{"id":32641,"date":"2013-08-12T12:00:13","date_gmt":"2013-08-12T11:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=32641"},"modified":"2015-05-06T08:59:59","modified_gmt":"2015-05-06T07:59:59","slug":"no-you-shouldnt-fear-gmo-corn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2013\/08\/no-you-shouldnt-fear-gmo-corn\/","title":{"rendered":"No, You Shouldn\u2019t Fear GMO Corn"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><i>How Elle botched a story about genetically modified food.<\/i><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_32509\" style=\"width: 210px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/elle-genetically-modified-corn-de-mdn.jpg\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-32509\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-32509\" alt=\"Jon Shireman\/Getty Images\" src=\"http:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/elle-genetically-modified-corn-de-mdn-200x300.jpg\" width=\"200\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/elle-genetically-modified-corn-de-mdn-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/elle-genetically-modified-corn-de-mdn.jpg 320w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-32509\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jon Shireman\/Getty Images<\/p><\/div>\n<p>A few weeks ago, Amy Harmon, a respected science journalist at the <i>New York Times<\/i>, turned her attention to the GMO debate, writing a masterfully textured <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2013\/07\/28\/science\/a-race-to-save-the-orange-by-altering-its-dna.html?pagewanted=all\"  target=\"_blank\">story<\/a> about the plight of the Florida orange and the role biotechnology might play in rescuing it from a potentially deadly disease. It was <a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.discovermagazine.com\/collideascape\/#.UfgTz1Ov-uM\"  target=\"_blank\">widely praised<\/a> by independent journalists for its even-handed analysis of the <a href=\"http:\/\/boingboing.net\/2013\/07\/29\/genetically-modified-food-that.html\"  target=\"_blank\">costs and benefits<\/a> associated with adopting new technologies, like genetic modification, to food.<\/p>\n<p>As influential as the <i>Times<\/i> may be among the chattering classes, don\u2019t expect this story to alter the trajectory of the debate over GMO foods. While every major scientific regulatory oversight body in the world, including the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nap.edu\/catalog.php?record_id=10977\"  target=\"_blank\">National Academies of Science<\/a> and the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.fda.gov\/Food\/FoodScienceResearch\/Biotechnology\/ucm346030.htm\"  target=\"_blank\">Food and Drug Administration<\/a> in the United States, has concluded that genetically modified foods pose no harm not also found in conventional or organic foods, the public remains deeply suspicious of them. A <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2013\/07\/28\/science\/strong-support-for-labeling-modified-foods.html\"  target=\"_blank\">survey<\/a> published in the same newspaper the day before Harmon\u2019s piece ran found that 37 percent of those interviewed worried about GMOs, saying they feared that such foods cause cancer or allergies.<\/p>\n<p>Those fear-based views are regularly reinforced by popular lifestyle magazines and the echo chamber of the Web. In the past two weeks alone, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.details.com\/blogs\/daily-details\/2013\/07\/what-you-need-to-know-about-gmos.html\"  target=\"_blank\"><i>Details<\/i><\/a><i> <\/i>and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.elle.com\/beauty\/health-fitness\/healthy-eating-avoid-gmo-corn\"  target=\"_blank\"><i>Elle<\/i><\/a> have run pieces that credulously stoke conspiratorial fears that the government is covering up evidence that GMO foods can damage the public health.<\/p>\n<p>Shetterly\u2019s long feature<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2013\/08\/the-bad-seed-the-health-risks-of-genetically-modified-corn\/\" >, \u201cThe Bad Seed: The Health Risks of Genetically Modified Corn,\u201d<\/a><\/span> in <i>Elle\u2014<\/i>a magazine with more than 1.1 million monthly readers\u2014was particularly appalling.<\/p>\n<p>Shetterly is the protagonist of her article, and the plight she faced that spurred her to write this story is truly sad. She was plagued for years by a variety of debilitating symptoms from headaches to fatigue to hands frozen into claws by pain. She went from one doctor to another, but no cause was identified and no cure found.<\/p>\n<p>On the recommendation of her physician, she went to see Maine allergist Paris Mansmann. Shetterly showed symptoms, he concluded, of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nlm.nih.gov\/medlineplus\/eosinophilicdisorders.html\"  target=\"_blank\">eosinophilic disorder<\/a>\u2014a multisystemic condition in which white blood cells overproduce in response to allergens. These abundant cells release enzymes that break down proteins, which in turn damage the esophagus, airways, or other organs. But what was causing the reaction? Mansmann opined that Shetterly\u2019s condition could be the result of eating genetically modified (GMO) corn.<\/p>\n<p>It was an unusual diagnosis. Although the article does not specify what tests Mansmann may have conducted to reach this diagnosis, there is no empirical evidence to support the belief that GMOs can be linked to unusual incidences of allergies and the condition is not listed in federal government\u2019s <a href=\"http:\/\/wwwn.cdc.gov\/nndss\/\"  target=\"_blank\">National Notifiable Diseases<\/a> list. I contacted Dr. Mansmann at his home and office requesting his perspective but did not receive a response.<\/p>\n<p>According to Shetterly, the Maine physician suggested she strip all corn from her diet. Within months, she writes, her symptoms had subsided. Amazed and gratified at her recovery, she decided to write an article about her experience. She interviewed a range of scientists who appear to confirm her greatest fear: that Monsanto and the biotechnology industry are foisting untested lab-created foods on Americans and their children, leading to unprecedented health problems.<\/p>\n<p>Shetterly\u2019s narrative is emotionally compelling, but only that; it just doesn\u2019t withstand the critical scrutiny of science. Let\u2019s start with her central premise: Genetically modified foods, or more specifically genetic modified corn, can cause allergic reactions. Is that even possible? Can the process of genetic modification create allergies?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNot likely,\u201d said Pamela Ronald, an internationally respected plant geneticist at the University of California, Davis and a pioneer in developing sustainable agricultural solutions. \u201cAfter 16 years of cultivation and a cumulative total of 2 billion acres planted, no documented adverse health or environmental effects have resulted from commercialization of genetically engineered crops.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mansmann\u2019s belief that GMOs may cause allergic reactions and autoimmune disorders is a familiar trope in the anti-crop-biotechnology literature, from sources ranging from <a href=\"http:\/\/www.naturalnews.com\/038836_food_allergens_chronic_pain.html\"  target=\"_blank\">naturalnews.com<\/a> to the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ucsusa.org\/food_and_agriculture\/our-failing-food-system\/genetic-engineering\/risks-of-genetic-engineering.html\"  target=\"_blank\">Union of Concerned Scientists<\/a>. Such tracts often gleefully point out that the rise in reported food allergies in the U.S. over the past 16 years coincides with the advent of our consumption of genetically modified crops.<\/p>\n<p>Where you won\u2019t find such claims is in the established scientific literature. \u201cThere has not been one study that links the genetically engineered corn or any approved genetically modified food on the market to allergies,\u201d Ronald told me. \u201cThe author, and apparently this doctor, is under the mistaken belief that the process of genetic modification can in itself create unique allergens that are not otherwise found in nature or are not easily identified and evaluated. That\u2019s just not accurate.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.biofortified.org\/\"  target=\"_blank\">Biology Fortified<\/a>, a website devoted to plant genetics and sustainable agriculture, has posted more than 600 studies on its <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biofortified.org\/genera\/guide\/\"  target=\"_blank\">GENERA<\/a> database\u2014more than one-third of which were conducted by independent scientists who receive no funding from the industry\u2014and none of the studies links GM corn to allergies.<\/p>\n<p>Shetterly\u2019s journalistic trick\u2014a tactic often employed by anti-GMO activists\u2014was to frame a settled issue in the science community as a mystery or controversy.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhile I quickly discovered that blaming GMO foods for any kind of health problem is controversial in the medical and biotech worlds,\u201d she writes, \u201cwhat\u2019s beyond debate is the increase in the incidence of autoimmune disorders such as type 1 diabetes, lupus, and celiac disease, as well as allergies.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Since GMOs were introduced into the food supply almost 20 years ago, there has not been one documented case of any health problem in humans\u2014not even so much as a sniffle\u2014linked to GMOs. The American Medical Association, whose physician members would have long ago picked up on a GMO-allergy connection, definitively rejects such speculation. \u201cBioengineered foods have been consumed for close to 20 years, and during that time, no overt consequences on human health have been reported and\/or substantiated in the peer-reviewed literature,\u201d it has stated. That scientific consensus has been endorsed by every major <a href=\"http:\/\/sleuth4health.wordpress.com\/2013\/07\/25\/is-gm-food-safe-experts-around-the-globe-answer\/\"  target=\"_blank\">science oversight body<\/a> in the world.<\/p>\n<p>But what about the undeniable fact that the rise in autoimmune disorders tracks GMO consumption? The rise in such problems, including allergies, started long before GMOs were introduced. Incidences of these same conditions across <a href=\"http:\/\/www.allergyuk.org\/why-is-allergy-increasing\/why-is-allergy-increasing\"  target=\"_blank\">U.K., Europe<\/a> and in other countries where there is no consumption of GM foods match U.S. trends. To put this claim in perspective, the upward slope also tracks with the cumulative wins of the New England Patriots under Bill Belichick, the GDP of China, and indeed the increased consumption of organic foods over a similar period of time. In other words, the alarming connection that Shetterly alludes to in her piece is completely random.<\/p>\n<p>Then there\u2019s the question of whether Shetterly\u2019s quoted sources stand by their quotes. Let\u2019s put ourselves in her shoes as she set out to make sense of her illness and recovery. She could have presented a broad range of opinions. She could have carefully portrayed the measured views of physicians and scientists whose research in this field has been vetted by the medical community. But that\u2019s not what happened.<\/p>\n<p>Shetterly quotes a few experts who assert that genetically modified foods are safe, but the majority of her sources seem sympathetic to her plight and Mansmann\u2019s GMO-corn allergy theory. I talked to or exchanged emails with almost all of them. The feedback was consistent: Her article was variously described as \u201cridiculous\u201d and \u201cabsurd.\u201d To a person, the sources I reached complained that Shetterly had misused their statements.<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s deconstruct the piece. Shetterly raises questions about the integrity of government assessments and regulation of GMOs. She interviewed <a href=\"http:\/\/foodsci.unl.edu\/web\/foodsci\/goodman\"  target=\"_blank\">Richard Goodman<\/a>, who runs the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.allergenonline.org\"  target=\"_blank\">AllergenOnline database<\/a> at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, which is used by GM developers, much of the food industry, and numerous regulatory agencies for evaluating the potential allergenicity and allergenic cross-reactivity of novel proteins and GMOs. Citing GMO critics, Shetterly questions the \u201cobjectivity\u201d of the AllergenOnline database. It\u2019s a fair question, considering that it is funded by six major biotechnology developers. But, rather than examining the issue in context, she provides no context, which just fuels suspicions.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s true that the database is funded by biotechnology companies. But the government often asks corporations to bear the costs of regulation, and does so in this case. The database is independently managed by an impressive panel of internationally recognized allergy experts who review and vote on allergen inclusion in a yearly process. The six sponsoring companies get to criticize and review the process, but do not have any decision-making capacity or influence beyond scientific argument. Only the experts\u2014each of whom has published many peer-reviewed scientific articles on food allergies\u2014decide what allergens will be included.<\/p>\n<p>In Shetterly\u2019s interview, Goodman appears to confirm Mansmann\u2019s belief that the database is all but useless because it doesn\u2019t track \u201c<i>undiscovered<\/i>\u201d [her emphasis] allergens. She quotes him as saying that no \u201cGMO proteins\u201d are listed in the database because there isn\u2019t \u201csufficient evidence\u201d to put them there\u2014implying that there is some evidence that some of these approved proteins cause allergies.<\/p>\n<p>So we have arrived at the heart of Shetterly\u2019s theory: Genetic modification could introduce novel proteins into our foods that provoke an immune response among a number of people in ways we can\u2019t predict or guard against. The idea is that consumers face unknown and unacceptable risks from new, yet-to-be-identified allergens or toxins that our government\u2019s monitoring program, compromised by industry, is not designed to pick up. As activists see it, we are \u201chuman experiments\u201d and the government does not have in place an appropriate sentinel system to guard against a potential health or environmental catastrophe.<\/p>\n<p>In the story, Goodman is presented as being sympathetic to that view. Is that in fact what he believes?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe totally twisted what I said,\u201d the scientist told me. It\u2019s difficult to know what she means when she warns of \u201cundiscovered\u201d allergens, he added. \u201cProteins can cause reactions in just a few individuals or in some cases thousands or millions of people. The database,\u201d he said, \u201clists every known protein that has been shown to cause an allergy and or even <i>might<\/i> be suspected of possibly causing a reaction.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But what about the charge that there are \u201cunknown\u201d allergens\u2014perhaps a protein in GMO corn that has not yet been identified\u2014that are not yet in the database? Aren\u2019t activist fears valid? Shouldn\u2019t we take proper precaution until we know for sure?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of the science and of risk,\u201d he told me. <b>\u201c<\/b>Yes, in principle, you might find a heretofore unknown reaction in some individuals to a protein not yet listed in the database. Certainly not every protein of the millions of proteins from every food or inhalation source of allergy has been tested for allergies. But those proteins occur in non-GMO sources\u201d as well, he noted. When a new genetically modified crop is created, \u201conly one or a few new proteins are made,\u201d he added, \u201cand those are evaluated specifically for potential risks of allergy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe biggest risk of allergic reactions is not in creating new proteins\u2014we test for them\u2014but in introducing an allergen into some new food. During the development stage of a new transgenic soybean, scientists engineered genetic sequences taken from the Brazil nut to improve its nutritional quality.\u201d <a href=\"http:\/\/gmoevidence.com\/nebraska-university-nut-allergies-to-gm-soy-modified-with-nut-gene\/\"  target=\"_blank\">Studies<\/a> picked up an allergen, and the project was dropped. The person who headed up that research, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nejm.org\/doi\/full\/10.1056\/NEJM199603143341103\"  target=\"_blank\">Steve Taylor<\/a>, is part of the Allergen Database oversight panel. The system, Goodman told me, works.<\/p>\n<p>I reached out to <a href=\"http:\/\/farrp.unl.edu\/fss\/director\"  target=\"_blank\">Taylor<\/a> by email, who replied, \u201cWhile the process might not be as robust as many would prefer, I am not aware of any other test methods that I would recommend for use.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe risks from GM foods are infinitesimally small,\u201d Goodman added. \u201cIt\u2019s all \u2018what if, what if, what if\u2019 doomsday scenarios. It\u2019s like worrying that we might be hit by an asteroid. If we base decisions about whether to innovate on that level of risk tolerance, we\u2019d still be in the dark ages.\u201d Shetterly\u2019s concerns, \u201cwhile understandable in theory, are not grounded in science, and I told Caitlin that. But that\u2019s not what she reported. This article is just ridiculous.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>There is an irony in the fact that anti-GMO activists promote the \u201cfood allergen\u201d scare. Novel proteins can result when <i>any<\/i> new food is created, whether through genetic modification, cross breeding, random breeding, or <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2007\/08\/28\/science\/28crop.html?pagewanted=all\"  target=\"_blank\">mutation breeding<\/a>. Genetic modification is arguably safer than selective breeding or mutagenesis in which hundreds or thousands of random and potentially harmful mutations are introduced into the plant genome. In mutagenesis, crops are doused in chemicals or shot through with radiation, producing new fruits and vegetables through what is essentially a genetic slot machine. Most of the time it yields useless or harmful mutations; only rarely does it produce useful new traits. Thousands of crops, including some organic grains, fruits, and vegetables, have been subjected to this process\u2014eliciting absolutely no concern from scientists or anti-GMO activists.<\/p>\n<p>In contrast, genetic engineering techniques allow scientists to precisely add genes <i>of known structure and function <\/i>to crops. Geneticists know how genes work and what kind of protein an individual gene will make. GMO foods are subject to much more rigorous testing than food produced the old-fashioned way\u2014which has never been natural. According to Goodman, whenever a new product is introduced, the presenter (a corporation or university, for example) must provide the FDA with information about what gene was incorporated and where in the plant\u2019s genome order to receive approval. The agency must determine if the newly incorporated protein is similar to that of other proteins found in our foods, including checking it against the database of known allergens. If it is not, then the newly incorporated protein must be treated as a food additive before the FDA considers pre-market approval\u2014which means it will be subjected to even more extensive studies.<\/p>\n<p>Shetterly, and activists, seem obsessed by what might be called \u201cunknown unknowns\u201d\u2014the subject of a thoughtful <a href=\"http:\/\/grist.org\/food\/genetically-engineered-food-allergic-to-regulations\/\"  target=\"_blank\">piece<\/a> by Nathanael Johnson on this very controversy that ran last week in <i>Grist<\/i>. As noted sustainability author Ramez Naam pointed out in the <a href=\"http:\/\/grist.org\/food\/genetically-engineered-food-allergic-to-regulations\/#comments\"  target=\"_blank\">comments<\/a> section, anti-GMO activists seem unconcerned that hundreds of people have been killed by illnesses borne by organic foods but are apoplectic about the immeasurably tiny amount of risk associated with rigorously tested proteins in GM foods, even though not so much as a sniffle has been empirically linked to any approved GM food. \u201cNo safety process is perfect,\u201d Naam concludes. \u201cBut the scale of harm has to be assessed rationally, in proportion to the scale of other food-related harms that we\u2019re familiar with and take for granted every day.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Shetterly also tries to sow doubt about the safety of GMO foods by decrying the lack of human clinical studies. There is good reason scientists almost never do long-term double-blind human studies involving diseases, drugs, chemicals, or food; we could end up with something like the Tuskegee fiasco, in which a control group of impoverished sharecroppers with syphilis were left untreated in the name of science in a government experiment that stretched over 40 years. Scientists don\u2019t experiment with people\u2019s lives. Instead, researchers now use sophisticated animal studies. Scientists have not documented any unique risks associated with the process of creating GMOs, and, specific to Shetterly\u2019s fears, no broad-based reactions to yet unidentified or \u201cundiscovered\u201d proteins in corn or any approved GMO food.<\/p>\n<p>Goodman is not alone in his disappointment about how his views are portrayed in the article. Shetterly also appears to have an ally in Harwood Shaffer, a professor at the University of Tennessee\u2019s Agricultural Policy Analysis Center. She reports that Shaffer is scandalized that USDA does not require companies to release \u201cresults of trials that had negative outcomes,\u201d leaving the reader with the impression that Shaffer believes, or that empirical evidence suggests, that dangerous findings are being suppressed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOh, no, that\u2019s not at all what I said or meant,\u201d he told me. He acknowledged that there have been hundreds of tests by industry and independent scientists and not one study suggests that GMO corn can cause the kind of problems that Shetterly ascribes to it. Shaffer\u2019s concern\u2014one worth debating\u2014is that the current evaluation and approval process does not require the disclosure of proprietary research, which can give the appearance that some data is being withheld. That\u2019s a prickly question and worth its own article, but it\u2019s a side issue in this context.<\/p>\n<p>I asked Shaffer whether he believed, based on his review of the situation, that explosive data implicating GMOs as dangerous is being withheld. \u201cIt\u2019s possible,\u201d he said, but \u201cbased on what we\u2019ve seen from the independent studies, I doubt it. But that doesn\u2019t mean I think the status quo is acceptable. I support more disclosure.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As for his views of Shetterly\u2019s presentation of his interview? \u201cI made a point and she misused it to support her predetermined thesis,\u201d Shaffer said. \u201cShe improperly used what I told her.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In her story, Shetterly also visits Cincinnati Children\u2019s Hospital, one of the nation\u2019s premier medical and research centers. It has a special research program investigating eosinophilic disorders. It\u2019s headed by Marc Rothenberg, a world-renowned expert in this field. (I live in Cincinnati, so I happen to know of the program she visited and some of the people she interviewed.)<\/p>\n<p>Rothenberg, she writes, proclaimed the Mansmann GMO corn disease theory \u201cinteresting,\u201d but offered an important caveat. \u201c[N]o one in conventional medicine will have the data to prove it,\u201d she quotes him as saying, leaving the impression that there may be an environmental \u201cblack box\u201d related to GMOs that we do not yet fully understand.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s just not what I said,\u201d Rothenberg told me on the phone. \u201cI\u2019m embarrassed my name is associated with this story.\u201d He also sent me an email reflecting on his conversations with Shetterly. \u201c[T]he article was ridiculous. I told her and the fact finder that there is no substantial evidence to support allergies or eosinophilic disorders arising from GMO.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It appears that Shetterly also twisted her interview with Rothenberg\u2019s colleague, Karl von Tiehl, who was then an assistant professor in the medical school but currently is in private practice in Los Angeles. She frames his comments as if he is sympathetic to her fear-based thesis. \u201cThere\u2019s something scary there,\u201d she quotes him as saying.<\/p>\n<p>Are GMO\u2019s \u201cscary,\u201d I asked von Tiehl, by email? His response:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI want to begin by echoing Marc Rothenberg&#8217;s upset over the tone of the article, which seems to imply that researchers at CCHMC&#8217;s Allergy\/Immunology Division are actively researching GMO foods or perhaps that there is something \u2018scary\u2019 or obviously wrong or concerning about GMO foods. \u2026 My voice was used inappropriately to imply that there is a scientifically substantiated link between GMO foods and eosinophilic disorders in humans, which there is not to my knowledge. I am upset that my quotations were used to lend credence to this idea. I am currently unaware of any quality medical research that establishes a valid link between genetic modifications of foods in the US food supply and adverse allergenic (or other health-related) outcomes in humans.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Shetterly also talked with another CCMC scientist, Simon Hogan, the lead researcher (with Rothenberg listed as co-author) of a 2005 <a href=\"http:\/\/www.naturpedia.info\/alimentazione\/Prescott.pdf_\"  target=\"_blank\">study<\/a> published in the <i>Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry<\/i>, that appears to back up, at least in part, some of Mansmann\u2019s theory. Hogan claimed that GMO peas then in development might cause inflammatory reactions in mice. There was no mention of any link to humans.<\/p>\n<p>As Shetterly notes, the study was trashed by almost every major research organization in the world. In a slashing critique, <i>Nature Biotechnology<\/i>, the bible of academic and independent biotech researchers, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nature.com\/nbt\/journal\/v24\/n1\/full\/nbt0106-2.html\"  target=\"_blank\">called it<\/a> \u201cmush,\u201d pointing out its extensive methodical problems and faulty conclusion. But the damage to the innovative research on this new variety of peas was done. Hogan\u2019s paper created such an international stir that the research project was scrapped and the pea never came to market.<\/p>\n<p>The questionable Hogan <a href=\"http:\/\/www.plosone.org\/article\/info:doi\/10.1371\/journal.pone.0052972\"  target=\"_blank\">study<\/a> was actually repeated by independent researchers and published in <i>PLOS ONE <\/i>in 2012. The researchers confirmed previous skepticism that the modified peas presented unusual allergenic threats. \u201cOur data demonstrate that \u03b1AI transgenic peas are not more allergenic than beans or non-transgenic peas in mice,\u201d the scientists wrote. \u201cThis study illustrates the importance of repeat experiments in independent laboratories and the potential for unexpected cross-reactive allergic responses upon consumption of plant products in mice.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In other words, the scare created eight years ago by Hogan\u2019s anomalous findings\u2014which ended up killing a promising transgenic pea\u2014has long since been addressed and the research record corrected. Yet today, standing almost alone among mainstream scientists, he remains troubled that proteins might yet be implicated in making a \u201csmall cohort\u201d of the population sick. \u201cI don\u2019t think definitive analysis has been done to answer that question,\u201d she quotes Hogan as saying. I emailed him for a clarification but he never responded.<\/p>\n<p>So what should <i>Elle<\/i> do? In the wake of the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/jonentine\/2012\/09\/30\/does-the-seralini-corn-study-fiasco-mark-a-turning-point-in-the-debate-over-gm-food\/\"  target=\"_blank\">Seralini fiasco<\/a> last fall, when a fringe French professor published a study purportedly linking GMO corn to cancer in rats, the science journalism community has become emboldened in its skeptical reporting on the GMO controversy. It <a href=\"http:\/\/ksj.mit.edu\/tracker\/2012\/09\/rancid-corrupt-way-report-about-science\"  target=\"_blank\">rose up almost as one<\/a> in outraged response to that particular study, as the world\u2019s medical and science establishment dismembered what was clearly an ideologically driven attempt by a well-known anti-GMO campaigner to discredit hundreds of far more meticulous studies.<\/p>\n<p>In general, media reporting on GMOs has improved since then. Science journalists were heartened by the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.marklynas.org\/2013\/01\/lecture-to-oxford-farming-conference-3-january-2013\/\"  target=\"_blank\">public apology<\/a> offered by influential British journalist Mark Lynas, who renounced his past demonization of GMOs as anti-science. Nathanael Johnson\u2019s refreshingly inquisitive series at <i>Grist<\/i> has begun to restore the reputation of that magazine, long a bottom feeder on this issue. Then came the Amy Harmon tour de force, marred only by one <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/michaelpollan\/status\/361609333013884930\"  target=\"_blank\">bizarre tweet<\/a> from foodie hero Michael Pollan\u2014he lamely accused Harmon of echoing industry talking points, which sparked a torrent of <a href=\"http:\/\/ksj.mit.edu\/tracker\/2013\/07\/nytimes-terrific-story-hope-citrus-green\"  target=\"_blank\">criticism<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Together these developments suggest that liberal-minded mainstream journalists are finally willing to put their heads above the parapet and suffer the arrows of the anti-GMO hard left. There has been a tremendous amount of rational, clear-headed work addressing the thorny issue of crop biotechnology over the last year, which is what makes Shetterly\u2019s piece so galling.<\/p>\n<p>It represents a major setback for science journalism, and for consumers who rely on hugely popular lifestyle publications to make their way through complicated issues. Is GMO corn causing allergies or other disorders? Are GMOs a health threat? <i>Elle<\/i> perpetuates a \u201ccontroversy\u201d that just doesn\u2019t exist in the mainstream science or medical communities. Worse, it fans the flames of doubt and distrust that fuel unilateral opposition to a sophisticated class of technology that could improve global food security. Within days of the publication of her piece, Shetterly\u2019s \u201ccompelling\u201d investigation made its way into London\u2019s <a href=\"http:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/femail\/article-2380985\/Is-GMO-CORN-making-sick-How-woman-discovered-widely-used-ingredient-caused-insomnia-chronic-nausea-headaches.html\"  target=\"_blank\"><i>Daily Mail<\/i><\/a>, one of the world\u2019s largest circulation newspapers.<\/p>\n<p>I called and emailed <i>Elle<\/i>\u2019s editorial office to review the findings of my investigation but did not receive a response. Shetterly\u2019s website directed me to her agent, who I contacted multiple times. I was told that I would hear from Shetterly if she chose to discuss my findings, but have received no response.<\/p>\n<p>In an ironic twist, in the very same August issue in which the Shetterly story appeared, Editor-in-Chief Robbie Meyers <a href=\"http:\/\/www.elle.com\/news\/culture\/womens-magazines-serious-journalism\"  target=\"_blank\">bragged<\/a> about the magazine\u2019s commitment to responsible journalism. \u201cYes, Women\u2019s Magazines Can Do Serious Journalism. In Fact, We\u2019ve Been Doing It for a While,\u201d she titled her piece.<\/p>\n<p>Whoops. If <i>Elle<\/i> has the journalistic integrity that it claims for itself, Ms. Meyers would withdraw the Shetterly piece and publish an article that sets the record straight.<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.slate.com\/articles\/health_and_science\/science\/2013\/08\/can_gmo_corn_cause_allergies_don_t_believe_elle_s_scary_story.single.html\" >Go to Original \u2013 slate.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How Elle botched a story about genetically modified food. Caitlin Shetterly\u2019s long feature, \u201cThe Bad Seed: The Health Risks of Genetically Modified Corn,\u201d in Elle\u2014a magazine with more than 1.1 million monthly readers\u2014was particularly appalling.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[140],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32641","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-organic-gmo-genetic-engineering"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32641","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32641"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32641\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32641"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32641"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32641"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}