London (6.4.09) – Over the past eighteen months and more we have noted studies claiming to have revealed deleterious effects of GM food on animal health yet providing dubious, unconvincing and non-peer reviewed evidence in support (1-4).

Now we have something which seems rather closer to reality (5) although the publication from the Bavarian State-Ministry for Agriculture and Forestry is in the form of a report which has not been peer-reviewed (6); we look forward to reading a formal publication in a reputable journal.

In a two-year experiment, one group of 18 milk cows was fed GM-maize MON810 while a parallel control group were fed with a non-GM isogenic variety grown under similar conditions.

The conclusions were clear:

• there were no differences in the nutrient composition and the energy content between the transgenic and isogenic and maize components (silage, cobs and grain corn);

• the feeding of Bt-corn (MON810) over a 25 month-period had no deleterious effect on the growth and metabolic parameters of milk cows;

• the study yielded no evidence that Bt-corn influenced animal health;

• these long-term data confirm the short-time studies on the use of Bt-corn in animal fodder published earlier;

• the substantial equivalence of isogenic and transgenic corn of MON 810 was confirmed;

• MON 810 DNA and the Bt protein are extensively degraded during the silage process;

• after long-term feeding with MON810, neither the protein or the relevant DNA of MON810 could not be found in the blood, urine or milk;

• milk from cows fed transgenic maize could not be distinguished from that of cows fed isogenic maize.

Sources:

1. Yet another scare story rears its head (31.10.05). CropGen (http://www.cropgen.org/article_45.html)

2. ACNFP slams Russian experiments (16.1.06). CropGen (http://www.cropgen.org/article_62.html)

3. Here we go again? Or, this time, will it be different? (12.11.08) CropGen (http://www.cropgen.org/article_203.html)

4. Wiener Mäuserln (1.2.09). CropGen (http://www.cropgen.org/article_214.html)

5. Langzeit-Fütterungsversuch mit gentechnisch verändertem Bt-Mais: Kein Einfluss auf Milchkühe (25.3.09). Trans Gen (http://www.transgen.de/aktuell/1038.doku.html)

6. Ministerialdirigent Friedrich Mayer (25.3.09). Vorstellung der Ergebnisse der Fütterungsversuche bei Milchkühen mit MON 810. Bayerisches Staatsministerium für Landwirtschaft und Forsten (http://www.transgen.de/pdf/dokumente/fuetterungsstudie_bayern03-09.pdf)

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