While we often hear that a pig’s stomach is made of iron and that a pig will eat anything you put in front of it, new research shows that just because they will eat it does not mean it is good for them.
Pigs are omnivores by nature and will scavenge for food in the wild. Wild pigs will kill and eat just about anything they can find and don’t appear to suffer from consuming three or four-day-old road kill.
Startling new information in from the Institute of Health and Environmental Research in Australia demonstrates the damage done to pig intestines when they consume genetically modified feed.
The pigs used for the study were 22 weeks old and resided in a commercial piggery in the United States. Two groups of pigs were reared under identical conditions, and one group consumed a diet of GM corn while another group consumed a non-GM corn diet. Five months later the pigs were slaughtered and autopsies were performed.
Those performing tests on the pigs were not told which pigs were in the control group and which were fed the GM corn. No differences were found in the pigs weight gain, blood work or mortality.
However, severe stomach inflammation was found in 32 percent of the GM fed pigs and only 12 percent of the control group. Male pigs had the worst inflammation.
This study adds additional fuel to the hot burning debate over the use of genetically modified seeds. Biotech seeds are altered so that they can tolerate high impact herbicidal treatments, resist pests and make crop growing easier for farmers.
However, those against such practices argue intently that genetic modification can cause long term damage to the digestive system in animals and possibly in humans who consume products made with the same GM crops as the pigs were fed.
A much longer study (Poulter,2012), lasted for two years and involved rats being fed herbicide resistant corn, which also included one of the genes fed in the recent pig study. Rats fed the resistant corn experienced higher mortality levels, tumors and liver and kidney damage than those not fed the GM corn.
Those that produce the seeds used DNA from bacteria and other species to create the so-called “monster seeds,” and stand robustly behind their claims, made since 1996, that the seeds are entirely safe.
CropLife International is a global federation that represents the plant science industry. They state that more than 150 studies have been done proving the safety of the seeds when used in animal feed. What is not often disclosed is that the bulk of these studies are funded by the seed manufacturers themselves. We don’t have to elaborate on the implications of this.
While debate is likely to continue over the safety of GM crops, a few things are undeniable. There have been no long term studies done on the impact of GM products on humans, humans are exposed to GM products without their knowledge, animals studies indicate cause for concern and there are presently no regulatory controls over the use of GM products in animal feed. These are all causes for concern.
-The Alternative Daily
