Friday, March 29, 2024

Claim GE foods increase chemical exposure

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A significant rise in non Hodgkin lymphoma – a cancer of the white blood cells responsible for immunity – has been identified in agricultural and non-agricultural workers exposed to pesticides, GE-Free New Zealand president Claire Bleakley says. “The findings have implications for 82 genetically engineered foods approved into the NZ food chain.”
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All were tolerant to one or more herbicides named in the latest study as being linked to cancers.

“Yet officials have acknowledged that these foods are not assessed by Food Safety Australia NZ for pesticide effects and that only the novel DNA is considered in safety assessments.

'GE crops are increasing the amount of toxic chemicals used on farms and these chemicals are
ending up in food.'

“The most controversial and recent GE foods approved by the (Food Safety) minister (Nikki Kaye) in 2013 are GE soy and corn that have been sprayed with a cocktail of herbicides including 2,4-D, a phenoxy herbicide that is highly toxic.

“Exposure to the phenoxy chemicals is positively associated with the development of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. The authors say that their results indicate a need to investigate further.

“GE crops are increasing the amount of toxic chemicals used on farms and these chemicals are ending up in food,” Bleakley said.

“All the GE plants that have been approved for the food chain contain synthetic genes that make the plant able to be sprayed with high levels of herbicides.

“This is increasing the pesticide load that people and animals are exposed to.”

The Primary Industries Ministry had acknowledged it did not have enough money to regularly monitor the food chain to see if the food complied with the labelling laws, she said.

By law a product that contained any GE ingredient over 1% had to be labelled.

“This study shows that there has been a significant rise in the last 20 years of people who are not agricultural workers developing non Hodgkin lymphoma. Is this being exacerbated by an increase in highly sprayed GE foods that are being ingested?”

It was time Kaye looked into the issue with her new food safety advisers and addressed the food safety concerns of export markets and consumers at home who she was duty-bound to protect, Bleakley said.

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