Tuesday, April 22, 2014 by: L.J. Devon, Staff Writer
(NaturalNews)
Monsanto's Roundup is coming under fire in Denmark as scientists awake
to its effect on enzymes activities and the gastrointestinal health of
mammals. Danish scientists are calling out for further investigation of
the weed killer and other glyphosate-containing pesticides. Citing
glyphosate's potential for abuse on the health of livestock, the
scientists report that the chemical is most dangerous during a mammal's
sensitive life stages.
Likewise, the weed killer has been proven
to inhibit specific enzyme pathways in the guts of mammals -- enzymes
that play an important role in allowing the body to detoxify naturally.
Current
health assessments of livestock in Denmark show that genetically
modified soy feed, which is doused with glyphosate, has negative effects
on mammalian health. Scientists from Denmark's Aarhus University
investigated various farmer reports at the request of the Danish farm
minister.
One of the scientists, Martin Tang Sorensen, hit the
ground running, reviewing study after study identifying the risks that
glyphosate poses to livestock health. Evidence pointed out that
glyphosate impacts livestock the most during sensitive phases of the
animal's life.
Two hypotheses were studied and were of great
concern to the researchers. The first investigated glyphosate's damaging
effect on the microorganisms in an animal's gastrointestinal system.
The second studied an animal's mineral status as a secondary effect of
glyphosate exposure.
For
cattle and poultry, glyphosate disrupts the natural "good" bacteria
balance in the gut. This is evidenced by the recent uptick of
infections in cattle. In the past ten years in Germany, botulism
infections have increased dramatically, showing how a diminished
gastrointestinal tract favors the growth of infectious disease. For
example, salmonella and clostridium were found to be highly resistant to
. At the same time,
Without enough good bacteria, the gut of the livestock becomes a nest for disease to replicate.
GM Soy Linked to Illnesses in Farm Pigs
Dr Eva Sirinathsinghji
Institute of Science in Society
Danish Farmer Reverses Illnesses in pigs by reverting to a GM-free diet for his animals, which is yet further evidence for the toxicity of glyphosate tolerant GM crops Dr Eva Sirinathsinghji
A
Danish farmer has gained huge public recognition for publishing his
simple method for ridding his pigs of illness- removing genetically
modified (GM) ingredients from their diet.
Published in the farming magazine
Effektivt Landbrug on
13 April 2012 [1], the farmer Ib Borup Perderson describes how his pigs
suffered from symptoms including chronic diarrhoea, birth defects,
reproductive problems, reduced appetite, bloating, stomach ulcers,
weaker and smaller piglets, and reduced litter sizes. This was not just a
problem for the animals themselves but also the profitability of the
farm, with fewer healthy animals, mounting costs of medicines and added
labour costs.
After researching the health hazards of GM foods and
associated herbicides, Pederson decided to stop feeding his 450 sows
with GM soybean, replacing them with fishmeal and non-GM soybean
instead. He began to notice health benefits after two days of a GM-free
diet. The farmer’s account has since been published in an English
dossier compiled by scientist Brian John of GM-free Cymru (Wales), with
collaboration from Pederson, published online by GM Watch [2].
This
finding adds to the continual flow of new evidence appearing in
peer-reviewed scientific studies, farmers’ reports and witness accounts
of the devastating health impacts of glyphosate-based herbicides and the
associated GM crops modified to tolerate it. Birth defects from
glyphosate exposure were detected in the 1980s in lab animals performed
by Monsanto (see [3]
EU Regulators and Monsanto Exposed for Hiding Glyphosate Toxicity,
SiS 51, [4]
Lab Study Establishes Glyphosate Link to Birth Defects,
SiS 48, 5
Glyphosate Kills Rat Testes Cells,
SiS 54). Residents of heavy agrochemical-use zones in Argentina have
seen startling increases in birth defects, adult and human cancer rates
as well as other illnesses (see [6]
Argentina’s Roundup Human Tragedy,
SiS 48, [7]
Pesticide Illnesses and GM Soybeans,
SiS
53). Argentinian tobacco farmers have recently filed a lawsuit against
Monsanto for birth defects suffered by their children following claims
by the corporation that the chemical was safe to use [8]. Animal feeding
studies have shown GM soya feed to cause sterility, stunting and death
in rats (see [9]
GM Soya Fed Rats: Stunted, Dead, or Sterile,
SiS
33). This is also not the first time that livestock illness including
reproductive problems has been linked to glyphosate-tolerant crop
derived feed. Professor Emeritus Don Huber of Perdue University, a
senior scientist of USDA (US Department of Agriculture) has been
studying crop health for over 20 years, and warned how reduced mineral
content of glyphosate-tolerant crops lead to nutritional deficiencies in
livestock that in turn cause reproductive problems (see [10]
USDA Scientist Reveals All,
SiS
53). Reduced mineral content in crops results from glyphosate’s metal
chelating properties, rendering essential minerals unavailable. Nutrient
deficiency effects are independent of direct glyphosate toxicity that
causes endocrine disruption, birth defects and cancers among other
illnesses. The identification of a novel pathogen in glyphosate-treated
crops, reproductive organs of livestock as well as aborted foetal
tissue may also be a contributing factor (see [11]
Emergency! Pathogen New to Science Found in Roundup Ready GM Crops?,
SiS50).
Improvements in health with GMO-free diet
The dossier [2] presents following effects since removing GM produce from the pigs’ diets, as described by Pederson:
1.
Within 2 days, diarrhoea virtually disappeared in the farrowing house,
whereas before, 50-100 ml Borgal / day [an antibacterial drug] had to be
used.
2. Since switching, there had been no death from bloat in
sows or death by ulcers, as opposed to minimum 1 per month previously
(36 sows died due to stomach related sickness over the last two years
before switching).
3. No sows have died through loss of appetite, whereas 2 sows died from this cause last year.
4.
Even without washing between farrowings, diarrhoea does not reappear;
previously failing to wash between sows would result in more diarrhoea.
5. Previously the farmer had struggled with diarrhoea in first layer sows, no more problems there.
6.
Two years ago when the diarrhoea was as its worst, there were months
with nearly 30% dead in the farrowing house. At that time it was
impossible to find sows that could nurse piglets.
7. Before it was
unusual to have a sow with 13 piglets weaned. The average was about
10.5 per sow plus spare mothers. Now the farmer is getting over 12
piglets on average weaned and 14 piglets weaned per sow is common. There
are fewer nursing sows, simply because the sows are milking better and
eating more.
Read More Here
At
first glance the frozen bundles could be mistaken for conventional
joints of meat. But as Ib Pedersen, a Danish pig farmer, lifts them
carefully out of the freezer it becomes apparent they are in fact whole
piglets – some horribly deformed, with growths or other abnormalities,
others stunted.
This is the result, Pedersen claims, of feeding
the animals a diet containing genetically modified (GM) ingredients. Or
more specifically, he believes, feed made from GM soya and sprayed with
the controversial herbicide glyphosate.
Pedersen, who produces
13,000 pigs a year and supplies Europe’s largest pork company Danish
Crown, says he became so alarmed at the apparent levels of deformity,
sickness, deaths, and poor productivity he was witnessing in his animals
that he decided to experiment by changing their diet from GM to non-GM
feed.
Danish
pig farmer Ib Pedersen is convinced that GM animal feed, and the
glyphosate herbicide in particular, is responsible for deformities and
other defects in pigs
The results, he says, were
remarkable: ”When using GM feed I saw symptoms of bloat, stomach ulcers,
high rates of diarrhoea, pigs born with the deformities … but when I
switched [to non GM feed] these problems went away, some within a matter
of days.”
The farmer says that not only has the switch in
diet improved the visible health of the pigs, it has made the farm more
profitable, with less medicine use and higher productivity. “Less
abortions, more piglets born in each litter, and breeding animals living
longer.” He also maintains that man hours have been reduced, with less
cleaning needed and fewer complications with the animals.
Inside
the farmhouse, piles of paperwork are laid out across a vast table;
print outs, reports, statistics, scientific research, correspondence.
Pedersen shows me photos he says are of animals adversely affected by
the GM feed – there’s more piglets with spinal deformities, their back
legs dragging on the ground; others have visible problems with their
faces, limbs or tails. There’s even a siamese twin – two animals joined
at the head.
Pedersen believes these abnormalities, and the other
problems, were caused – at least in part – by the presence of the
herbicide glyphosate in his GM pig feed. Glyphosate is routinely sprayed
on many soya and cereal crops to kill weeds and maximise yields.
Although
it is used on conventional crops, its usage on GM soya and maize is
particularly prevalent as the crops are engineered to be resistant to
the chemical, killing the weeds but leaving the crop plants unaffected.
The
introduction of GM crops resistant to glyphosate allowed crops to be
sprayed with the herbicide to control weeds – often many times over a
growing season – without killing the crop. But this also led to much
higher levels of glyphosate in the plants and seeds.
After
glyphosate-resistant strains of soy were introduced in 1996, EU
regulators raised the allowed maximum residue limit (MRL) for glyphosate
in imported soy 200-fold, from 0.1 mg/kg to 20 mg/kg.
Glyphosate use has become
increasingly controversial in
recent years, with a growing body of research, say campaigners,
suggesting that exposure, even at low levels, can be harmful to animals
and humans.
Studies have also suggested, claim critics, that the
herbicide may disrupt the human endocrine system, which regulates the
body’s biological processes, meaning that any level of exposure could
pose a significant risk to health.
Such claims are vigorously refuted by the agro-chemical industry, who state the herbicide is
safe and who accuse campaigners of touting flawed research, or manipulating the findings to suit their own agenda.
Pedersen
claims that independent testing revealed all of his deformed pigs had
glyphosate in their organs. He shows me a chart he suggests shows a
clear correlation between the volume of glyphosate found in pig feed and
higher numbers of cranial and spinal deformities. “The more glyphosate,
the more deformities,” he says, bluntly.
Outside, along a muddy
track through a number of arable fields – in addition to pigs, Pedersen
produces strawberries, peas and potatoes – we come to the main pig
house. It’s vast and crowded, efficient and noisy, with the unmistakable
stink of pig waste. A factory farm.
Pedersen shows me the
farrowing crates, the large bodies of the nursing sows squeezed under
metal bars, surrounded by up to a dozen weaning piglets. He points out
his best animals – the most productive, the veterans – and stops to
check on those he has concerns about, examining a swollen joint here or
an inflamed nipple there. Antibiotics are administered to one.
In
the main hall the pigs move more freely, as they do in a series of
smaller rooms where younger animals are kept as they grow. The farmer
manually throws down handfuls of sandy-looking feed to supplement that
available in the conical feed troughs. The feed mix, he explains,
contains soya, fishmeal and other ingredients – but nothing of GM
origin.
Pederson admits his work isn’t scientific but says the
results should alarm people. He’s worried that many farmers have no idea
of the potential impact of GM feed, and that the same is true for
consumers: when using GM feed, he says, “Everything was down in the
quagmire … We had eleven pigs die in one day.”
Deformities and deaths “the new normal”
The
farmer’s research, and outspoken stance, provoked a storm of
controversy in Danish agricultural circles after the respected farming
publication
Effektivt Landbrug featured the story, interviewing
Pedersen in detail and referring to the pig farmers’ suggestion that
DDT and thalidomide – linked to deformities in up to 10,000 babies –
could be regarded as trivial compared to the potential risks from GM and
glyphosate.
Critics accused him of scaremongering and slammed the
findings as unscientific and “without merit” – pointing out that if the
claims were true, thousands of other farmers using GM feed would be
recording similar problems.
Despite this, Pedersen’s work has
prompted the Danish Pig Research Centre (VSP) to announce an in-depth
study to test the effects of GM and non-GM soya on animal health. The
findings of the research have yet to be published.
And Pedersen’s
findings are beginning to spread well beyond Denmark; earlier this month
the German television channel ARD broadcast a documentary featuring the
farmer’s claims, and Pedersen himself recently travelled to the UK to
address a packed symposium at the House of Commons, organised by the
All-Party Parliamentary Group On Agroecology.
Anti-GM campaigners
say the findings are particularly compelling as the observations were
made in a real farm setting, not a laboratory. Claire Robinson of GM
Watch told
The Ecologist.
