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| << January11, 2006 - [India Thinkers Net] News updates Jan 10th 2006 |
January12, 2006 - [India Thinkers Net]Right to food,Amaravathy,Conf on peace and justice >> |
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[1] From: rkurian@bgl.vsnl.net.in Date: Tue Jan 10, 2006 Subject: Beware of genetically modified food items.. GM: New Study Shows Unborn Babies Could Be Harmed By Geoffrey Lean The Independent UK Sunday 08 January 2006 Mortality rate for new-born rats six times higher when mother was fed on a diet of modified soya. Women who eat GM foods while pregnant risk endangering their unborn babies, startling new research suggests. The study - carried out by a leading scientist at the Russian Academy of Sciences - found that more than half of the offspring of rats fed on modified soya died in the first three weeks of life, six times as many as those born to mothers with normal diets. Six times as many were also severely underweight. The research - which is being prepared for publication - is just one of a clutch of recent studies that are reviving fears that GM food damages human health. Italian research has found that modified soya affected the liver and pancreas of mice. Australia had to abandon a decade-long attempt to develop modified peas when an official study found they caused lung damage. And last May this newspaper revealed a secret report by the biotech giant Monsanto, which showed that rats fed a diet rich in GM corn had smaller kidneys and higher blood cell counts, suggesting possible damage to their immune systems, than those that ate a similar conventional one. The United Nation's Food and Agriculture Organisation held a workshop on the safety of genetically modified foods at its Rome headquarters late last year. The workshop was addressed by scientists whose research had raised concerns about health dangers. But the World Trade Organisation is expected next month to support a bid by the Bush administration to force European countries to accept GM foods. The Russian research threatens to have an explosive effect on already hostile public opinion. Carried out by Dr Irina Ermakova at the Institute of Higher Nervous Activity and Neurophysiology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, it is believed to be the first to look at the effects of GM food on the unborn. The scientist added flour from a GM soya bean - produced by Monsanto to be resistant to its pesticide, Roundup - to the food of female rats, starting two weeks before they conceived, continuing through pregnancy, birth and nursing. Others were given non-GM soyaand a third group was given no soya at all. She found that 36 per cent of the young of the rats fed the modified soya were severely underweight, compared to 6 per cent of the offspring of the other groups. More alarmingly, a staggering 55.6 per cent of those born to mothers on the GM diet perished within three weeks of birth, compared to 9 per cent of the offspring of those fed normal soya, and 6.8 per cent of the young of those given no soya at all. "The morphology and biochemical structures of rats are very similar to those of humans, and this makes the results very disturbing" said Dr Ermakova. "They point to a risk for mothers and their babies." Environmentalists say that - while the results are preliminary - they are potentially so serious that they must be followed up. The American Academy of Environmental Medicine has asked the US National Institute of Health to sponsor an immediate, independent follow-up. The Monsanto soya is widely eaten by Americans. There is little of it, or any GM crop, in British foods though it is imported to feed animals farmed for meat. Tony Coombes, director of corporate affairs for Monsanto UK, said: "The overwhelming weight of evidence from published, peer-reviewed, independently conducted scientific studies demonstrates that Roundup Ready soy can be safely consumed by rats, as well as all other animal species studied." What the Experiment Found Russian scientists added flour made from a GM soya to the diet of female rats two weeks before mating them, and continued feeding it to them during pregnancy, birth and nursing. Others were give non-GM soya or none at all. Six times as many of the offspring of those fed the modified soya were severely underweight compared to those born to the rats given normal diets. Within three weeks, 55.6 per cent of the young of the mothers given the modified soya died, against 9 per cent of the offspring of those fed the conventional soya. ----------------------------- [2] From: Sukla Sen <suklasen@yahoo.com> Date: Wed Jan 11, 2006 Subject: Indo-US Nuclear Deal: Prospects Still Uncertain http://www.indiadaily.com/editorial/6309.asp India, US to hold high-level nuclear talks this month Media Release Jan. 8, 2006 India and the US will hold the next round of high-level talks on the nuclear issue in national capital later this month amid efforts by the two countries to expedite implementation of the 18 July nuclear deal before the visit here by President George W Bush expected next month. The talks between Indian Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran and US Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns will take place in the third week of this month, official sources said here on Sunday [8 January]. During the meeting, India will expect a response from the American side on the "outline" provided to them by Saran about separating civilian and military nuclear facilities as required under the 18 July deal inked during the Washington visit of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The foreign secretary gave the "outline" to the US during talks with Burns in Washington last month with an assertion that New Delhi would not place fast-breeding reactors in the civilian list. In the outline, India has specified as to what installations it would categorize as civilian and which ones as military, the sources said. "Now, the US has to react and we are awaiting that," the sources said. The Indian plan on separation of civilian and military nuclear facilities, as per the deal, would be presented before the US Congress which has to ratify the Bush administration's decision to ease sanctions on high-technology trade. New Delhi is not worried on this aspect. "We have no problems. The deal is not a secret but is being conducted in a transparent manner," the sources said. The Bush government has been insisting that India should present a "credible" plan on separation of nuclear facilities before it approaches the Congress for ratification of its decision on sanctions. Noting that "progress" was being made in parleys, the sources said the two countries were making "every effort to conclude or substantially conclude the deal before the visit of President Bush". After the recent talks Saran had with Burns, the sources said, India feels that the dialogue is "on track" and the two countries should be able to have convergence if all goes well. The US will also then be required to influence the nuclear suppliers group (NSG) so that they also ease sanctions on India on dual-use technology trade. |
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January12, 2006 - [India Thinkers Net]Right to food,Amaravathy,Conf on peace and justice >> |
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