Eating GE Food Can Cause Mutations In Babies

EATING GENETIC ENGINEERED FOOD CAN CAUSE MUTATIONS IN BABIES

* Mutations are caused by altered DNA that have been inherited

* University studies in Europe prove that altered DNA in food eaten by pregnant animals is found in the tissues and organs of their babies

* Many New Zealand scientists, farmers, government leaders and the Royal Commission have ignored these studies.

* Mutations are caused by altered DNA that are inherited. Nucleotide bases (the building blocks of DNA) may be altered, inserted or lost, causing inheritable changes in genes. Some mutations are beneficial to our evolution; most are harmful.

* University studies in Europe prove that altered DNA in food eaten by pregnant animals is found in the tissues and organs of their babies.

"When M13 DNA is fed to pregnant mice the test DNA can be detected in cells in various organs of the fetuses and of newborn animals. It is likely that the M13 DNA is transferred by the transplacental route and not via the germ line." (Doerfler, W., and Schubbert, R. Uptake of foreign DNA from the environment: the gastrointestinal tract and the placenta as portals of entry. Wien Klin Wochenschr, 110, 40-4 (1998).)

"foreign DNA, orally ingested by pregnant mice, can be discovered in various organs of fetuses and of newborn animals. Is maternally ingested foreign DNA a potential mutagen for the developing fetus?" (Schubbert, R., Hohlweg, U., Renz, D., and Doerfler, W. On the fate of orally ingested foreign DNA in mice: chromosomal association and placental transmission to the fetus. Mol. Gen. Genet., 259, 569-76 (1998).)

"The researchers investigated the survival of DNA from transgenic maize and the transfer of the antibiotic resistance bla gene to bacteria in the presence of saliva. Horizontal gene transfer can occur before the DNA is completely broken down." (Duggan, P. S., Chambers, P. A., Heritage, J. & Forbes, J. M. Survival of free DNA encoding antibiotic resistance from transgenic maize and the transformation activity of DNA in ovine saliva, ovine rumen fluid and silage effluent. Federation of European Microbiological Societies, 191, 71-77 (2000).

"Agrobacterium attaches to and genetically transforms several types of human cells." (Kunik, T. et al. BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES - MICROBIOLOGY - Genetic transformation of HeLa cells by Agrobacterium. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 98, 6 (2001).)

* Many New Zealand scientists, farmers, government leaders and the Royal Commission have ignored these studies. Note: two of these studies date back to 1998, yet are still being ignored. (Abstracts for studies available upon request)

For further discussion contact:
Charles Drace, CFP PO Box 3833, Christchurch 8015
Bus. tel: 03-364-9140 Bus. fax: 03-364-9132
After hours phone: 03-365-6607

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