Former GMO scientist exposes the outright lies and propaganda of the biotech industry

Thursday, October 30, 2014 by: David Gutierrez, staff writer
Tags: GMO scientist, propaganda, biotech industry

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(NaturalNews) Thierry Vrain, who spent many years as a research scientist and genetically modified organism (GMO) advocate for Agriculture Canada, has recently gone public with his conclusion that GMOs are dangerous for humans, animals and the environment.

"I refute the claims of the biotechnology companies that their engineered crops yield more, that they require less pesticide applications, that they have no impact on the environment and of course that they are safe to eat," he wrote.

While at Agriculture Canada, Vrain was the scientist designated to address public groups with the message that GMOs were safe.

"I don't know if I was passionate about it but I was knowledgeable," he wrote. "I defended the side of technological advance, of science and progress.

"I have in the last 10 years changed my position."

Animals that eat GMOs die

Vrain says that his change of opinion came about after he became aware of numerous studies from prestigious labs, published in prestigious scientific journals, showing the health risks of GMOs.

"There is... a growing body of scientific research -- done mostly in Europe, Russia, and other countries -- showing that diets containing engineered corn or soya cause serious health problems in laboratory mice and rats," he wrote.

Vrain notes that the evidence is so comprehensive that in 2009 the American Academy of Environmental Medicine called for a moratorium on GMO foods and for expanded safety testing. The studies reviewed by the Academy found that a GMO diet led to problems including accelerated aging; immune dysfunction; infertility; dysfunction in genes that regulate cell signaling, cholesterol synthesis, insulin regulation and protein formation; and changes to the kidneys, liver, spleen and gastrointestinal system.

Vrain notes that, even though many GMOs produce insecticides in their tissues and are even registered as insecticides, the toxic proteins they produce have never been tested for safety.

"There are no long-term feeding studies performed in these countries to demonstrate the claims that engineered corn and soya are safe," he wrote. "All we have are scientific studies out of Europe and Russia, showing that rats fed engineered food die prematurely."

Based on obsolete science

Vrain condemns the entire premise of genetic engineering as bad science, based on the now-discredited idea that each gene codes for only a single protein.

"The whole paradigm of the genetic engineering technology is based on a misunderstanding," he wrote. "Every scientist now learns that any gene can give more than one protein and that inserting a gene anywhere in a plant eventually creates rogue proteins. Some of these proteins are obviously allergenic or toxic."

Vrain also draws attention to the environmental risks of GMOs, citing the 120-page report GMO Myths and Truths. This review of more than 500 studies and government reports refutes industry claims that GMOs are more nutritious, use less pesticide and do not harm the environment. Studies have repeatedly found that GMOs can pass their modified genes on to not just other plants but also soil bacteria. These bacteria then spread the genes into the environment. Another study found that the genes transferred to the gut bacteria of humans who ate GMOs.

"This is genetic pollution to the extreme," Vrain wrote.

Vrain also addresses the most common argument of GMO proponents: that no one has ever gotten sick after eating a meal containing GMOs.

"Nobody gets ill from smoking a pack of cigarette either," he wrote. "But it sure adds up, and we did not know that in the 1950s before we started our wave of epidemics of cancer. Except this time it is not about a bit of smoke, it's the whole food system that is of concern."

Sources for this article include:

http://earthweareone.com

http://science.naturalnews.com