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GENETICALLY MODIFIED SOY
LINKED TO STERILITY, INFANT MORTALITY
By Jeffrey Smith
April 26, 2010
NewsWithViews.com
"This study was just routine," said Russian
biologist Alexey V. Surov, in what could end
up as the understatement of this century.
Surov and his colleagues set out to discover
if Monsanto's genetically modified (GM) soy,
grown on 91% of US soybean fields, leads to
problems in growth or reproduction. What he
discovered may uproot a multi-billion dollar
industry.
After feeding hamsters for two years over
three generations, those on the GM diet, and
especially the group on the maximum GM soy
diet, showed devastating results. By the third
generation, most GM soy-fed hamsters lost the
ability to have babies. They also suffered
slower growth, and a high mortality rate among
the pups.
And if this isn't shocking enough, some in the
third generation even had hair growing inside
their mouths - a phenomenon rarely seen, but
apparently more prevalent among hamsters
eating GM soy.
The study, jointly conducted by Surov's
Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the
Russian Academy of Sciences and the National
Association for Gene Security, is expected to
be published in three months (July 2010) --so
the technical details will have to wait. But
Surov sketched out the basic set up for me in
an email.
He used Campbell hamsters, with a fast
reproduction rate, divided into 4 groups. All
were fed a normal diet, but one was without
any soy, another had non-GM soy, a third used
GM soy, and a fourth contained higher amounts
of GM soy. They used 5 pairs of hamsters per
group, each of which produced 7-8 litters,
totally 140 animals.
Surov told The Voice of
Russia,
"Originally, everything went smoothly.
However, we noticed quite a serious effect
when we selected new pairs from their cubs and
continued to feed them as before. These pairs'
growth rate was slower and reached their
sexual maturity slowly."
He selected new pairs from each group, which
generated another 39 litters. There were 52
pups born to the control group and 78 to the
non-GM soy group. In the GM soy group,
however, only 40 pups were born. And of these,
25% died. This was a fivefold higher death
rate than the 5% seen among the controls. Of
the hamsters that ate high GM soy content,
only a single female hamster gave birth. She
had 16 pups; about 20% died.
Surov said "The low numbers in F2 [third
generation] showed that many animals were
sterile."
The published paper will also include
measurements of organ size for the third
generation animals, including testes, spleen,
uterus, etc. And if the team can raise
sufficient funds, they will also analyze
hormone levels in collected blood samples.
Hair Growing in the Mouth
Earlier this year, Surov co-authored a paper
in Doklady Biological Sciences showing that in
rare instances, hair grows inside recessed
pouches in the mouths of hamsters.
"Some of these pouches contained single hairs;
others, thick bundles of colorless or
pigmented hairs reaching as high as the
chewing surface of the teeth. Sometimes, the
tooth row was surrounded with a regular brush
of hair bundles on both sides. The hairs grew
vertically and had sharp ends, often covered
with lumps of a mucous."
(The photos of these hair bundles are truly
disgusting. Trust me, or look for yourself.)
“(a) The external appearance of the
oral cavity. Gingival pouches (GP) with
thick bundles of hair growing from their
mucous lining are clearly seen. (b)
Perforated bone tissue of the teeth of an
adult Ph. campbelli. Numerous hollows are
seen. A, hair.”
From A. S. Baranov, O. F. Chernova, N. Yu.
Feoktistova, and A. V. Surov, “A New Example
of Ectopia: Oral Hair in Some Rodent
Species,” Doklady Biological Sciences, 2010,
Vol. 431, pp. 117–120, Original Russian Text
© A.S. Baranov, O.F. Chernova, N.Yu.
Feoktistova, A.V. Surov, 2010, published in
Doklady Akademii Nauk, 2010, Vol. 431, No.
4, pp. 559–562.
At the conclusion of the study, the authors
surmise that such an astounding defect may be
due to the diet of hamsters raised in the
laboratory. They write, "This pathology may be
exacerbated by elements of the food that are
absent in natural food, such as genetically
modified (GM) ingredients (GM soybean or maize
meal) or contaminants (pesticides, mycotoxins,
heavy metals, etc.)." Indeed, the number of
hairy mouthed hamsters was much higher among
the third generation of GM soy fed animals
than anywhere Surov had seen before.
Preliminary, but Ominous
Surov warns against jumping to early
conclusions. He said, "It is quite possible
that the GMO does not cause these effects by
itself." Surov wants to make the analysis of
the feed components a priority, to discover
just what is causing the effect and how.
In addition to the GMOs, it could be
contaminants, he said, or higher herbicide
residues, such as Roundup. There is in fact
much higher levels of Roundup on these beans;
they're called "Roundup Ready." Bacterial
genes are forced into their DNA so that the
plants can tolerate Monsanto's Roundup
herbicide. Therefore, GM soy always carries
the double threat of higher herbicide content,
couple with any side effects of genetic
engineering.
Years of Reproductive
Disorders from GMO-Feed
 Surov's
hamsters are just the latest animals to suffer
from reproductive disorders after consuming
GMOs. In 2005, Irina Ermakova, also with the
Russian National Academy of Sciences, reported
that more than half the babies from mother
rats fed GM soy died within three weeks. This
was also five times higher than the 10% death
rate of the non-GMO soy group. The babies in
the GM group were also smaller (see photo) and
could not reproduce.
In a telling coincidence, after Ermakova's
feeding trials, her laboratory started feeding
all the rats in the facility a commercial rat
chow using GM soy. Within two months, the
infant mortality facility-wide reached 55%.
When Ermakova fed male rats GM soy, their
testicles changed from the normal pink to dark
blue!
Italian scientists similarly found
changes in mice testes (PDF),
including damaged young sperm cells.
Furthermore, the DNA of embryos from parent
mice fed GM soy functioned differently.
An Austrian government study published in
November 2008 showed that the more GM corn was
fed to mice, the fewer the babies they had
(PDF), and the smaller the babies were.
Central Iowa Farmer Jerry Rosman also had
trouble with pigs and cows becoming sterile.
Some of his pigs even had false pregnancies or
gave birth to bags of water. After months of
investigations and testing, he finally traced
the problem to GM corn feed. Every time a
newspaper, magazine, or TV show reported
Jerry's problems, he would receive calls from
more farmers complaining of livestock
sterility on their farm, linked to GM corn.
Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine
accidentally discovered that rats raised on
corncob bedding "neither breed nor exhibit
reproductive behavior." Tests on the corn
material revealed two compounds that stopped
the sexual cycle in females "at concentrations
approximately two-hundredfold lower than
classical phytoestrogens." One compound also
curtailed male sexual behavior and both
substances contributed to the growth of breast
and prostate cancer cell cultures. Researchers
found that the amount of the substances varied
with GM corn varieties. The crushed corncob
used at Baylor was likely shipped from central
Iowa, near the farm of Jerry Rosman and others
complaining of sterile livestock.
In Haryana, India, a team of investigating
veterinarians report that buffalo consuming GM
cottonseed suffer from infertility, as well as
frequent abortions, premature deliveries, and
prolapsed uteruses. Many adult and young
buffalo have also died mysteriously.
Denial, Attack and Canceled Follow-up
Scientists who discover adverse findings from
GMOs are regularly attacked, ridiculed, denied
funding, and even fired. When Ermakova
reported the high infant mortality among GM
soy fed offspring, for example, she appealed
to the scientific community to repeat and
verify her preliminary results. She also
sought additional funds to analyze preserved
organs. Instead, she was attacked and
vilified. Samples were stolen from her lab,
papers were burnt on her desk, and she said
that her boss, under pressure from his boss,
told her to stop doing any more GMO research.
No one has yet repeated Ermakova's simple,
inexpensive studies.
In an attempt to offer her sympathy, one of
her colleagues suggested that maybe the GM soy
will solve the over population problem!
Surov reports that so far, he has not been
under any pressure.
Opting Out of the Massive
GMO Feeding Experiment
Without detailed tests, no one can pinpoint
exactly what is causing the reproductive
travesties in Russian hamsters and rats,
Italian and Austrian mice, and livestock in
India and America. And we can only speculate
about the relationship between the
introduction of genetically modified foods in
1996, and the corresponding upsurge in low
birth weight babies, infertility, and other
problems among the US population. But many
scientists, physicians, and concerned citizens
don't think that the public should remain the
lab animals for the biotech industry's massive
uncontrolled experiment.
Alexey Surov says, "We have no right to use
GMOs until we understand the possible adverse
effects, not only to ourselves but to future
generations as well. We definitely need fully
detailed studies to clarify this. Any type of
contamination has to be tested before we
consume it, and GMO is just one of them."
©
2010 Jeffrey Smith - All Rights Reserved
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