> Published on Wednesday, May 31, 2000 in the Guardian / UK
>
> Monsanto Admits Its Gene-Modified Products Contain Unexpected Gene Fragments
>
> by James Meikle
>
> Monsanto, the international company that pioneered the use of genetically
> modified crops, has revealed that its most widely used GM product contains
> unexpected gene fragments, raising fresh doubts that the technology is
> properly understood.
>
> Two extra gene fragments have been found in modified soya beans that have
> been grown commercially in the US for four years and used as an important
> ingredient in processed foods sold in Britain for a similar period.
>
> The company and the British government, which approved the soya's use in
> food and animal feed on behalf of the EU, yesterday insisted that the beans
> were no more risky to human health than conventional types. However, the
> revelation will cause further problems for ministers trying to prove they
> can manage and monitor the introduction of the technology.
>
> Monsanto alerted the Department of the Environment to the results of new
> studies on its Roundup Ready soyabeans on May 19, two days after ministers
> revealed that thousands of acres of oilseed rape had been grown unwittingly
> from conventional seed contaminated by GM material. German research has
> suggested that a gene used to modify rape seed could leap the species
> barrier into the guts of bees.
>
> Monsanto said the new studies used more advanced techniques to provide
> "updated molecular characterisation" of its beans which contain an inserted
> gene to ensure they are not destroyed by weedkiller. The tests found that
> two "inactive" pieces of genetic material were inserted at the same time as
> the whole gene. Dan Verakis, a spokesman for the company, said: "All this
> means is we are able to see genes in soya more clearly now. It is like
> putting a telescope in orbit allows astronomers to see stars better."
>
> He insisted that the fragments were in the product when it passed safety
> assessments by US authorities in 1992 and in Britain in 1996.The company's
> letter to the government says that nearly 100m acres of such beans have
> been cultivated round the world since 1996 "without adverse impacts on the
> environment or human health. They have also been widely consumed in Europe
> in foods and animal feedstuffs without adverse effects." No GM soya is
> grown in Britain.
>
> The Department of the Environment said its own preliminary study "suggests
> that the risk from these beans when used in food or animal feed is no
> different from conventional soya beans". The in formation was considered by
> one advisory committee, on releases of GM material into the environment,
> last Thursday. The government has promised to publish its final verdict
> which will be passed on to the European commission.
>
> Andy Tait, GM campaigner for Greenpeace UK, said: "This shows exactly what
> we have been saying for years, that genetic modification is inherently
> unpredictable and will have all sorts of knock-on effects once released
> into the environment." Soya is used in a wide range of foods. About half
> the US harvest is now thought to be GM.