Hazards of GM Cotton.

• Author: Ho, Dr. Mae-Wan
• Position: Genetically modified

[Both India and Indonesia have delayed commercial planting of Monsanto's genetically modified (GM) cotton based in part on evidence which had previously lain buried in a United Kingdom government archive. Pressure was brought to bear by NGOs aided by information provided by the Institute for Science in Society (ISIS) in the UK. We excerpt three reports on these and a related issue from the ISIS newsletter by Dr. Mae-Won Ho, director. --Henry Roberston, S/R Editorial Board]

Monsanto's GM Cottons & Gonorrhea

Strongly worded advice against the approval of Monsanto's GM cotton was given by UK Government scientists warning of antibiotic resistance genes that would make gonorrhea untreatable.

The information is in the archives of the UK Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and Processes (ACNFP) which vets applications for commercial approval of novel foods and animal feed. The advice was given in February, 1999 but was only published last year by the UK Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF). At around the same time, the European Union rejected Monsanto's application for the sale of the GM cottons in Europe. The reason? The gene aad, which confers resistance to the antibiotics streptomycin and spectinomycin, is present in both Bollgard (insect-protected) and Roundup Ready (herbicide tolerant) GM cottons.

The bacterium responsible for gonorrhoea, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, could acquire the aad gene from GM plant materials during infection of the mouth and small and large intestine as well as the respiratory tract. N. gonorrhoeae could also get the gene indirectly from other bacteria in the internal and external environments of animals and human beings, which have taken up the gene from GM plant materials. Those other bacteria can serve as a reservoir for antibiotic resistance genes.

Streptomycin is mainly used as a second-line drug for tuberculosis. But it is in the treatment of gonorrhea that spectinomycin is most important. It is the drug of choice for treating strains of N. gonorrhoeae already resistant to penicillin and third generation cephalosporins, especially during pregnancy.

About 60% of the cotton harvest consists of cotton seed. Cotton seed oil is extracted for human consumption, while the residue, cotton seed cake, is fed to animals. Although the government advice was aimed at cotton seed, there are other hazards arising from the use of the GM cotton itself, which may be why it was rejected by the EU.

Both GM cottons are being...