In the genes - updates

Opponents of genetically engineered (GE) foods have long warned that bacteria living in the human intestinal tract might absorb genetic material--DNA--from gene-modified foods.

Many GE crops have antibiotic-resistant genes inserted in them, and GE opponents fear that if we ingest material from these genes, we may-lose the ability to fight infections and even become antibiotic-resistant ourselves.

Biotech engineers have scoffed at the idea, saying the modified genetic material doesn't remain in the body. But a new study commissioned by the British government and published in July 2002 by the Food Standards Agency says otherwise.

Harry Gilbert, PhD, and other .researchers at the University of Newcastle in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England, gave seven volunteers a single meal--a burger and a milkshake, each containing GE soy. Later, researchers found bacteria containing one of the genes from the soy in the intestines of. three of the seven volunteers--exactly what GE opponents had feared. The risk of antibiotic-resistant genes from GE foods taking up residence in the human intestine is no longer theoretical. Activists say the results of the GE soy tests vindicate their warnings.

"We've said time and time again that there's a risk of this happening. Now, researchers have tested for antibiotic-resistant bacteria just once, and they've collected evidence that supports our claim," says Adrian Bebb, GE-opposed food campaigner for Friends of the Earth, an environmental organization based in London. "We believe that genetically engineered foods containing antibiotic-resistant genes should be withdrawn from the market."

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