At the Center of the GMO Crops Autism Connection
Dr. Don Huber, PhD
Don Huber, PhD, professor emeritus from Purdue University, is at the front of the GMO crops autism connection. If he has a hunch GMO foods cause autism people need to listen to him; Huber has spent the past 50 years in plant science. He has studied the epidemiology and control of soil borne plant pathogens with an emphasis on microbial ecology, cultural and biological controls, and physiology of host parasite relationships.
Recently he was asked to give his position on whether or not GMO foods cause autism. Dr. Huber gave a talk in Germany in October 2011. He discussed the physiological, neurological, and behavioral symptoms of pigs, cows, and rats fed genetically modified feed. Afterward, a doctor specializing in autism spectrum disorders approached him and said, “The symptoms you describe are exactly what we are finding in our autistic children.” Now Huber and others have begun to wonder if in fact GMO foods cause autism, at least in part.
Why Might GMO Foods Cause Autism? What are They?
The antisocial lab animals in GMO crop studies were fed the same GMO corn and GMO soy eaten by people in the U.S. Both crops contain bacterial genes which allow them to survive being sprayed with herbicide. A herbicide is a weed control product designed to kill plants. When used, higher residues of toxic weed killer end up inside our foods.
In addition, some GMO corn crops have a more disturbing characteristic. GMO corn contains genes artificially inserted by scientists to produce an insect-killing poison called Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) toxin. It is in every cell of the GMO corn crop—and in every bite your child consumes. Common sense tells us GM food has to be harmful. Additional study might prove GMO foods cause autism, but funding is tough. Monsanto, the largest biotech seed company in the United States and Canada claims their GMO crops are harmless. They are deeply rooted in the farming industry in the U.S., and they’ve lobbied Congress for laws to protect their agri seed monopoly. But we are learning that their safety claims are false. Citizens need to get behind the scientists that want to expose the truth. We also need to actively boycott GMO foods.
Where’s The Proof GMO Foods Cause Autism?
There is a marked correlation between increases in autism and increases in the amount of GMO foods entering our food supply, causing experts to question if digestive problems from eating GMO foods cause autism.
Some scientists think they see GMO foods cause autism like symptoms in lab animals. GMO fed animals and their offspring show marked differences in behavior to animals fed non-GMO feed. Some scientists say their antisocial behavior is similar to symptoms children diagnosed with autism exhibit. Scientists investigating this phenomena are also looking at long term correlations and statistical data worldwide to determine if GMO foods cause autism.
For example, some independent scientists are pointing to the dramatic increase in autism rates in the U.S. since the early 1990s, when GMO foods first hit the store shelves. Although the visualization is alarming, we also have to make sure the connection is truly there to prove GMO foods cause autism.
Still not convinced there’s a possibility GMO foods cause autism?
You are not alone.
Eric Fombonne warns, “The (autism) rates were flat through the late ’80s, and then suddenly a massive rise happened at same time (in the 1990s).” Fombonne is a professor of psychiatry at McGill University in Montreal. He has led autism epidemiological studies in a half-dozen countries. Fombonne warns, “The rise is probably not due to a mysterious global environmental exposure. It’s more likely to reflect new concepts of autism worldwide.” He claims better awareness of the condition has caused the rise in diagnoses. He also says cultural differences play a role in whether or not a child with autism will be diagnosed.
Does this really disprove the claim that GMO foods cause autism?
Autism prevalence is not nearly at such alarming rates in Europe as it is in the U.S., a culture that does not place as much of stigma on diagnosis as other parts of the world do. A handful of small studies in France, for example, have found rates around 5 cases per 10,000 people. One study in Germany calculated it to be 1.9, and another in Portugal 16.7. Conversely, The
European Union (EU) has possibly the most stringent GMO regulations in the world. What are autism rates in the U.S.? The latest
study published by Reuters has autism rates at a new high for U.S. children. It is now 1 in 88! This gives credence to the theory that GMO foods cause autism rates to rise in certain populations.
Similar Digestive Disorders are found in both GMO Fed Livestock and Autistic Children
About 70% of children diagnosed with autism are found to have digestive disorders. Symptoms include inflammation, intestinal permeability, and imbalances in the intestinal flora (bacterial makeup). These same symptoms also appear in animals fed GMO feed. If GMO foods cause an imbalance in gut flora and this leads to neurological problems, then it is likely GMO foods cause autism, too.
In Smith’s white paper about the GMO crops autism connection he writes, “When California pediatrician Michelle Perro reviewed the study in 2011 and saw the photos of the increased cellular growth and abnormal architecture, she thought to herself, “Uh oh – we’ve got some problems.” Based on her experience treating children for 30 years, she said, “You can extrapolate that the same thing may be occurring in babies clinically. They are not digesting their food. They are malabsorbing…And I’m seeing that commonly now.”
Smith reports that according to Dr. Perro, digestive issues are skyrocketing among her patients. More parents are finding they have a
baby allergic to all formulas on the market and they are starting to question GMO corn and soy as culprits. This is a trend that unfortunately needs to stop.
Watch Parent Testimonials about the GMO crops Autism Connection from Genetic Roulette:
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