The Mercury http://www.news.com.au/tas/ Concern over soya, canola products By STUART DIWELL 26may99 MANY food products sold in Australia used genetically modified soya bean and canola ingredients which had not been tested for their potential impacts on human health, Hobart-based scientist Stanley Robert said yesterday. Dr Robert, a molecular geneticist and biologist, has raised his concerns with Australian, British and US health authorities, but with little success. He said he did not get a response when he wrote to federal Health Minister Michael Wooldridge raising the issue. He said US agri-business and chemical company Monsanto had developed strains of genetically modified soya beans and canola. The strains were resistant to herbicides so that crops could be sprayed at any stage with strong herbicides, with everything in the sprayed area except the crops being killed. He said research had shown the special herbicides used on the modified soya crops raised the levels of phyto-oestrogens, which mimic human hormones. He said the research presented by Monsanto to health authorities in the three countries was based on tests on unsprayed beans. "The beans are produced that way (sprayed) before we eat them so the tests should have been done on sprayed beans. "What we are talking about is key ingredients in so many foods," Dr Robert said. The modified soya beans are used in products including soy milk, biscuits, cake mixes, chocolate and frozen meals. "Soy flour is used to bulk things out, from it comes lecithin which is an emulsifier used in ice cream," he said. Dr Robert said the modified soy and canola was grown in the US where 50% of soya farms grew the modified plants. He said although products with higher levels of phyto-oestrogens might increase protection against prostate cancer and menopause, there were concerns about its impact on children and other sectors of the population. "I am not saying there is going to be anything wrong with them (modified products). "But we should be sure, through research, before we make them available for consumption," he said. ************************************************************************* This posting is provided to the individual members of this group without permission from the copyright owner for purposes of criticism, comment, scholarship and research under the "fair use" provisions of the Federal copyright laws and it may not be distributed further without permission of the copyright owner, except for "fair use." -- Leftlink - Australia's Broad Left Mailing List mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.alexia.net.au/~www/mhutton/index.html Sponsored by Melbourne's New International Bookshop Subscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=subscribe%20leftlink Unsubscribe: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?Body=unsubscribe%20leftlink
