{"id":391618,"date":"2010-03-04T12:45:06","date_gmt":"2010-03-04T17:45:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.prisonplanet.com\/?p=35889"},"modified":"2010-03-04T12:45:06","modified_gmt":"2010-03-04T17:45:06","slug":"fury-as-eu-approves-gm-potato","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/391618","title":{"rendered":"Fury as EU approves GM potato"},"content":{"rendered":"

Martin Hickman and Genevieve Roberts
\nLondon Independent<\/a>
\nMarch 4, 2010<\/p>\n

The introduction of a genetically modified potato in Europe risks the development of human diseases that fail to respond to antibiotics, it was claimed last night.<\/p>\n

German chemical giant BASF this week won approval from the European Commission for commercial growing of a starchy potato with a gene that could resist antibiotics \u2013 useful in the fight against illnesses such as tuberculosis.<\/p>\n

Farms in Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands and the Czech<\/a> Republic may plant the potato for industrial use, with part of the tuber fed to cattle, according to BASF, which fought a 13-year battle to win approval for Amflora. But other EU<\/a> member states, including Italy and Austria and anti-GM campaigners angrily attacked the move, claiming it could result in a health disaster.<\/p>\n

During the regulatory tussle over the potato, the EU<\/a>\u2019s pharmaceutical regulator had expressed concern about its potential to interfere with the efficacy of antibiotics on infections that develop multiple resistance to other antibiotics, a growing problem in human and veterinary medicine. Amflora contains a gene that produces an enzyme which generally confers resistance to several antibiotics, including kanamycin, neomycin, butirosin, and gentamicin.<\/p>\n

The antibiotics could become \u201cextremely important\u201d to treat otherwise multi-resistant infections and tuberculosis, the European Medicines Authority (EMA) warned. Drug resistance is part of the explanation for the resurgence of TB, which infects eight million people worldwide every year.<\/p>\n

Full article here<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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