Despite periodic claims of the dreadful effects of eating GM-fodder suffered by cattle, a group of researchers in Germany have been unable to find any.

Dividing 36 individuals into two groups, the conducted a study over more than two years to look at the effects of GM-maize on the performance of lactating dairy cows. Their diets were based on whole-crop silage, kernels and whole-crop cobs from Bt-corn (Bt-MON810) or its isogenic not genetically modified counterpart as main components. The study went on long enough to cover two consecutive lactations.

Their findings in summary showed:

1. the two diets showed no difrerences as regards chemical composition and estimated net energy content;

2. Cry1Ab protein was detected in the GM diet but not in the one containing conventional maize;

3. The daily intake of Cry1Ab protein for cows fed GM-maize was about 6.0 mg per day per cow, with dry matter intake around 19 kg per day per cow;

4. milk yield (23.8 and 29.0 kg per day per cow in the first and second lactations) was not affected by the dietary variation;

5. there were no consistent effects between cows fed GM- or non-GM-maize on milk composition or body condition.

Not unreasonably, the authors concluded that theur study had demonstrated the compositional and nutritional equivalence of the diets based on GM-maize or its non-GM isogenic equivalent.

Source:

K. Steinke, P. Guertler, V. Paul, S. Wiedemann, T. Ettle, C. Albrecht , H. H. D. Meyer, H. Spiekers and F. J. Schwarz (22.6.10). Effects of long-term feeding of genetically modified corn (event MON810) on the performance of lactating dairy cows. Journal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition (http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/123552309/abstract?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0)

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