First, the herbicide chemical glyphosate was found in breast milk of mothers around the country. Now, there is a new study showing that the DNA in goats fed transgenic, GM soy feed is altered, and the milk itself is of lower quality, affecting the offspring.
Kid goats were studied both in vivo and post mortem, and what the researchers of this study found was not good. Colostrum is the ‘pre-milk’ in all mammals that provides incredible immuno-defense to offspring. It comes in first before the regular milk supply to ensure that new babies (in this case, baby goats) are ready to take on the dangerous microbes of the world.
It was found that kids (baby goats) which fed on GM soy had both DNA fragments that were not supposed to be there, i.e., are not normally found in goat milk, and the immunoglobulin concentration was altered. Furthermore, the colostrum had significantly lower levels of both protein and fat.
The study states:
“. . . transgenic DNA fragments were amplified (P < 0.05) in samples from goats that received the transgenic soybean.”
The baby goats that came from mothers fed GM soy also had altered physical traits. For instance, a significant height difference at the chest and withers than their non-GMO fed counterparts was observed.
How GMOs Could Hurt Not Only Us, but our Offspring
It is becoming increasingly obvious that genetically modified foods not only have negative effects on people who consume them, but are also future offspring. Morphological and biochemical changes in DNA fed GM corn was also found in male rats. You can imagine what it is doing to the human form.
Oh, but you don’t have to imagine. There is evidence of GM foods altering human DNA as well. Geneticist David Suzuki recently said that human beings are part of a “massive genetic experiment,” and he is right to be concerned. Suzuki points out:
“One small mutation in a human being can determine so much, the point is when you move a gene, one gene, one tiny gene out of an organism into a different one you completely change its context. There is no way to predict how it’s going to behave and what the outcome will be. We think that we design these life forms, but it’s like taking the Toronto orchestra prepared to play a Beethoven symphony and then you take some random drummers from “here” and flip them in with the Toronto symphony and you say play music. What comes out is going to be something very very different. Publicists say that there is good intention behind GMOs, but the fact of the matter is it’s driven by money.”
Horizontal gene transfer is a very real phenomenon, even though biotech advocates say it doesn’t pose any risk. This means that genetic material is transferred from one organism to another without reproduction in the ‘usual’ sense in which we understand it.
Dr. Mae-Wan Ho, an expert for the currently ongoing trial against Monsanto for false advertising in California, says that genetic modification interferes fundamentally with the natural genetic modifications that organisms undergo in order to survive. Under natural circumstances, this is done in real time as “an exquisitely precise molecular dance of life.”
Too bad the baby goats aren’t able to refuse GM food, but you can.