An experiment to see whether genetically modified (GM) soy might affect the offspring of rats yielded disturbing results.
Rats were divided into several groups, one of which was given a diet to which 5-7 grams of Monsanto's "Roundup Ready" GM soy flour had been added; the others were fed similar diets containing no GM soy. The diets began two weeks before the rats became pregnant, and continued throughout pregnancy and nursing.
Low Birth Weight
A number of offspring from the GM-fed mothers were born unusually small, and after two weeks, 36 percent of them weighed less than 20 grams, compared to about 6 percent from the other groups.
More Than Half the Rats Died
Within three weeks, more than half of the rats from the GM soy group died, compared to less than 10 percent from the other groups.
Roundup Ready GM soy's DNA contains bacterial genes that allow the soy plant to survive treatment with Monsanto's "Roundup" brand herbicide. Some 85 percent of the soy gown in the United States is Roundup Ready. Soy is present in the majority of processed foods sold in the United States, so most Americans eat Roundup Ready soy in some form every day.
No Safety Tests Required
The FDA does not require any safety tests on genetically modified foods. There have been less than 20 published, peer-reviewed animal feeding safety studies and no human clinical trials.
