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[GWL]: Dr. Elaine Ingham's Testimony
from http://www.biotech-info.net/EI_testimony_NZ.html
Dr. Elaine Ingham's Testimony (Executive Summary) before the (New
Zealand) Royal Commission on Genetic Modification
Executive Summary
February 2001
Executive Summary of DR. Ingham's Testimony:
Genetically engineered organisms have not been adequately assessed for
their environmental or human health effects. It is inadequate to subject
ORGANISMS to the tested [sic] required for non-living chemical
pesticides, and conclude that there will be no adverse or risky effects
from release of those organisms based on that testing.
A graduate student of mine, no longer working in the field of engineered
organisms, and I did some research on a particular engineered bacterium
that had been approved by the USEPA for field testing. No environmental
effects were detected during pesticide or toxicity testing with this
organism. However, Michael Holmes discovered that the engineered
bacterium, Klebsiella planticola with a additional alcohol gene, killed
all the wheat plants in microcosms into which the engineered organisms
was added 1 . None of the wheat plants were killed in microcosms into
which the not-engineered parent organism or just water were added.
This bacterium was engineered to produce alcohol from plant debris, so
alcohol could be produced after raking up grass straw residues instead
of burning fields. This organism would have been released to the real
world by placing the residue left at the bottom of the fermentation
container following grass straw alcohol production on fields as
fertilizer. With a single release, we know that bacteria can spread over
large distances, probably world-wide.
These bacteria would therefore get into the root systems of all
terrestrial plants and begin to produce alcohol. The engineered
bacterium produces far beyond the required amount of alcohol per gram
soil than required to kill any terrestrial plant. This would result in
the death of all terrestrial plants, because the parent bacterium has
been found in the root systems of all plants where anyone has looked for
its presence. This could have been the single most devastating impact on
human beings since we would likely have lost corn, wheat, barley,
vegetable crops, trees, bushes, etc, conceivably all terrestrial plants.
It is clear, therefore, that current testing procedures required by US
regulatory agencies are completely inadequate in assessing the potential
risks involved with genetically engineered organisms. Until such time as
adequate testing procedures are instigated and carried out, engineered
organisms should not be considered to have acceptable risks.
References
Holmes, M. and E.R. Ingham. (1999) Ecological effects of genetically
engineered Klebsiella planticola released into agricultural soil with
varying clay content. Appl. Soil Ecol. 3:394-399.
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