Why Bt toxin is not toxic to human beings ?
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NOTE: GM lobbyists are claiming it doesn't matter if the Bt toxin is turning up in people's blood because the Bt toxin is natural, known to be harmless to humans, and has been safely used for decades in agriculture in the form of natural insecticidal sprays, including in organic farming. In addition, they say, Bt crops have been tested and approved as safe.
But the Bt toxin produced in GM crops is not the same as the natural Bt toxin. The process of genetic engineering changes it (as is admitted even by the pro-GM website GMO Safety). And testing is not actually performed on the Bt toxin extracted from GM plants, which would be the scientific way, as it is claimed that it is too expensive to isolate. Instead, testing is done on Bt toxin isolated from E. coli bacteria (as is the norm for GM risk assessments). The protein would be different from that present in the actual GM crop.
GM Bt toxins are engineered into plants with promoters designed to keep the Bt toxin protein expressing in every cell of the plant. The Bt is ingested by animals and people who consume crop plants like Bt maize. The natural Bt used in agricultural sprays, by contrast, degrades rapidly in daylight and does not end up being eaten by people, so it is unlikely to ever end up in consumers' bodies.
This is fortunate because even natural Bt can cause harm when ingested. While the GM lobbying website, GMO Safety,claims, "the Bt protein is harmless to mammals and humans", in fact, studies show that natural Bt toxin has ill effects on laboratory animals, producing a potent immune response and enhancing the immune response to other substances:
But the Bt toxin produced in GM crops is not the same as the natural Bt toxin. The process of genetic engineering changes it (as is admitted even by the pro-GM website GMO Safety). And testing is not actually performed on the Bt toxin extracted from GM plants, which would be the scientific way, as it is claimed that it is too expensive to isolate. Instead, testing is done on Bt toxin isolated from E. coli bacteria (as is the norm for GM risk assessments). The protein would be different from that present in the actual GM crop.
GM Bt toxins are engineered into plants with promoters designed to keep the Bt toxin protein expressing in every cell of the plant. The Bt is ingested by animals and people who consume crop plants like Bt maize. The natural Bt used in agricultural sprays, by contrast, degrades rapidly in daylight and does not end up being eaten by people, so it is unlikely to ever end up in consumers' bodies.
This is fortunate because even natural Bt can cause harm when ingested. While the GM lobbying website, GMO Safety,claims, "the Bt protein is harmless to mammals and humans", in fact, studies show that natural Bt toxin has ill effects on laboratory animals, producing a potent immune response and enhancing the immune response to other substances:
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