Farmers report livestock sterility and deaths
About two dozen farmers reported that thousands of their pigs had reproductive problems when fed certain varieties of Bt corn. Pigs were sterile, had false pregnancies, or gave birth to bags of water. Some cows and bulls also became sterile. Bt corn was also implicated by farmers in the deaths of cows, horses, water buffaloes, and chickens.21
When 71 Indian shepherds let their sheep graze on Bt cotton plants after harvest, within five to seven days, 25 percent died. There was an estimated 10,000 sheep deaths in the region in 2006, with more reported in 2007.
Post mortems on the sheep showed severe irritation and black patches in both intestines and liver (as well as enlarged bile ducts). Investigators said preliminary evidence "strongly suggests that the sheep mortality was due to a toxin ... most probably Bt-toxin."22
Damage to newborns
As reported in Ecologist January 2005, more than half the offspring of mother rats fed GM soy died within three weeks, compared to about 10 percent from the natural soy group. The rat pups in the GM soy group were also significantly underweight, more aggressive, and did not reproduce.
This small, preliminary study, conducted by a leading researcher at the Russian National Academy of Sciences, was repeated three times with similar results. Then, the commercial feed used for all the rats housed at the facility unexpectedly changed to a GM soy-based formula. Without non-GMO fed controls, the studies could not continue. But within two months, the infant mortality among all the rats at the laboratory jumped to more than 50 percent.
Rats fed GM soy showed dramatic changes in the cell structure and even the color of their testicles. Male mice fed GM soy also showed changes in the structure and function of testicular cells, including alterations in young sperm cells. And gene expression in the DNA of mice embryos from GM soy-fed parents was temporarily inhibited.
This section on Consumer Health Concerns from genetically modified food crops is derived entirely from the work by Jeffrey M. Smith, director of the Institute for Responsible Technology and author of “Genetic Roulette: The Documented Health Risks of Genetically Engineered Foods” and “Seeds of Deception.” www.responsibletechnology.org
References
- Jeffrey M. Smith, Genetic Roulette: The Documented Health Risks of Genetically Engineered Foods, Yes! Books, Fairfield, IA USA 2007
- "Mortality in Sheep Flocks after Grazing on Bt Cotton Fields-Warangal District, Andhra Pradesh" Report of the Preliminary Assessment, April 2006, http://www.gmwatch.org/archive2.asp