Genetically modified foods cause panic

Every once in a while, there will be rumors in the media about how harmful GM foods are. The latest one is particularly terror. The "International Herald Tribune" reporter claimed that after a four-month investigation, they discovered that animals such as the disappearance of large rats in some areas of Shanxi and Jilin, the love of life and death of sows, and the water in dogs are abnormal. They think this is due to the fact that the regions began planting the “Xianyu 335” corn three years ago.

This kind of corn is hybrid corn. Its mother is PH6WC and its father is PH4CV. However, the reporter checked the US Patent and Trademark Office's website about the PH4CV patent and found it to be genetically modified corn. “If so, Shanxi, Jilin, etc. All kinds of animal abnormal reactions have a more reasonable explanation."

Genetically Modified Maize Lets Animals Die! This news went crazy online and became the headline of newspapers and websites. Before these people turn, they do not want to think. How high is their credibility? If the conclusion of the report can be established, it will be a major discovery shocking the world. As a scientifically minded person, when he hears sensationalism, he cannot believe in it. He must be skeptical and ask a few more questions.

The first question is whether these animal anomalies really happen. The reporter’s so-called investigation actually only interviewed several farmers and listened to what they said. This is not an objective survey, and there is no quantitative statistics or comparison. Other people doing similar investigations can come to the opposite conclusion. In response to the report, the Shanxi Agriculture Department organized 11 experts to set up a joint investigation team, conducted investigations and evidence collection based on the clues mentioned in the report, and inquired farmers and pig farmers in townships and villages. In recent years, they have not found widespread The sows have fewer litters and higher mortality. This shows that the so-called animal anomaly is not a verifiable fact, at least controversial.

Even if an animal anomaly actually occurs, is it due to the planting of Xianyu 335 corn?

The reason given by the reporter is that the two happen at the same time. But simultaneous events do not mean that there is a causal relationship. The investigation organized by the Shanxi Provincial Department of Agriculture seems to recognize the phenomenon that the rats have become smaller and smaller, but it provides another explanation: Local townships, village officials and farmers generally believe that the increase in the breeding of cats has produced biological inhibition, as well as rural infrastructure and The housing of the villagers was improved from a brick and tile structure to a cement structure. Rats were not able to create holes by making holes. This explanation is obviously more reasonable.

If the animal eats the “Xianyu 335” corn, the body will be damaged and even die, which is easily confirmed by experiments. It took four months for reporters to collect persuasive hearsays, but they were reluctant to find simple experiments in laboratories to see if they actually did not clarify the issue with sincerity. For others, there is absolutely no need to waste time on animal experiments because there is no reason to believe that a widely grown, edible corn variety has such terrifying toxicity.

For the journalist of the International Herald Tribune, it seems that as long as he proved that the paternal PH4CV of Xianyu 335 was genetically modified maize, the problem was found. But here they put a huge huge Oolong. They know to look up the U.S. patent description but cannot read or intentionally distort the content of the patent.

It is clear from the patent description that PH4CV is an inbred maize line and is a “natural” corn grown from a single line of maize that has been continuously self-crossed for many generations. It is neither hybrid corn nor genetically modified corn. The reference to genetic modification in the patent content is included in the description of rights. It means that the inbred corn can be used as a material for breeding genetically modified corn. If it is therefore said that it is genetically modified corn, then in the description of the rights, it also said that the inbred maize can be used to cultivate hybrid corn, and it does not become a hybrid corn?

China does not currently approve the cultivation of genetically modified corn. If DuPont Pioneer Co., Ltd., which developed the Xianyu 335, dares to take GM corn as a hybrid corn, it is an illegal act that is easy to expose. A molecular test can be performed to determine whether a corn variety contains genetically modified components. The reporter did not even speculate there, why not spend money to find a testing agency to take the charge of DuPont Pioneer? Greenpeace, which often claims to have detected “illegal genetically modified ingredients” in the Chinese market, is embarrassed to say this time.

Unlike China, the United States has 14 years of history in planting genetically modified corn. 86% of the corn grown in the United States this year is genetically modified corn. The corn grown in the United States is used as food and feed for humans and livestock, but no abnormalities have been found so far. The report of the International Herald Tribune states that: