“As you’ll read the GM seed companies seem to go out of their way to make it difficult or impossible for independent researchers to evaluate their foods, if they are as safe as these companies say they are then why do they try to hinder independent research? I think we know the answer to that.” Admin
If you’re like me, you’ve probably been asked by many of your friends and relatives why you believe genetically engineered (GE) foods are unsafe. Dr. Judy Carman, one of the few researchers in the world who has carefully and independently evaluated this question, can help you provide answers to your friends and family.
Dr. Carman has degrees in both epidemiology and medicine, specifically in the field of nutritional biochemistry in metabolic regulation in relation to cancer, and her research into GE foods provides compelling evidence for avoiding such foods if you value your health, and want to protect the health of your children as they grow older.
Her background involves both cancer research, and work as a senior epidemiologist in Australian government, investigating outbreaks of disease. She’s currently an adjunct associate professor at Flinders University in South Australia, as well as the director of the Institute of Health and Environmental Research (IHER).
Independent GMO Researchers Face Many Challenging Hurdles
As one of the few researchers looking into the effects of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), Dr. Carman is no stranger to the many challenges that this kind of research entails. The biotechnology industry has devised a rather clever and sophisticated control system that largely prevents independent research of their products.
“Yes, there are a number of problems for anyone doing research,” she notes. “They usually center around getting the money to be able to do the research… But you also need to get the materials to test. In this case, it’s the seeds from the genetically modified (GM) plants… But it’s very difficult to get GM seeds to test.
If a farmer wants to buy seeds to plant in the field, the farmer has to sign a technology user agreement, which means [he]… is not allowed to do any research on those seeds, and is not allowed to give them to anyone else to do research on either.
You basically have to find some way around that that’s legal – and we did, but it took us quite some time. Otherwise, you need to go to the industry to ask, ‘Pretty please, can we have some seeds?’ We did that as well. The conditions placed upon us getting those seeds were such that we couldn’t legitimately try and get the seeds from most companies.”
Besides the hurdle of obtaining the GE seeds in question, protected as they are by rigid patent laws, researchers who venture into GMO research must also be prepared to survive the personal and professional discrediting and abuse that comes with the territory.
Truly, anyone who does this kind of research must be close to sainthood, as those who reveal negative findings are figuratively speaking “tarred and feathered” for their efforts. Most must endure being personally attacked and vilified, and many have had their entire career stripped from them in the process.
In the last six years, Dr. Carman has survived six different attempts to have her removed from her various university positions, for example. As she notes later in this interview, she was largely “protected” by the fact that she knew this going into the research, and chose to stop receiving a salary and getting paid for her work.
Read More Study Reveals Significant Inflammatory Response to GM Foods.
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