http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002803435

POST 4:

...In addition, many studies implicate Bt-toxin as an allergen. In its natural state derived from soil bacteria, Bt-toxin has triggered immune responses in farm workers and allergic- and flu-like symptoms in hundreds of exposed citizens.21 It also evoked immune responses 22 (and intestinal tissue damage) 23 in mice. Similarly, an Italian government study showed that mice fed Bt-corn had dramatic immune responses.24 And thousands of Indian farm workers who harvest Bt cotton are also experiencing allergic- and flu-like symptoms.25

Thus, Bt-toxin production within our intestines might simultaneously trigger immune responses, compromise our digestive tract, and expose the blood to undigested food (which may further trigger immune responses).

And now the bad news: a 2011 Canadian study conducted at Sherbrooke Hospital discovered that 93% of the pregnant women they tested had Bt-toxin from Monsanto’s corn in their blood. And so did 80% of their unborn fetuses.26

The toxin is likely to 'wash out' of our blood fairly quickly. If that is the case, how can we explain why more than 9 out of 10 women had it circulating? It must be that the intake of Bt-toxin must be very frequent. But Canadians don’t eat that many corn chips and tortillas. They do eat lots of corn derivatives like corn syrup, but these highly processed foods no longer have the Bt-toxin present.

The authors of the study speculate that the source of the Bt-toxin in the blood must have been the meat and dairy of animals fed Bt corn. This assumes that the Bt-toxin protein remains intact through the animals’ entire digestive process and then again through the humans’ digestive process after they eat the meat or dairy.

A more plausible explanation may be that Bt-toxin genes transfer from corn chips or tortillas into our gut bacteria. The active genes then produce the (substance) on a continuous basis inside the intestinal tract, which then gets into our blood. And for pregnant mothers, the toxin then travels through the placenta into their fetuses.

<...>

21. Green M et al. Public health implications of the microbial pesticide Bacillus thuringiensis: An epidemiological study, Oregon, 1985-86, Amer J Public Health. 1990;80(7):848–852. Noble MA, Riben PD, and Cook GJ. Microbiological and epidemiological surveillance program to monitor the health effects of Foray 48B BTK spray (Vancouver, BC: Ministry of Forests, Province of British Columbi, Sep. 30, 1992)

22. Vazquez et al. Intragastric and intraperitoneal administration of Cry1Ac protoxin from Bacillus thuringiensis induces systemic and mucosal antibody responses in mice. 1897–1912. Vazquez et al. Characterization of the mucosal and systemic immune response induced by Cry1Ac protein from Bacillus thuringiensis HD 73 in mice. Brazilian Journal of Medical and Biological Research. 2000;33:147–155. Vazquez et al. Bacillus thuringiensis Cry1Ac protoxin is a potent systemic and mucosal adjuvant. Scandanavian Journal of Immunology. 1999;49:578–584. See also Vazquez-Padron et al. 147 (2000b).

23. Fares NH, El-Sayed AK. Fine Structural Changes in the Ileum of Mice Fed on Endotoxin Treated Potatoes and Transgenic Potatoes. Natural Toxins. 1998;6:219–233.

24. Finamore A et al. Intestinal and Peripheral Immune Response to MON810 Maize Ingestion in Weaning and Old Mice. J Agric Food Chem. 2008;56:11533-11539.

25. Gupta A et al. Impact of Bt Cotton on Farmers’ Health (in Barwani and Dhar District of Madhya Pradesh). Investigation Report, Oct–Dec 2005. Also, "Bt cotton causing allergic reaction in MP; cattle dead," Bhopal, Nov. 23, 2005.

26. Aris A, Leblanc S. Maternal and fetal exposure to pesticides associated to genetically modified foods in Eastern Townships of Quebec, Canada. Reprod Toxicol. 2011 May;31(4):528-33. Epub 2011 Feb 18.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/12312207

SUMMARY: GMO corn/soy/canola/cottonseed crops -> manufactured into food additives -> inadequately tested as recently detailed in multiple peer-reviewed journal articles by multi-year PEW FOOD ADDITIVES PROJECT -> backed by last month's PRESS RELEASE from AMERICAN professional medical groups comprised of 57,000 ob-gyns + 7.000 reproductive medicine specialists.

http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=B846909A-A5E3-4A27-A8DA-631FD66F9DED

http://www.pewhealth.org/other-resource/pew-examines-gaps-in-toxicity-data-for-chemicals-allowed-in-food-85899493633
http://www.pewhealth.org/projects/food-additives-project-85899367220
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0890623813003298

LOOK FOR THE WORD "FOOD" (although the category encompasses more than gmos, obviously):
http://www.asrm.org/Environmental_Chemicals_Harm_Reproductive_Health/
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/09/23/environmental-chemicals-pregnancy-risk/2857753/
http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/09/24/environmental-chemicals-pregnancy-risk-report-claims/

http://www.earthopensource.org/index.php/news/150

No scientific consensus on GMO safety
Scientists release statement saying public is being misled

Press release, Earth Open Source, Monday 21 October 2013

There is no scientific consensus that genetically modified foods and crops are safe, according to a statement released today by an international group of over 85 scientists, academics and physicians.(1)

The statement comes in response to recent claims from the GM industry and some scientists and commentators that there is a “scientific consensus” that GM foods and crops are safe for human and animal health and the environment. The statement calls such claims “misleading” and states, “The claimed consensus on GMO safety does not exist.”

Commenting on the statement, one of the signatories, Professor Brian Wynne, associate director and co-principal investigator from 2002-2012 of the UK ESRC Centre for the Economic and Social Aspects of Genomics, Cesagen, Lancaster University, said: “There is no consensus amongst scientific researchers over the health or environmental safety of GM crops and foods, and it is misleading and irresponsible for anyone to claim that there is. Many salient questions remain open, while more are being discovered and reported by independent scientists in the international scientific literature. Indeed some key public interest questions revealed by such research have been left neglected for years by the huge imbalance in research funding, against thorough biosafety research and in favour of the commercial-scientific promotion of this technology.”

Another signatory, Professor C. Vyvyan Howard, a medically qualified toxicopathologist based at the University of Ulster, said: “A substantial number of studies suggest that GM crops and foods can be toxic or allergenic, and that they can have adverse impacts on beneficial and non-target organisms. It is often claimed that millions of Americans eat GM foods with no ill effects. But as the US has no GMO labelling and no epidemiological studies have been carried out, there is no way of knowing whether the rising rates of chronic diseases seen in that country have anything to do with GM food consumption or not. Therefore this claim has no scientific basis.”

A third signatory to the statement, Andy Stirling, professor of science and technology policy at Sussex University and member of the UK government’s GM Science Review Panel, said: “The main reason some multinationals prefer GM technologies over the many alternatives is that GM offers more lucrative ways to control intellectual property and global supply chains. To sideline open discussion of these issues, related interests are now trying to deny the many uncertainties and suppress scientific diversity. This undermines democratic debate – and science itself.”

The scientists’ statement was released by the European Network of Scientists for Social and Environmental Responsibility in the week after the World Food Prize was awarded to employees of the GM seed giants Monsanto and Syngenta and UK environment secretary Owen Paterson branded opponents of GM foods as “wicked”.

Signatories of the statement include prominent and respected scientists, including Dr Hans Herren, a former winner of the World Food Prize and an Alternative Nobel Prize laureate, and Dr Pushpa Bhargava, known as the father of modern biotechnology in India.

<>

Notes

1. http://www.ensser.org/media/0513/

Summary of the statement, “No scientific consensus on GMO safety”:

1. There is no scientific consensus that GM crops and foods are safe for human and animal health.

2. A peer-reviewed review of safety studies on GM crops and foods found about an equal number of research groups raising concerns about GMO safety as groups concluding safety. However, most researchers concluding safety were affiliated with biotechnology companies that stood to profit from commercializing the GM crop concerned.

3. A review that is often cited to show GM crops and foods are safe in fact includes studies that raised concerns. Scientists disagree about the interpretation of these findings.

4. No epidemiological studies have been carried out to find out if GM crops are affecting human health, so claims that millions of Americans eat GM foods with no ill effects have no scientific basis.

5. There is no scientific consensus on the safety of GM crops for the environment. Studies have associated GM herbicide-tolerant crops with increased herbicide use and GM insecticidal crops with unexpected toxic impacts on non-target organisms.

6. A survey among scientists showed that those who received funding from biotech companies were more likely to believe GM crops were safe for the environment, whereas independent scientists were more likely to emphasize uncertainties.

7. Although some scientific bodies have made broadly supportive statements about GM over the years, these often contain significant caveats, call for better regulation, and draw attention to the risks as well as the potential benefits of GMOs. A statement by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) claiming GMO safety was challenged by 21 scientists, including long-standing members of the AAAS.

8. International agreements such as the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety exist because experts worldwide believe that a strongly precautionary attitude is justified in the case of GMOs. Concerns about risks are well-founded, as can be seen by the often complex, contradictory, and inconclusive findings of safety studies on GMOs.

...attracted the attention of physicist Edward Teller (known colloquially as "the father of the hydrogen bomb," http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Teller), who took Kaku as a protégé, awarding him the Hertz Engineering Scholarship. Kaku graduated summa cum laude at Harvard University in 1968 and was first in his physics class. He attended the Berkeley Radiation Laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley and received a Ph.D. in 1972, and that same year held a lectureship at Princeton University.

Kaku credits his anti-nuclear war position to programs he heard on the Pacifica Radio network during his student years in California. It was during this period that he made the decision to turn away from a career developing the next generation of nuclear weapons in association with Edward Teller and focused on research, teaching, writing and media.[citation needed] Kaku joined with others such as Helen Caldicott, Jonathan Schell and Peace Action, and was instrumental in building a global anti-nuclear weapons movement that arose in the 1980s during the administration of U.S. President Ronald Reagan

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/12/15/netherlands.child.abuse.case/

Authorities arrest suspect in Dutch child abuse case
By the CNN Wire Staff
December 15, 2010 1:35 a.m. EST

* Officials identify the suspect as "Robert M," a substitute preschool teacher
* He is arrested in Amsterdam on suspicion of molesting up to 50 children
* Interpol: Child pornography can only be produced through the sexual abuse of children

(CNN) -- A substitute preschool teacher suspected of molesting up to 50 children has been arrested in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, the international police organization Interpol said.

Dutch prosecution officials have said the 27-year-old man, known as "Robert M," confessed to abusing dozens of children and had images of child sexual abuse at his home, according to a statement Monday from Interpol.

An investigation started after the image of a young boy was identified by his family following its broadcast on Dutch television on December 7 at the request of Dutch national police, Interpol said.

<>

http://www.scribd.com/doc/115393658/Andrew-Zimmerman

Andrew Zimmerman / Poling v HHS Exhibit 3

Published by Heather Rhodes White

In a second case Zimmerman was called to give his expert report on was Poling v. HHS. He revised his testimony, which was in complete contradiction from Cedillo v. HHS. His report to the Special Masters;

“The cause for regressive encephalopathy in Hannah (Poling) at age 19 months was underlying mitochondrial dysfunction, exacerbated by vaccine-induced fever and immune stimulation that exceeded metabolic energy reserves. This acute expenditure of metabolic reserves led to permanent irreversible brain injury. Thus, if not for this event, Hannah may have led a normal full productive life. Presently, I predict Hannah will have a normal lifespan but with significant lifelong disability.”

http://videocast.nih.gov/summary.asp?Live=13225

Air date: Friday, November 15, 2013, 8:45:00 AM
Time displayed is Eastern Time, Washington DC Local

Category: Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee
Runtime: 07:33:03

Description: The workshop will feature discussions between IACC members and external subject matter and community experts regarding updates from the field and from the community that the committee may consider when developing the 2013 update of the IACC Strategic Plan.

http://najms.net/wp-content/uploads/v06i03.pdf#page=34

Preface to the special issue of autism

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD), the fastest-growing complex neurodevelopment disorder, continues to rise in its prevalence, now affecting up to 1 in 50 children in the USA, and averaging 1% globally, according to the latest CDC report. More children will be diagnosed with ASD this year than with AIDS, diabetes & cancer combined in the USA. ASD costs the nation $137 billion a year and this debt is expected to increase in the next decade. Hence, ASD has become a huge healthcare burden and global threat, categorized by the CDC as a national public health crisis.

ASD is characterized by social-communication impairment, and restricted, repetitive, and stereotyped patterns of behavior, which cause significant disability for those affected. With its etiology still largely unknown, and its pathophysiology poorly understood, ASD currently has no universally accepted therapy. ASD is affecting more and more families; unmet services and limited resources need to be addressed urgently. Researchers, clinicians, healthcare providers, social agencies and government need to coordinate efforts to develop more effective treatments and a satisfactory continuum of care, across the lifespan. Ultimately, a cure needs to be sought for the various subtypes of ASD that exist.

The current issue of North American Journal of Medicine and Science (NAJMS) represents a continuation of our previous two special issues on autism (NAJMS Vol. 5 Issue 3 and Vol. 4 Issue 3) published in July 2012 and July 2011, respectively. In this issue, we are honored to have another panel of expert researchers and clinicians on the frontlines of ASD research and treatment to present their newest research findings and views from different perspectives.

This issue of NAJMS consists of five original research articles, two comprehensive reviews, one case report and two commentary articles, covering topics in genetics, pathogenesis, metabolic disorder biomarkers of ASD, and a clinical study, that bring into focus our newest understanding and treatment strategies.

<>

The data presented in Dr. Mumper’s review of the medical literature, suggests that ASD may be impacted by environmental toxicants, duration of breastfeeding, gut flora composition, nutritional status, acetaminophen use, vaccine practices and use of antibiotics and/or frequency of infections. In her current general pediatric practice (Advocates for Children), she has noted a modest trend toward a lower prevalence of ASD than in her previous pediatric practice or recent prevalence estimates from the CDC.

<>

The final commentary was written by Dr. Herbert, who presents her paper entitled “Everyday Epigenetics from Molecular Intervention to Public Health and Lifestyle Medicine.” She asserts that it may well take a grass roots epigenetic/lifestyle medicine revolution to avert the worsening health trends we are facing in the setting of a progressively more toxic and endangered planet. She posits that everyday epigenetics can inform science of what is possible so that society can respond on an appropriate scale to the magnitude of the crisis we are facing.

<>

Xuejun Kong, MD
Editor-in-Chief, NAJMS
Department of Medicine
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Harvard Medical School

Christopher J. McDougle, MD
Guest Editor, NAJMS
Lurie Center for Autism Massachusetts General Hospital
Harvard Medical School