Controversy about the contraceptive effect of genetically modified corn

Experimental mice gave birth to fewer children after eating a genetically modified corn. This finding by Austrian scientists led to controversy about the risks of genetic modification technology.

At the request of the Austrian Ministry of Health, Wien University researchers fed mice a genetically modified corn from Monsanto Corporation (USA) and monitored their fertility.

Researcher Arpad Pusztai
(Photo: plab.ku.dk)

Results showed that, in the third and fourth generations, the number of pups was born less than that of the control mice fed the normal diet. However, the team has not published the results in any specialized journal, ie its accuracy is still in the verification process. If confirmed, the discovery of the University of Wien is very interesting. It will be the first time that it has been proven that genetically modified agricultural crops can be detrimental to health.

In 1999, Mr. Arpad Pusztai, a former researcher at the Rowett Research Institute in the UK, believed he had discovered the first evidence. He fed the genetically modified potato to mice, a special type of lectin, and then observed many changes and signs of a compromised immune system in experimental animals .

But the conclusion from Arpad's experiment is still the subject of intense controversy until today. Opponents argue that changes in the gut are diverse, not caused by a single cause. Austria's toxic chemical committee believes that Arpad used inappropriate research methods.

The controversy was lively again in February 2007, when the Criigen Genome Research Institute in France tested the research works of Monsanto Group at the request of Greenpeace environmental protection organization. Genetic expert Gilles-Eric Séralini found that lab rats suffered liver damage and grew slowly after eating genetically modified corn. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) believes that the slow growth phenomenon is not scientifically convincing and that changes in the liver are known and generated by random causes. Therefore, genetically modified corn is not harmful.

Genetically modified corn.(Illustration)

With the latest data from Wien, Greenpeace says their views are confirmed to be true. " The results of the study are further evidence for the risks of genetically modified plants ," said Ulrike Brendel, Greenpeace genetic engineering expert.

But the researchers themselves do not dare to say so firmly. They just stated that, in the future, studies on the safety of genetically modified corn must include research on reproduction. One member of the research team emphasized that these results are temporary and cannot be carried on to humans.