FINALLY, here's proof that genetic engineering, the technology
used to create Bt corn, can cause cancer.
Two children who were undergoing gene therapy for Severe Combined
Immunodeficiency Disease (SCID) have instead developed leukemia,
a type of cancer. (See Nature 419, 545 546; 2002. You can
also search the Web for SCID gene therapy and leukemia.)
The therapy uses a gutted virus as a "carrier" to transfer
corrective genes into a patient's cells. But if the carrier
manages to make itself part of a cell's genes, it can make
the cell cancerous. The leukemia developed by the two child
patients is proof that this can actually happen.
This process is similar to the one used in creating Bt corn,
where a portion of a gutted virus called the Cauliflower Mosaic
Virus (CaMV) promoter was used to transfer the Bt toxin gene
into corn. The gene, together with the promoter, are then
ingested by animals and people who eat the corn. The CaMV
promoter is used not only in Bt corn but also in GMO rice
and GMO cotton that will soon be field-tested in the Philippines.
The Bt corn lobby has been asking for proof. Here's the proof,
the smoking gun, that genetic engineering can cause cancer.
More than ever, we need to stop Bt corn distribution now,
before these cancer risks irreversibly contaminate our local
corn varieties.
We challenge the scientists and bureaucrats behind the Bt
corn lobby to face-to-face debates before the media and the
public, where their lies and false claims can be easily exposed.
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(read Mr. Bernardo Vidal's
response to this letter)
