A scientific review identifies glyphosate as a possible cause of the global rise in wheat intolerance. This condition is increasingly reported by people who don't have a diagnosis of celiac disease (a condition where your immune system attacks your own tissues when you eat the protein gluten). The review authors, Jacqueline A. Barnett and Deanna L. Gibson from the University of British Columbia, note that wheat intolerance has grown in parallel with the spread of the Western diet, which includes high levels of refined carbohydrates. Yet clinical trials have shown that gluten from wheat is not responsible for causing symptoms in healthy individuals, suggesting that something else is inducing symptoms. Based on existing solid research, the authors hypothesise that the "something else" might be glyphosate. While no GM glyphosate-tolerant wheat is commercially planted in North America, glyphosate-based herbicides are often sprayed on non-GM wheat pre-harvest to desiccate it ("dry it down"). GMWatch

 

 

A new paper from the US National Institutes of Health reports indications of DNA damage among men applying Roundup and other glyphosate-based herbicides. DNA damage is concerning because it can lead to cancer. A commentary on the new paper published in the same issue of the journal, titled Important new evidence for glyphosate hazard assessment, calls it "a critical step forward in filling knowledge gaps of glyphosate carcinogenicity in humans". The study's authors, Vicky C. Chang et al, were inspired to conduct their study because although mechanistic studies in human cells and animals support the genotoxic effects of glyphosate, "evidence in human populations is scarce". They analysed the blood, urine and mouth cells of licensed pesticide applicators in Iowa and North Carolina. They found links between lifetime occupational use and a marker of DNA damage known as mosaic loss of chromosome Y (mLOY). mLOY is a chromosomal alteration that is commonly detected in the blood cells of adult men, especially ageing men. It has been associated with blood cancers such as lymphoma, myeloma, and leukemia, as well as with Alzheimer's disease. GMWatch

 

 

What does an agronomic scientist have to say about new GMOs and their planned deregulation? Listen to a short video presentation by Dr Angelika Hilbeck from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology. Also see other related videos from the organic sector's perspective at the link above. IFOAM Organics Europe

 

 

On December 8, the American Chestnut Foundation (TACF) revealed it was withdrawing its support for the Darling 58 GM blight-resistant chestnut (D58). The Darling 58 chestnut is a genetically engineered tree variety being developed by the State University of New York Forestry School (SUNY-ESF). It is intended to resist the chestnut blight fungus that almost eradicated the American chestnut. Currently, the D58 chestnut is the subject of a petition for deregulation by USDA. TACF is withdrawing its support because the GM trees given to them by SUNY-ESF were not Darling 58 but Darling 54, a different GM event, but primarily because the trees they were given failed to thrive even in the absence of the blight. According to documentation on the TACF website, the GM trees were stunted, often chlorotic (yellow), and often developed brown leaves. Moreover, the GM chestnuts did not effectively resist the blight fungus. The onus is now on SUNY-ESF to withdraw the GM chestnut petition or for USDA to reject it, as the introduction of genetically inferior GM trees represents a danger to surviving non-GM chestnuts. [GMW: Information on the GM trees' fertility problems is here.] Independent Science News

 

 

A Washington state jury on Monday ordered Bayer's Monsanto to pay $857 million to seven former students and parent volunteers of a school northeast of Seattle who claimed that chemicals known as PCBs made by the company leaked from light fixtures and made them sick, according to court documents. The jury in Seattle found the company liable for selling polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) used in the Sky Valley Education Center in Monroe, Washington that were not safe and did not contain adequate warnings. The verdict included $73 million in compensatory damages, and $784 million in punitive damages. Reuters

 

 

Four years after the COVID outbreak began in Wuhan, China, we still don’t know how it started. Knowing how this virus began infecting humans can help prevent the next pandemic. However, evidence pointing to a lab accident continues to accumulate. The investigative nonprofit US Right to Know has released emails that found virologists collaborating with the nonprofit EcoHealth Alliance had sought to mislead the Department of Defense about potential research with the Wuhan Institute of Virology. Now biodefence expert Dr Robert Kadlec has asserted that federal scientists and the virologists they funded have misdirected the public and helped to cover up evidence that the pandemic began in a Wuhan lab — a lab funded with American money. These researchers’ motives seem clear: protect reputations, protect federal grants. Kadlec warns that another pandemic is coming and scientists have helped cover up how this one began. “It looks like an information operation to me,” Kadlec said. “It’s directing people away. And these guys did it by a variety of means.” The Disinformation Chronicle

 

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