Submission by Dr Eva Novotny, SGR, to the Royal Society

This submission by Scientists for Global Responsibility (SGR) to the Royal Society argues that original analyses of GM food experiments were flawed. SGR's re-examination of a study on glufosinate-resistant maize in chickens found that while average weights were similar to controls, the test group exhibited significantly more erratic weight gains and double the mortality rate. Similarly, a re-analysis of a 14-day study on PAT-protein in rats suggests that animals in high-dose groups failed to thrive, showing lower average weight-gain per day compared to control groups, contradicting the original study's findings of no significant differences.

• A 1989 outbreak of a new disease in the US affected over 5,000 people and was linked to an L-tryptophan food supplement produced using GM-bacteria, resulting in 37 deaths and 1,500 permanent disabilities.
• In a 42-day study of broiler chickens fed glufosinate-resistant maize, the mortality rate for the GM group (7.14 ± 5.47 %) was twice as high as that of the group fed commercial hybrid corn (3.57 ± 5.47 %), although the original study deemed this normal.
• Re-examination of the glufosinate-resistant maize chicken study revealed that error bars for body weights and food consumption grew much more rapidly for the test group than the control group, suggesting erratic feeding patterns and weight gains.
• SGR criticizes a 14-day rat study on isolated PAT-protein for having limited relevance to cattle (due to different digestive systems), a duration too short to indicate long-term effects, and a small sample size of only five males and five females per group.
• Analysis of individual rat data from the PAT-protein study shows that rats in the high-dose group (Group 3) had a distinctly lower average weight-gain per day between Day 1 and Day 13 than either control group.

APA

Novotny, E. (2001). Submission by Dr Eva Novotny, SGR, to the Royal Society. Scientists for Global Responsibility. https://www.sgr.org.uk/resources/risks-health-consumption-genetically-modified-foods

Chicago

Novotny, Eva. Submission by Dr Eva Novotny, SGR, to the Royal Society. Scientists for Global Responsibility, 2001. https://www.sgr.org.uk/resources/risks-health-consumption-genetically-modified-foods.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Novotny |first1=Eva |title=Submission by Dr Eva Novotny, SGR, to the Royal Society |publisher=Scientists for Global Responsibility |date=April 2001 |url=https://www.sgr.org.uk/resources/risks-health-consumption-genetically-modified-foods |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{novotny2001submission, author = {Novotny, Eva}, title = {{Submission by Dr Eva Novotny, SGR, to the Royal Society}}, publisher = {Scientists for Global Responsibility}, year = {2001}, month = apr, url = {https://www.sgr.org.uk/resources/risks-health-consumption-genetically-modified-foods}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }