Synopsis: GMO foods, especially those made from corn and soybeans, contain significant quantities of a diverse family of pesticidal proteins called Bt toxins whose mode of toxicity is to make holes in cell membranes. Newer GMO crops can contain up to six different Bt toxins. These proteins (also called Cry toxins) originate from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis. The biotech industry claims that its Bt toxins  are natural and as safe as those used by organic farmers. GMO regulators around the world share this view. Indeed, they make it the baseline assumption of their risk assessments for food safety and environmental toxicology. As we show in a new peer reviewed publication, however, assumptions of similarity of any GMO Bt with its natural ancestor are very wide of the mark. More than that, we show that the differences between natural and GMO Bt toxins are such as to make the latter much more toxic. The changes made to GMO Bt toxins may expand the species range of Bt toxin activity to many more insects, but potentially to other evolutionary branches of life as well. Our publication thus represents a profound reassessment of Bt toxin safety and proposes that the biotech industry has lured complacent GMO regulators into dramatically underestimating the hazards of pesticides eaten by millions.

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Jonathan