this toxin in human blood shows that
this does not happen.

Scientists from the University of Sherbrooke, Canada, have detected the
insecticidal protein, Cry1Ab, circulating in the blood of pregnant as well as
non-pregnant women.

They have also detected the toxin in fetal blood, implying it could pass on to
the next generation. The research paper has been peer-reviewed and accepted for
publication in the journal Reproductive Toxicology. The study covered 30
pregnant women and 39 women who had come for tubectomy at the Centre Hospitalier
Universitaire de Sherbrooke (CHUS) in Quebec.

None of them had worked or lived with a spouse working in contact with
pesticides.

They were all consuming typical Canadian diet that included GM foods such as
soybeans, corn and potatoes. Blood samples were taken before delivery for
pregnant women and at tubal ligation for non-pregnant women. Umbilical cord
blood sampling was done after birth.

Cry1Ab toxin was detected in 93 per cent and 80 per cent of maternal and fetal
blood samples, respectively and in 69 per cent of tested blood samples from
non-pregnant women. Earlier studies had found trace amounts of the Cry1Ab toxin
in gastrointestinal contents of livestock fed on GM corn. This gave rise to
fears that the toxins may not be effectively eliminated in humans and there may
be a high risk of exposure through consumption of contaminated meat.

"Generated data will help regulatory agencies responsible for the protection of
human health to make better decisions", noted researchers Aziz Aris and Samuel
Leblanc.

Given the potential toxicity of these environmental pollutants and the fragility
of the foetus, more studies are needed, particularly those using the placental
transfer approach, they added Experts have warned of serious implications for
India. Cottonseed oil is made from seeds of genetically modified cotton and thus
Bt toxin may have already entered the food chain in India.

"Indian regulators should be immediately called for detailed toxicological
studies to know the extent of contamination of the human blood with Bt toxins
coming from cottonseed oil, and also ascertain its long term health impacts,"
Sharma said.


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