科学家: 转基因食品安全试验可悲地不足

科学家: 转基因食品安全试验可悲地不足

Ken Roseboro , The Organic and Non-GMO Report, Dec/Jan 2009 　

 据朱迪·卡门（Judy Carman）博士说，关于转基因食品安全方面的试验非常少，而且在试验进行时，生物技术公司就做最小化试验。卡门博士说，需要进行深入的试验研究以确保转基因食品的安全。奥地利政府最近的研究发现，老鼠在食用转基因玉米后生殖能力降低，由此看来卡门博士的建议是有预见性的。
    卡门博士是一个建康与环境研究机构的负责人，这是一个非盈利性的机构，位于澳大利亚，集中研究转基因食品的安全性。卡门具有阿德雷德大学医学博士学位，涉及领域有代谢调节、营养生物化学和癌症，她一直在为澳大利亚一个州政府调查疾病爆发问题。　　

Ken Roseboro是有机及非基因改造生物导报（The Organic & Non-GMO Report）的编辑，卡门最近访问美国时Ken采访了她。　　

可以告诉我你关于转基因食品对建康影响的研究吗?
    我们正在进行一个长期的、独立的、用转基因食品喂养动物的研究，这种研究在目前为数很少。迄今为止，这类研究多由生物技术公司或与生物技术公司有关系的科学家进行。在为数不多的独立研究中，一个由奥地利政府进行并于最近公开的研究发现，老鼠在食用转基因玉米后，生育能力下降。另一个近期在意大利开展的研究也显示，在食用转基因玉米后，老鼠出现了免疫系统问题。与独立机构发现不良反应相反的是，生物技术公司的研究倾向于证明食用转基因玉米不会引起健康问题。　　

对奥地利降低生育能力的研究结果你有什么评论吗？　　

 我还没有机会看到这一结果。有趣的是伊丽娜（Irina Ermakova，俄罗斯科学家）在用大豆喂养老鼠时也有类似的发现。食用转基因玉米对老鼠的影响越来越糟糕，这种结果令人不安。我所担心的是在人类身上正发生着类似的事情，如果真是这样，这些问题可能要经过好多年以后才能变得明显起来，而到那时候，要挽救可能就来不及了。　　

在做这类研究时最大的挑战是什么?
    有两个大的挑战。第一，要得到研究需要的GM种子非常困难。为了买到GM种子，你必须找到有许可证的种子经销商，然后签订一个技术许可协议，协议上需要声明，你不会用这些种子进行任何包括农艺学、健康与环境等研究；第二，那些试图进行GM食品健康影响研究的科学家都受到了那些转基因技术既得利益者的骚扰与胁迫。我已经遭到这些人长达10年的谩骂，他们诽谤我，将我赶出大学，还想让我失去工作。面对这些威胁，多数科学家都会选择放弃而不做任何研究。那些既得利益者一直想知道我在做什么，他们向西澳大利亚政府提出了一个信息自由申请以达到目的，但被拒绝，我差点被送上法庭，我的研究方案也差点被偷窃。　　

在美国很难找到转基因食品对健康影响方面的研究资助，在澳大利亚，你是不是发现大学和机构也不愿意资助这类研究？　　

 是的，非常难得到资助。如果你想进行医学研究，你必须去一个资助这种研究的机构，为了得到资助，你必须在该领域有一个可靠的研究业绩记录。但是在GM食品安全这种新领域，没人有可靠的业绩记录，所以很难得到资助，这就象第22条军规一样不合逻辑。（源自美国小说《第二十二条军规》，根据第二十二条军规，只有疯子才能获准免于飞行，但必须由本人提出申请，但你一旦提出申请，恰好证明了你是一个正常人，还是在劫难逃。第二十二条军规还规定，飞行员飞满32架次就能回国，但它又说，你必须绝对服从命令，要不就不能回国。因此上级可以不断给飞行员增加飞行次数，而你不得违抗。如此反复，无休无止。）我们非常感激西澳大利亚政府的资助，我们的研究方案发给了世界上15个科学家进行评审，然后由指导委员会批准。我想让人们知道的是，我做的是一个全面而彻底的研究。
如果你的研究发现转基因食品对健康有不利影响，你是不是准备迎接生物技术公司的猛烈攻击？
    是的，我明白将会发生什么，我已经被攻击过很多次。转基因食品的拥护者想用让研究者丢饭碗的方式吓唬他们以阻止这方面的研究。他们现在没法让我丢饭碗，我在我自己的组织里工作----一个健康与环境研究机构，这一机构是我和另外一些致力于弄清转基因食品是否可以安全食用的人们一同建立的。那些鼓吹转基因食品的人让我怀疑，“他们到底在担心什么？”如果他们相信转基因食品是安全的，他们将会非常自信我找不出任何问题。但他们却象得了妄想症一样。他们到底知道一些什么我不知道的内情呢？他们到底在隐瞒什么？这些越发使我好奇从而决定弄个水落石出。
GM 食品在美国被广泛消费，而美国政府反对转基因食品标识，你怎么看这件事？ 　　

我非常吃惊转基因食品标识在这里的缺乏，在澳大利亚，我们总是听说美国是自由的土地，我发现这真是不可思议，美国人对于食用转基因食品居然没有选择权，你们最基本的民主权利正在被剥夺。对于那些不愿吃转基因食品的人来说，你的喉咙正被强行塞满转基因食品，因为所有食品好象都有转基因玉米与大豆的成份。在每个美国公民都和转基因食品接触的情况下，如果出现什么错误，那将是致命的错误，如果一千人里有一个人由于食用转基因食品而生病，那将是30万人。　　

转基因食品的拥护者经常声称“没有一个美国人因为食用转基因食品而生病”。　　

 这话是垃圾，事实上是没有人知道而已。在转基因食品出现以来，成百万的美国人住院，成百万的美国人死亡，但没有人调查过任何一例生病或死亡事件是不是和食用转基因食品有关！爱滋病好几十年都没有引起注意，抽烟与肺癌的关系经过了多少代也没被发现，以现在的安全监测水平，就算GM确实引起了健康问题，也很难坐实。　　

你认为对GM庄稼应该做什么样的安全检测?　　

 我们需要进行和人类健康有关的长期试验，而且要由那些独立于转基因既得利益的人来做，安全试验现在可悲地不足，生物技术公司在做喂养研究时甚至并不全部使用转基因谷物，他们趋向于仅仅用一种提取蛋白来代替，这种蛋白甚至不是从转基因植物中提取的。喂养试验有时只做几天或几周。安全试验应该涉及食用转基因食品和非转基因食品的动物对比试验，动物饲养的时间应当足够长，从而至少可以进行诸如癌变风险、过敏试验、对繁殖的威胁以及器官的健康影响等试验。　　

你是否相信科学研究将会最终证明转基因食品有重大健康风险？　　

 你永远不知道会发生什么。独立研究最终得以进行，转基因食品对健康的不利影响正在暴露，近期关于转基因行业的坏消息已经象雪崩一样。　　

原文链接：http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_16236.cfm　

 　Scientist: GM Food Safety Testing Is "Woefully Inadequate"

　 　     By Ken Roseboro
The Organic and Non-GMO Report, Dec/Jan 2009 　　

According to Judy Carman, Ph.D., very little safety testing is done on genetically modified foods, and when it is done, biotechnology companies conduct minimal testing. Dr. Carmen says that more extensive testing of GM foods is needed to ensure they are safe. Her recommendations seem prophetic in light of a recent Austrian government study that found reduced fertility in mice-fed GM corn.

Dr. Carmen is director of the Institute of  Health and Environmental Research, Inc., a non-profit research institute based in Australia focusing on the safety of genetically modified food. She earned a doctorate degree in medicine from the University of Adelaide in the areas of metabolic regulation, nutritional biochemistry, and cancer. She has investigated outbreaks of disease for an Australian state government.

Ken Roseboro, editor of The Organic & Non-GMO Report, interviewed Dr. Judy Carmen during her recent visit to the United States　　.

Can you tell me about your research on the health impacts of GM foods?

We are conducting one of the very few long-term, independent animal feeding studies with GM foods. To date, most of these types of studies have been done by biotechnology companies or scientists associated with biotechnology companies. Of the few independent studies being done, a study by the Austrian government recently made public found reduced fertility in mice fed GM corn. Another recent study done in Italy showed immune system problems in mice fed GM corn. The studies done by biotechnology companies tend to show no health problems associated with eating GM food. The independent studies are finding adverse effects.

Do you have any comments about the Austrian study showing reduced fertility?

I haven't had a chance to read it yet. It is interesting that (Russian scientist) Irina Ermakova had similar findings (of reduced fertility) with mice fed GM soy. It is disturbing that the study showed a gradually worsening effect on mice that ate the GM corn. I am worried that something similar is happening in humans. If it is, it could take many years for problems to become apparent, and by then it could be too late to do anything about it.

What are the challenges of doing this type of research?

There are two major challenges. First, it is very hard to get GM seed to conduct the research. In order to buy GM seed, you have to go to a licensed seed dealer, and sign a technology licensing agreement, which states that you won't do any research on the seed, which includes agronomic, health, and environmental research. Also, scientists who try to research health impacts of GM food get harassed and intimidated by people with vested interests in GM technology. I've had 10 years of abuse from such people who've defamed me, driven me out of a university, and tried to get me fired from jobs. With that kind of intimidation, scientists often decide not to do any research. Vested interests have been trying to find out about research I'm doing. They filed a freedom of information request with the Western Australian government to find out. The government denied their request. It could have ended up in court. My research protocol could have been stolen.

Funding for studied looking at health effects of GM foods is difficult to find in the 　　United States. Do tyou find that universities and organizations in Australia also don't want to fund such studies?

Yes, it is very difficult to get funding. If you want to do medical research, you have to go to an organization that funds such research. In order to get funding you need to have a proven track record in that area of research. However, in a new area of research such as GM food safety, no one has a track record, so it is difficult to get the funding. It's a Catch-22. We are thankful that the Western Australian government gave us funding. The research protocol was sent to 15 scientists worldwide for review and then approved by a steering committee. I wanted people to know that I was doing a thorough job with this research.

If your research finds negative health impacts caused by GM foods, are you prepared to deal with a negative onslaught from biotech companies?

Yes, I understand that will happen. I've been attacked many times. GM food advocates want to make people who do this type of work frightened of losing their jobs to make them stop working on the issue. They can't get me fired now. I work within my own organization, the Institute of 　Health and Environmental Research, which I established along with others who are committed to finding out if GM foods are safe to eat. The behavior of GM food advocates makes me ask, "What are they frightened of?" If they believe GM foods are safe, they would be confident that I would not find any problems. Instead they are paranoid. What do they know that I don't know? What are they trying to hide? It makes me more curious and determined to find out.

GM foods are widely consumed in the United States, and the US government opposed labeling GM foods. What are your thoughts about that?

The big surprise is the lack of GM food labeling here. In Australia, we hear all the time from the 　　US that you are the land of the free. I find it amazing that Americans have no choice about eating GM foods. The most basic democratic right is being denied to you. For those who don't want to eat GM food, it is being shoved down your throats against your will because it seems that nearly all foods have ingredients from GM corn or soy. With every US citizen exposed to GM foods, if something goes wrong it could go very badly wrong. If one person in a thousand gets sick from GM foods, that's 300,000 people sick.

GM food advocates often claim that "no one in the US has ever gotten sick from eating GM foods."

It's rubbish to say that no one ever has ever gotten sick eating GM foods. The fact is that no one knows. Since GM foods have been introduced, millions of Americans have been hospitalized and millions have died, and no one has investigated to see if any of those cases have been due to eating GM foods. The HIV/AIDS epidemic went unnoticed for decades, and the relationship between  smoking and lung cancer went undetected for generations. With the current level of safety testing, if GM foods do cause human health problems, it will be very difficult to determine this, even though there may be many cases of illness.

What type of safety testing do you think should be done on GM crops?

We need long-tern safety tests that are relevant to human health done by people independent of GM vested interests. The safety testing done now is woefully inadequate. Biotechnology companies often don't even use the whole GM grain in feeding studies. Instead they tend to use only a protein extract that doesn't even come from the GM plant. The feeding tests are also only done for few days or a few weeks. Safety tests should involve comparing animals fed GM foods with animals fed the equivalent non-GM food. The animals should be fed long enough and involve tests that, at a minimum, measure risks of cancer and allergy and threats to reproduction and organ health.

Do you believe that scientific research will conclusively show that GM foods pose significant health risks?

You never know what will happen. Independent research is finally being done and is showing adverse effects. There's been an avalanche of bad news for the GM industry lately.　　

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