Case Study: What Are You Eating?
Child’s Death may have link to GM Corn"November 12, 2001—Mitchell, South Dakota: The Linder family never anticipated their quick trip to locally owned Taco Heaven would result in tragedy. The youngest of the Linder family, 4- year-old Eric, died soon after eating tacos from the well-known neighborhood restaurant. Eric suffered an apparent allergic reaction, went into anaphylactic shock, and was unable to be resuscitated by the paramedics when they arrived on the scene. An allergic reaction from a taco? The Linder family told reporters that Eric had no history of any food allergies and they were shocked to find that the allergic reaction was to the corn that was used to make the taco shell. The physician in the ER who examined Eric said that he had never seen a case of death from an allergic reaction to a corn product. “It is probably due to some of that genetically modified corn that everyone has been talking about on the news as of late,” says consumer activist Patricia Crowley. “They take genes from insects and bacteria and switch them around and put them in other organisms; it’s a wonder we’re not all dead from people playing around with our food,” says Ms. Crowley. The genetically modified corn referred to by Ms. Crowley is called Super Maize. The strain of genetically modified corn was developed by BioCrystal, a biotechnology firm located in Crisisville, Arkansas. This strain of genetically modified corn is resistant to insect pests and diseases. In this case the corn has genes from a fungus inserted into its genome, which means that it produces proteins that it would not normally be able to produce. The genetically modified corn gives farmers greater numbers of bushels of corn per acre at lower cost, thus increased productivity, which means greater profits for the farmer. |
But at what cost? The Linder family would like an answer to that question.
The EPA banned the use of Super Maize corn from human food products in 1998. This was due to studies that indicated it was potentially a serious allergen to young children or those with compromised immune systems if ingested in any significant quantity. The corn was approved for use as animal feed since there were no indications of adverse effects to animals or to people who ate meat from animals fed with Super Maize corn. Lyle Tate, a farmer in Breda, South Dakota, says he did not grow Super Maize corn, but his neighbor did. A simple test at the grain elevator to detect the presence of Super Maize corn, a test now required by the EPA, revealed Lyle’s corn was contaminated by Super Maize. Farmer Tate wants to know, “How is that possible?” Lyle says he contacted his neighbor about it. “He told me the seed company that sold him the Super Maize corn seed did not inform him that he should make sure there was at least a buffer of 660 feet between the Super Maize corn and any non-biotech corn. He felt bad he had contaminated my corn.” It appears that cross-pollination between corn plants permitted the transfer of the altered genome to the non-biotech corn being grown by Lyle Tate. Eric Linder’s parents are obviously very upset and want to hold everyone, from Taco Heaven to the company that produced the Super Maize seed, responsible for the death of their son. The family’s lawyer could not be reached for comment but a spokesman for the family said, “On every level, everyone that allowed this harmful corn to make its way into the public food supply needs to pay. It’s not about the money, it’s about hurting those people in the only place they can feel pain, their pocketbook.” The lawyer for the Linder family will be holding a press conference sometime in the next few days to address plans regarding how the family will proceed." --National for Case Study Teaching in Science “Do You Really Know What You’re Eating?” by Shew & Reese |