Author Archives: bfialindathieman

Blog for Iowa Joins PETA in Demanding Patty Judge Return Slaughterhouse Donation

Posted on February 1, 2006 by bfialindathieman

Blog for Iowa Joins PETA in Demanding Patty Judge Return Slaughterhouse Donation Secretary of Agriculture Judge Accepted Donation from Owner of Slaughterhouse Under Federal Investigation Today, Blog for Iowa joins People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) in calling … Continue reading →

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Call Harkin and Urge Him to Support a Filibuster

Posted on January 29, 2006 by bfialindathieman

Call Harkin and Urge Him to Support a Filibuster Mike Ganzeveld from the Green Tea Blog posted this in the Blog for Iowa comments yesterday: Tom Harkin is on the fence right now trying to decided whether or not he … Continue reading →

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U of Iowa Students/Faculty Dismayed by Regents’ Power Grab; Event on Monday

Posted on January 28, 2006 by bfialindathieman

U of Iowa Students/Faculty Dismayed by Regents' Power Grab by Linda Thieman Iowa City faculty/staff/student event planned for this Monday, January 30, at 3:30pm, Terrace Room (Room 166) of the Iowa Memorial Union to share their commitment to self-determination With … Continue reading →

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Elesha Gayman of DFQC Named DFA Rising Star

Posted on January 27, 2006 by bfialindathieman

Elesha Gayman of DFQC Named DFA Rising Star Elesha Gayman, a member of Democracy for the Quad Cities, has been named to the Democracy for America Rising Star list. Elesha, former Dean Delegate to the Democratic National Convention, is running … Continue reading →

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Most Offspring Died When Mother Rats Ate GM Soy Diet

Posted on January 27, 2006 by bfialindathieman

Most Offspring Died When Mother Rats Ate GM Soy Diet

By Jeffrey M. Smith, author of Seeds of Deception

The Russian scientist planned a simple experiment to see if eating genetically modified (GM) soy might influence offspring. What she got, however, was an astounding result that may threaten a multi-billion dollar industry.

Irina Ermakova, a leading scientist at the Institute of Higher Nervous Activity and Neurophysiology of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), added GM soy flour (5-7 grams) to the diet of female rats. Other females were fed non-GM soy or no soy at all. The experimental diet began two weeks before the rats conceived and continued through pregnancy and nursing.

Ermakova's first surprise came when her pregnant rats started giving birth. Some pups from GM-fed mothers were quite a bit smaller. After 2 weeks, 36% of them weighed less than 20 grams compared to about 6% from the other groups.

But the real shock came when the rats started dying. Within three weeks, 25 of the 45 (55.6%) rats from the GM soy group died compared to only 3 of 33 (9%) from the non-GM soy group and 3 of 44 (6.8%) from the non-soy controls.

Ermakova preserved several major organs from the mother rats and offspring, drew up designs for a detailed organ analysis, created plans to repeat and expand the feeding trial, and promptly ran out of research money. The $70,000 needed was not expected to arrive for a year. Therefore, when she was invited to present her research at a symposium organized by the National Association for Genetic Security, Ermakova wrote 'PRELIMINARY STUDIES' on the top of her paper. She presented it on October 10, 2005 at a session devoted to the risks of GM food.

Her findings are hardly welcome by an industry already steeped in controversy.

GM Soy's Divisive Past

The soy she was testing was Monsanto's Roundup Ready variety. Its DNA has bacterial genes added that allow the soy plant to survive applications of Monsanto's 'Roundup' brand herbicide. About 85% of the soy grown in the US is Roundup Ready. Since soy derivatives, including oil, flour and lecithin, are found in the majority of processed foods sold in the US, many Americans eat ingredients derived from Roundup Ready soy everyday.

The FDA does not require any safety tests on genetically modified foods. If Monsanto or other biotech companies declare their foods safe, the agency has no further questions. The rationale for this hands-off position is a sentence in the FDA's 1992 policy that states, “The agency is not aware of any information showing that foods derived by these new methods differ from other foods in any meaningful or uniform way.”[1] The statement, it turns out, was deceptive. Documents made public from a lawsuit years later revealed that the FDA's own experts agreed that GM foods are different and might lead to hard-to-detect allergens, toxins, new diseases or nutritional problems. They had urged their superiors to require long-term safety studies, but were ignored. The person in charge of FDA policy was, conveniently, Monsanto's former attorney (and later their vice president). One FDA microbiologist described the GM food policy as “just a political document” without scientific basis, and warned that industry would “not do the tests that they would normally do” since the FDA didn't require any.[2] He was correct.

There have been less than 20 published, peer-reviewed animal feeding safety studies and no human clinical trials' in spite of the fact that millions of people eat GM soy, corn, cotton, or canola daily. There are no adequate tests on “biochemistry, immunology, tissue pathology, gut function, liver function and kidney function,”[3] and animal feeding studies are too short to adequately test for cancer, reproductive problems, or effects in the next generation. This makes Ermakova's research particularly significant. It's the first of its kind.

Past Studies Show Significant Effects

Other studies on Roundup Ready soy also raise serious questions. Research on the liver, the body's major de-toxifier, showed that rats fed GM soy developed misshapen nuclei and other cellular anomalies.[4] This indicates increased metabolic activity, probably resulting from a major insult to that organ. Rats also showed changes in the pancreas, including a huge drop in the production of a major enzyme (alpha-amylase),[5] which could inhibit digestion. Cooked GM soy contains about twice the amount of soy lectin, which can also block nutrient assimilation.[6] And one study showed that GM soy has 12-14% less isoflavones, which are touted as cancer fighting.[7]
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Posted in Corporate Greed, Environment, Farming, Health Care & Medicare, Main Page | Comments Off on Most Offspring Died When Mother Rats Ate GM Soy Diet

FALLON: Patty Judge Fundraising “Legal, but not Ethical”

Posted on January 26, 2006 by bfialindathieman

FALLON: Patty Judge Fundraising “Legal, but not Ethical” Rep. Ed Fallon calls for Clean Elections law in Iowa and warns against the influence of corporate hog confinement operators State Representative and gubernatorial candidate Ed Fallon (D-Des Moines) held a press … Continue reading →

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What’s Good about Choice in Iowa?

Posted on January 22, 2006 by bfialindathieman

  What’s Good about Choice in Iowa? To top off Blog for Iowa’s contribution to Blog for Choice day, here is a round-up of some of the positive choice-related things in Iowa that our few remaining freedoms still bring us, … Continue reading →

Posted in Choice, Health Care & Medicare, Main Page, Progressive Community | 2 Comments

Iowa v. Pro-choice Laws

Posted on January 22, 2006 by bfialindathieman

  Iowa v. Pro-choice Laws NARAL Pro-choice America NARAL Pro-choice America Foundation gives Iowa a “C” when it comes to laws that enable a woman’s right to control her own body, with only 5 percent of Iowa counties actually providing … Continue reading →

Posted in Big Government, Choice, Main Page | 1 Comment

Where Iowa Gubernatorial and Congressional Candidates Stand on Choice

Posted on January 22, 2006 by bfialindathieman

Where Iowa Gubernatorial and Congressional Candidates Stand on Choice by Linda Thieman Today, Blog for Iowa is joining over 200 other progressive blogs across the nation for Blog for Choice day – the 33rd anniversary of Roe v. Wade.  Our … Continue reading →

Posted in Bruce Braley, Candidates, Choice, David Loebsack, Ed Fallon, Joyce Schulte, Main Page | 2 Comments

Iowa Caucus Results Look Good for Fallon

Posted on January 19, 2006 by bfialindathieman

Iowa Caucus Results Look Good for Fallon State Representative and gubernatorial candidate Ed Fallon (D-Des Moines) announced during a Wednesday afternoon press conference that he expects to send over 1,300 delegates to county party conventions on March 4 and 11. … Continue reading →

Posted in Candidates, Ed Fallon, Iowa in the News, Main Page, Progressive Community | Comments Off on Iowa Caucus Results Look Good for Fallon