Bovini e mais transgenico

["AlessandroGimona"<agimona@libero.it>]

Cari tutti,

alcuni esperti mondiali hanno affermato che non berrebbero latte di 
mucche nutrite con mais transgenico Aventis(vedi sotto).

E' bene che il ministero dell'agricoltura sorvegli la situazione 
dell'alimentazione bovina in Italia.
Saluti,
Alessandro Gimona 


----------------------------------------------------
TOP SCIENTISTS HIT OUT AT GM SAFETY TESTS
         18 October 2000
         FoE Press Release
         "I wouldn't drink milk from cows fed GM maize says expert A 
leading UK
         animal scientist said today that he would not drink milk from 
cows fed the
         GM maize that is currently being scrutinised at a government 
public hearing.
         Professor Bob Orskov OBE , Director of the International Feed 
Resource Unit
         in Aberdeen today appeared as an expert witness for Friends of 
the Earth at
         the national seed list hearing in London. The hearing is 
considering
         objections to a government proposal to allow Chardon LL, the 
first GM maize
         to be licensed for sale in the UK. He believes that "The 
scientific case put
         forward for this GM maize is not adequate" and says that "if 
the GM maize
         was approved for commercial growing in the UK then people would 
be justified
         in turning their back on consuming milk derived from it... As a 
scientist I
         wouldn't drink milk from cows fed GM maize with the present 
state of
         knowledge ."
         Professor Orskov's fears were also shared by another eminent 
scientist
         giving evidence today. Dr Vyvyan Howard , Head of the Foetal 
and Infant
         Toxico-Pathology Group at the University of Liverpool, today 
said "my
         interpretation is that this GM maize has not been tested 
thoroughly ".
         At today's hearing, safety data presented by Aventis, the 
biotech firm that
         owns the maize, was heavily criticised. The GM maize has not 
been tested on
         cattle, even though it is intended for their use. Instead a 
protein from
         oilseed rape - which, say Aventis, is the same as the one in 
the GM maize -
         was fed to rats over a two week period. The maize grain was 
also fed to
         broiler chickens for 42 days, though these were for general 
nutritional
         tests and not proper toxicological testing. Chickens and rats 
only have one
         stomach whereas cows (ruminants) have four.
         Professor Orskov , one of the country's leading experts on 
ruminant
         nutrition is adamant that the GM maize should be thoroughly 
tested on cattle
         before being introduced commercially as animal feed. He said:
         " The scientific case put forward for this GM maize is not 
adequate.
         Chemical analyses of the kind reported cannot identity 
potential problems.
         We need to carry out proper, long-term tests both on the effect 
of the maize
         silage for the microbes in the stomach of the ruminants which 
digest the
         feed and on the host animals. This has not been done .
         "There is also a serious problem of perception by the consuming
         public. Since adults do not have a requirement for milk they
         could switch to other foods. Aventis needs to pay
         attention to this. If the GM maize was approved for commercial 
growing in
         the UK then people would be justified in turning their back on 
consuming
         milk derived from it. This would have a disastrous effect on 
our dairy
         industry. As a scientist I wouldn't drink milk from cows fed GM 
maize with
         the present state of knowledge. I have in my brief report 
stated the minimum
         amount of information required before it could be accepted for 
growing in
         the UK. And even if it could be scientifically proven to be 
harmless there
         may still be a problem of consumer perception. The existing 
hurry seems to
         be supply pushed rather than demand led. "
         Dr Vyvyan Howard is also critical of safety tests on the GM 
maize. He
         dismisses claims by Aventis that some of the safety tests are 
not needed
         because the GM maize is not " materially different " from 
conventional
         varieties. After analysing Aventis' limited safety data, Dr 
Howard concluded
         that there were statistically significant differences in the 
composition of
         fat, protein and fibre between the GM maize silage and the 
non-GM
         counterparts. Statistically significant differences in fat and 
carbohydrate
         values of the GM and non-GM grain samples were also discovered. 
He said:
         " My interpretation is that this GM maize has not been tested 
thoroughly.
         They have taken a protein from another plant and fed it to 
rats. I do not
         feel this can be used as a basis for making judgements about 
the safety of
         this GM maize with respect to cattle. What will happen if the 
maize is fed
         to cows as part of their diet? This is the question that needs 
to answered.
         The experiments carried out by Aventis are just a surrogate for 
a
         well-designed feeding trials, which would be both relevant and 
informative."
         Adrian Bebb, Food Campaigner for Friends of the Earth said:
         The public should be concerned about these shocking 
revelations. Despite
         assurances from both Government and industry the reality is 
that the safety
         of these GM crops has not been properly tested. If it wasn't so 
serious it
         would be laughable. It is clear that the Government has not 
learnt anything
         from the BSE fiasco. Surely this GM maize cannot now be added 
to the
         national seed list and be sold to farmers .
         In April the Government announced its intention to allow 
Aventis' GM maize,
         Chardon LL which has been genetically engineered to be 
resistant to Aventis'
         own herbicide, to be added to the national seed list. This is 
the final
         legal barrier before a GM seed can be sold to farmers. This 
would have been
         the first GM crop to have been added to the list. However, FOE 
discovered a
         little-known law which gave the public the right to appeal 
against the
         decision. Sixty seven groups and individuals have paid £60 to 
have their
         objections heard in public, with hundreds more filing written 
objections
         (which cost £30). The National Seed List hearing started on 2 
October and is
         expected to last about 9 weeks. Aventis is refusing to produce 
any evidence
         at the hearing.
         ENDS
         Witnesses' evidence is available from FOE.
         Dr C V Howard is a Senior Lecturer and Head of the Fetal and 
Infant
         Toxico-Pathology Group at the University of Liverpool. He is 
also a Fellow
         of the Royal College of Pathologists and was previously General 
Editor of
         the Journal of Microscopy, an internationally recognised 
publication and the
         official journal of the Royal Microscopical Society.
         Professor Orskov is the Director of the International Feed 
Resource Unit.
         He is a leading expert on ruminant nutrition publishing 4 books 
and is the
         author or co-author of more than 500 publications.
Alessandro Gimona
agimona@libero.it