q**x
发帖数: 1636 | 1 【 以下文字转载自 WaterWorld 讨论区 】
发信人: justin1996 (justin), 信区: WaterWorld
标 题: 美机构用24名中国儿童做转基因大米人体试验<转>
发信站: BBS 未名空间站 (Fri Aug 31 22:06:19 2012, 美东)
美国先正达对24名中国儿童进行转基因大米人体试验
绿色和平强烈谴责美国呼吁中国政府审核其合法性
法制网北京8月30日讯 记者 郄建荣 国际环保组织绿色和平8月30日向媒体表示，
近日，美国一科研机构发布了其对24名中国湖南省儿童进行转基因大米人体试验的结果
。对此，绿色和平表示强烈谴责。
据绿色和平介绍，该项研究旨在检验美国先正达公司研制的转基因“黄金(1658.90
,1.80,0.11%)大米”对补充人体维生素A的作用。
绿色和平表示，早在2008年，农业部和浙江省农业厅在得知该研究计划后即叫停该
项目。但一篇2012年8月1日发布于《美国临床营养学杂志》的论文显示，这项由美国塔
夫茨大学的唐广文领导并获得美国卫生院和美国农业部资金支持的研究最终得以完成。
绿色和平认为，用中国儿童作为转基因大米的实验对象是极其不负责任的行为，呼
吁中国政府审核该研究的合法性，并对受到影响的儿童提供医疗和法律援助。
“转基因食品对于人的健康具有潜在的风险，一个美国机构用中国儿童的身体测试
转基因大米，我们对这样的实验得以进行感到愤慨和不可思议。农业部和浙江省农业厅
早在四年前就已经叫停该实验，它为何还能死灰复燃？我们不得而知。” 绿色和平食
品与农业项目主任方立峰说。
该转基因大米为美国先正达公司研发，其不同于正常大米的主要功能为帮助人体增加维
生素A吸收。因为色泽发黄，该大米品种又名“金色大米”。
绿色和平说，美国的这项研究共选取了72名六到八岁的健康儿童，受试儿童全部是
湖南省衡阳市一所小学的学生。研究者令其中24名儿童在21天的时间里每日午餐进食60
克黄金大米，并对其体内维生素A含量进行检测，得出的结论是黄金大米与维生素A胶囊
效果相当。
方立峰指出，中国并不需要转基因大米，完全可以利用成熟的现有办法解决维生素
A缺乏问题。此外他还指出，由于受试儿童在研究开始前并无维生素A缺乏状况，该实验
对于治疗维生素A缺乏症的说服力还有待观察。
绿色和平呼吁中国政府相关部门对该研究项目的全过程进行调查，对受影响的儿童
及其家庭进行医疗和法律援助，并对现有的转基因水稻实验项目进行严格的管控和生物
安全评估。
Unauthorized Human Experiments Using Children in China
Guangwen Tang of Tufts University published a study on benefits of a
genetically modified rice, 'Golden Rice', in the American Journal of
Clinical Nutrition: β-Carotene in Golden Rice is as good as β-carotene in
oil at providing vitamin A to children, Am J Clin Nutr 2012;96:658-664.
Scientific value and long-term effect of genetically engineered agricultural
produce is a very sensitive topic, and up to debate by experts in the
research community. However, the paper drew public outcry in the way these
experiments were executed. Allegedly, ethic protocols in human research were
not properly applied and quite a few laws and regulations were broken in
the mean time.
There are a minor issue and a big problem surrounding the study, commented
by the Greenpeace, that it 'could not have taken place without a serious
breach of scientific and medical ethics, and goes against a Chinese
government decision to abort plans for the trail.'
The minor issue was the experiment had not been performed on animals.
Skipping animal tests itself did not violate any law or regulations, but
some experts believe it is a calculated step to hide inheritable long term
effects of consuming GE products, which will be discussed in a moment
without making a distraction from the big problem.
The big problem is that it was halted and banned in China moments after the
experiments started in 2008. Zou Ping of the GE Safety Office of the
Ministry of Agriculture of China stated on July 24, 2008, that the research
group told Chinese authorities they had not started the experiments, and had
not imported the GE 'Golden Rice'. The research group was subsequently
ordered to abort the experiment effective immediately by the Department of
Agriculture of the Zhejiang Province.
The American researchers originally applied a permit from the Agriculture
Department of Zhejiang Province, which was rescinded almost immediately, but
the experiments were carried out in Hunan Province. The equivalent would be
seeking permit for State of California to conduct an experiment with human
as subjects in West Virginia. A permit from Zhejiang was pursued initially
because the P.I.'s connections with a joint position at the Zhejiang Academy
of Medicine Science. Hunan was selected as the testing field probably for
reasons can't be discussed in public.
Both the Ministry of Agriculture of China and the Department of Agriculture
of Zhejiang Province where the original permit were granted ordered the
experiments to be stopped immediately, and banned the import of 'Golden Rice
' for experimental purpose of this very study.
Nevertheless, seventy-two 6-8 year old kids in an elementary school in
Hengyang of Hunan Province participated in this multi-year experiments. On
paper, Hunan is probably a better place for the subject of this study on
nutrition, because it is a poor area. Children with malnutrition are good
subjects to respond to any compliments. However, the real reason might rest
on the nationally infamous corrupted government officials in the region.
With a strong anti-GM sentiment in China, which may not be rational or
scientific but that's another story for another day, there is less than a
slim chance to find a group of parents in any classroom to agree to feed
their children with GM produce. Although the 'elementary school' was not
revealed by Tufts University, more likely than not and unsurprisingly, it
will turn out to be a government run orphanage. Although relatively lagging
behind in China, ordinary residents of Hunam, in particular Hengyang,
consumed multiple times of meat products than the average of European
countries. It is not a deprived place as described in the report of this
study. India, or perhaps France would be a better place for this study
sponsored by the USDA. Where-else but a government-run orphanage can they
find a group of children in one school suffering nutrition deficiency?
In 2005, twenty-seven members of a children trafficking gang were arrested
by Guangdong police. They confessed they had stolen or purchased secondhand
over 1,000 children from Guangdong Province. The children were sold at price
between $400 and $538 per head to some government run orphanages in
Hengyang, Hunan. These children were then sold by the local government to
adoptive families from overseas, mostly from the US at about $3,000 each.
Hengyang government forged entire set of documentations from police report,
birth certificate to medical history as proof that these children were
indeed orphans from Hunan. Ten suspects were sentenced to jail time between
1 to 15 years after a trail at Qidong County.
Government run orphanages in Hunan Province had a history of making profits
on human trafficking. Using them as guinea pigs is probably a lesser guilt,
after all.
After the story went viral on Weibo on an alarm message from the Greenpeace,
Hengyang government along with the Party Committee vowed to jointly launch
a thorough investigation into this scandal.
Although China has never approved any GM produce for commercial production,
many major yields were already contaminated with GM plants. Since January
2012, within half year, the EU had issued 19 emergent warnings against
Chinese agricultural produce after imports from China were found GM positive
.
Dr. Guangwen Tang is Director of Carotenoids and Health Laboratory of Jean
Mayer USDA HNRCA at Tufts University in Boston, Massachusetts. She holds a
visiting professorship at the Zhejiang Academy of Medical Sciences in
Hangzhou, China. Unlike an adjunct professorship, a visiting professor is a
full time job in academia. Although we do not have details of the
arrangement between Tufts University and Zhejiang Academy of Medical
Sciences, it could be a narrow space between a misdemeanor and a felony to
claim benefits of a visiting professor while not staying in China in a full
time capacity.
Tang has a Master's Degree in Chemistry from Nanjing University and a PhD in
Chemistry from Rutgers University.
Tang can hardly claim being used as a cat's paw, when she by-passed a direct
ban from Chinese authorities on this very experiment to feed a group of 6-8
years old school children a potentially dangerous product that had yet to
be tested on animals. Having a PhD from Rutgers University, Tang should
fully aware that a similar move in the US would without any doubt land a
researcher in jail. Corrupt local government officials and lack of enforcing
of existing regulations is not an excuse to knowing put children in harms
way, even in name of scientific research.
Co-authors of this study include Hu Yuming of Hunan Province Center for
Disease Control and Prevention, Yin Shi'an of Maternal & Child Nutrition,
National Institute for Nutrition and Food Safety, Wang Yin of Zhejiang
Academy of Medical Sciences, Gerard E Dallal of Tufs University, Michael A
Grusak of USDA-ARS Children's Nutrition Research Center, Department of
Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine and Robert M Russell of the Office of
Dietary supplements of NIH.
The work is sponsored by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National
Institute of Health (NIH).
It is noted in the paper that the study was approved by
•the Institutional Review Board of Tufts Medical Center, and
•the Ethics Review Committee of Zhejiang Academy of Medical Sciences
The irony here is obvious: analogously, one committee in France and another
committee in California approved human experiments on a group of six year
old children in remote West Virginia (counting on hillbillies do not know
better), despite specific orders to abort the experiment issued by both the
US federal government and the West Virginia State government.
It looks like a win-win situation for multiple parties involved: the USDA
get valuable data on human experiments on six year old kids. The Tufts
University and the Zhejiang Academy of Medicine Sciences got paper published
. The manufacture of 'Golden Rice' obtained never before available children
testing data. Unfortunately they all come at the cost of 72 children in a
rural town in Hengyang, Hunan Province. The second author works at a
government agency in the Hunan Province, but the research must feel it an
unbearable burden to report this to his employer in Hunan.
The study claimed the 'Golden Rice' is as effective in converting beta-
carotene into vitamin A. However, there are unmistakable scientific flaws:
1.The experiments should have been conducted on animals first, not only for
the reason that lab mice are not human, or children in this case. Lab mice
are used in biological experiments because they can be easily reproduced
many generation during a shot time, thus enable observations of lasting
effects over generations;
2.As mentioned earlier, the subjects in this experiments, although in a
rural township in a poverty area of China, they are still healthy kids with
enough nutrition intake, including abundant sources for vitamin A. On
average, a Chinese consumes 60kg (132 lbs) meat each year, not as much as
one in the US, but more than almost everyone else in the world. For example,
that figure doubles value for a Korean (in South Korea). Hunan is right in
the middle among other provinces on this measure. A study in another country
, actually in any country but China and US, would be more appropriate and
convincing to the goal as targeted in this study.
It is counterintuitive to have this experiment carried out in Hunan, China.
The puzzle may be easily solved, if taking into consideration that it will
not be allowed to proceed in any other country or region.
Update:
The 'elementary school' turned out not an orphanage as we had suspected
earlier. It is the Central Elementary School of Jiangkou Township in Hengnan
County, Heyang Prefecture, Henan Province.
However, it is disturbing to read what a grunted parent posted on an online
forum regarding this school, titled, the Central Elementary School of
Jiangkou Township forced students to eat at school, even though most of its
student population lives within 100 meters (109 yards) of the school in a
small town. Students who do not eat at school cafeteria were denied
registration. This is a direct violation of China's Compulsory Education Act
.
Another parent's complaint is more specific, this school extended school
time from 4:00pm to 5:30pm (a violation of regulations of the Department of
Education of China), so that they could force students to eat dinner at
school cafeteria.
Update 2:
The 'Golden Rice' used in this four-year long experiment was delivered in
packages labeled 'Hundred Tastes Inc, Nantong, Jiangsu Province'. It is
probably how the P.I. by-passed the import ban issued by the Chinese
Agriculture Ministry. The Nantong company may act like a middleman to plant
the rice with imported seeds locally, or repackage rice smuggled in.
In either case, authorities in Jiangsu ought to be alerted on contamination
from GE rice to local rice production.
Update 3:
Hengyang Government and CCP official websites were shut down.
Update 4:
According to official registration at US government, the trail took place in
the US, with no mentioning of China. The record strongly indicate an
intention to cheat from the very beginning.
According the same registration, the trail was approved by an ethics review
board in Zhejiang on 5/19/2008. However, this approval was removed on 7/16/
2008. This information was not revealed in the paper in question which is
submitted on 11/7/2011 and published on 8/1/2012. | s****r
发帖数: 31686 | 2 这事儿， 为啥是绿色和平闹出来？ 义和团都死绝了， 只知道捡外国人的牙慧？
90
【在 q**x 的大作中提到】
: 【 以下文字转载自 WaterWorld 讨论区 】
: 发信人: justin1996 (justin), 信区: WaterWorld
: 标 题: 美机构用24名中国儿童做转基因大米人体试验<转>
: 发信站: BBS 未名空间站 (Fri Aug 31 22:06:19 2012, 美东)
: 美国先正达对24名中国儿童进行转基因大米人体试验
: 绿色和平强烈谴责美国呼吁中国政府审核其合法性
: 法制网北京8月30日讯 记者 郄建荣 国际环保组织绿色和平8月30日向媒体表示，
: 近日，美国一科研机构发布了其对24名中国湖南省儿童进行转基因大米人体试验的结果
: 。对此，绿色和平表示强烈谴责。
: 据绿色和平介绍，该项研究旨在检验美国先正达公司研制的转基因“黄金(1658.90
|
|
