Do you suffer from GMO-phobia? Why is there so much misinformation being spread about GMO products?
What is the purpose of trying to scare people away from GMO products? What do people gain from it?
46-50, M
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curiosi · 61-69, F
Allergenic eosinophilic disorders. They were first identified about 20 years ago, according to a pioneer in the field, Marc Rothenberg, MD, PhD, a professor at University of Cincinnati medical school and director of an affiliated center for eosinophilic disorders Starting in the mid-1980s, the biotechnology giant Monsanto began to genetically alter corn to withstand its herbicide Roundup—the goal being to eradicate weeds but not crops—as well as to resist a pest called the corn borer. These small changes in the DNA of the corn are expressed by the plant as proteins. It's those proteins, Mansmann believes, that can act as allergens, provoking a multisystemic disorder marked by the overproduction of a type of white blood cell called an eosinophil.
TheSeptikSkeptik · 46-50, M
@curiosi Can I get a source please? There are a lot of unpublished studies on GMO floating around the internet and the reason they weren't published is because they didn't pass the peer review.
TheSeptikSkeptik · 46-50, M
@curiosi I think I found what you are referring to. Yeah, that Marc Rothenburg guy got his ass handed to him for what he had published in Elle Magazine. You know Elle right? That peer reviewed scientific journal? Also, there has been no link found between EoE and GMO.
"In a 16-year follow-up study, an average annual incidence of 1.4% was reported[5]. The marked increase in incidence does not appear to be explained by a greater recognition of this disease since it is higher than the increased number of endoscopic procedures that are being performed[6]. The prevalence of eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) is higher in cold climate zones of the United States than in tropical or arid zones suggesting a possible relationship between climate and the disease[7]. There is also a higher incidence of this disease in westernized countries and in urban areas of the United States with a significant Caucasian predominance of almost 90%[8,9].
More recent studies have updated the estimates of the incidence (7/100000) and prevalence (43/100000) of EoE[10] similar to the estimates reported from Olmsted County, Minnesota (incidence 9/100000; prevalence 55/100000) in patients identified retrospectively[11]. A similar prevalence estimate (52/100000) was derived from physician surveys. It is far more common in males than in females with a 3:1 to 3:2 ratios[11]. In some reports the incidence in males is even as high as 86% of patients. This gender difference remains unexplained and it contrasts with the higher incidence of allergic asthma in females than in males[8]. There is also an increased rate of family history of atopy in patients with EoE, and the disease tends to occur with familial clustering"
Correlation does not imply causation.
"In a 16-year follow-up study, an average annual incidence of 1.4% was reported[5]. The marked increase in incidence does not appear to be explained by a greater recognition of this disease since it is higher than the increased number of endoscopic procedures that are being performed[6]. The prevalence of eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) is higher in cold climate zones of the United States than in tropical or arid zones suggesting a possible relationship between climate and the disease[7]. There is also a higher incidence of this disease in westernized countries and in urban areas of the United States with a significant Caucasian predominance of almost 90%[8,9].
More recent studies have updated the estimates of the incidence (7/100000) and prevalence (43/100000) of EoE[10] similar to the estimates reported from Olmsted County, Minnesota (incidence 9/100000; prevalence 55/100000) in patients identified retrospectively[11]. A similar prevalence estimate (52/100000) was derived from physician surveys. It is far more common in males than in females with a 3:1 to 3:2 ratios[11]. In some reports the incidence in males is even as high as 86% of patients. This gender difference remains unexplained and it contrasts with the higher incidence of allergic asthma in females than in males[8]. There is also an increased rate of family history of atopy in patients with EoE, and the disease tends to occur with familial clustering"
Correlation does not imply causation.
TheSeptikSkeptik · 46-50, M
@curiosi The concern seems to be that genetic engineering introduces allergins and harmful proteins to the GMO. It is entirely possible but is also the reason that these biotech companies perform extensive allergy and toxicity testing. There have been over 1,700 peer reviewed studies performed with GMO and 770 of them directly examined the safety of GMO consumption and overall they had found that GMO causes no more harm to people or animals than regular organic crops. This doesn't mean that it is not potentially harmful, it just means that there have been no proven scientific correlations between illness and GMO. There was a GMO study in 2012 conducted in France that concluded that Lab rats were developing tumors on a GMO corn diet. That study has never been able to be reproduced and was widely discredited and pulled from scientific journals because it had demonstrated to have faulty testing methods. Also, we have been testing GMO products extensively for the last thirty years. The problem is that the consumer population simply cannot keep up with the science of genetic modification and the general public are largely ignorant to biotech sciences. I would suggest to take scientific studies you read about in lifestyle and health magazines with a grain of salt and stick with the actual reproductive scientific journals.
Looking through the information, I have found so much discredited misinformation on GMOs that it is no wonder why people are afraid of them. It is definitely enough to fool scientifically illiterate people.
Looking through the information, I have found so much discredited misinformation on GMOs that it is no wonder why people are afraid of them. It is definitely enough to fool scientifically illiterate people.