Experiments in Russia on sequential generations of hamsters showed that those fed with GM soya displayed reduced reproductive capability to the extent that the third generation of hamsters were unable to give birth to cubs.

"We did not add anything for one group but the other was fed with soya that contained no GM components, while the third group with some content of Genetically Modified Organisms and the fourth one with increased amount of GMO. We monitored their behavior and how they gain weight and when they give birth to their cubs. Originally, everything went smoothly. However, we noticed quite a serious effect when we selected new pairs from their cubs and continued to feed them as before. These pairs’ growth rate was slower and reached their sexual maturity slowly. When we got some of their cubs we formed the new pairs of the third generation. We failed to get cubs from these pairs, which were fed with GM foodstuffs. It was proved that these pairs lost their ability to give birth to their cubs"

Is Monsanto's corn destroying your internal organs?

One Australian report suggests the GMO corn made by Monsanto causes significant fertility problems in mice (and, by implication, possibly humans).

And a new study -- which had to resort to analyzing data sets produced by studies conducted by Monsanto and another biotech firm, Covance Laboratories, and submitted to European governments because researchers couldn't get seeds -- has found that Monsanto corn impairs rats' kidneys and livers. The "data strongly suggests" that after just 90 days of eating GM corn, rats experienced kidney toxicity and showed effects to their hearts, adrenal glands, spleen and blood cells. (The study was published in the International Journal of Biological Sciences.)

Researchers in Russia have been using sick patients as human guinea pigs to test the effects of genetically modified potatoes developed by Monsanto. From the way Monsanto are defending the practice, I would guess that the "test" was performed with their full knowledge and co-operation:

Genetically modified potatoes developed by Monsanto, the multinational biotech company, have been fed to sick patients in an experiment. Rats that ate similar potatoes in the research suffered reductions in the weight of their hearts and prostate glands.

...

Monsanto said the vegetables were safe, and the researchers conducting the experiment said effects on the rats were within "permissible" limits.

This is just getting weird. Why sick people? What does "permissible" mean in this context? What is going on?

This sounds like old news. In fact it is, but it's been suppressed for years, and has taken two court rulings to get the information released.

... the research was conducted in 1998 by the Institute of Nutrition of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences and has been suppressed for eight years.

It showed that the potatoes did considerable damage to the rats' organs. Those in the "control groups" that were fed non-GM potatoes suffered ill-effects, but those fed GM potatoes suffered more serious organ and tissue damage.

The history behind this is also interesting. Briefly, in 1998 (yes, the same year!) a Hungarian scientist named Dr Arpad Pusztai had been researching the effect of GM potatoes on laboratory rats. He was working for the Rowett Research Institute in Aberdeen. He published some findings which were not well received:

his employers, the Rowett Research Institute in Aberdeen, said the scientist had got into a "muddle" and had provided misleading information.

Dr Pusztai was rather poorly treated for having got into a "muddle":

He was suspended from his work on the experiments, his computers were sealed, his data confiscated and was ostracised by his colleagues. He was forced into retirement and forbidden to discuss his work.

Monsanto expressed some interest in the proceedings, making some press releases on the matter:

Commenting on this evening's announcement by the Rowett Research Institute, spokesman for Monsanto, Dan Verakis said: We are pleased that the Rowett Institute has recognised and publicly regretted the tremendous harm caused by the misleading publicity generated by such inaccurate information presented in the name of science.

In response to the recent intense publicity surrounding the work conducted by the Rowett Research Institute into the safety of genetically modified potatoes, President of the Royal Society, Sir Aaron Klug OM, expressed concern that the premature release and misinterpretation of unsubstantiated research into Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) could only serve to mislead the general public in what is a complex and important area.

"... a complex and important area." Indeed. So complex that even our political leaders cannot make their minds up:

... there is no doubt that Mr Blair's shift on genetically modified food represents a dramatic change of heart. One year ago the PM was urging us to "resist the tyranny of pressure groups", insisting that GM foods were perfectly safe and that if he was happy to eat them, then so should we. Yesterday Mr Blair declared almost the reverse position: "There's no doubt that there is potential for harm, both in terms of human safety and in the diversity of our environment, from GM foods and crops."

I wonder why?