GE Crops Producing Mystery Illnesses

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Allergic reactions and respiratory illnesses in people living next to GE Crop BT Maize

Back in 2004 people living next to GE Crop BT maize field in the Phillipines began to show signs of strange allergic reactions. Symptoms like fevers, respiratory illnesses and skin problems. Scientists investigating found that the pollen from the crop may have triggered these reactions in people.

Corporate giant Monsanto and the Phillipines government immediately challenged these findings.They were living near GE Crops of Bt maize which contains a pesticide in the gene.

Doctors thought it was an infectious disease but some families left and recovered and then showed the same symptoms when they returned so they began to suspect an environmental cause.

Terje traavik, scientific director of the Norwegian Institute of Gene Ecology was asked to investigate.It seems villagers had developed antibodies to the maizes inbuilt pesticide.

His team found that genetically engineered viruses used in the Ge crops process recombined with natural viruses to create new hybrid viruses with unpredictable characteristics.If confirmed this could suggest that they could cause new diseases.

With such evidence of possible human health impact of foods already on the market, we believed that waiting to report our findings through publication would not be in the publics interest.

Director denies illness links to BT Corn

Artemio Salazar the director of the maize programme of the Philippine department of agriculture said the implication of the study is that the resistant gene got inserted into the human gene, which is impossible. These products are already out on the market and Bt maize GE crops have been in broad commercial cultivation for seven years over millions of hectares in the US Canada, Argentina, Spain and South Africa beginning the 1996.