Not to beat a dead horse, but here’s something that came into another discussion group. Things I didn’t know.
The scientific monthly magazine, Scientific American, August 2009 reveals the shocking and alarming reality behind the proliferation of GMO products throughout the food chain of the planet since 1994. There are no independent scientific studies published in any reputed scientific journal in the world for one simple reason. It is impossible to independently verify that GMO crops such as Monsanto Roundup Ready Soybeans or MON8110 GMO maize perform as the company claims, or that, as the company also claims, that they have no harmful side effects because the GMO companies forbid such tests!
That’s right. As a precondition to buy seeds, either to plant for crops or to use in research study, Monsanto and the gene giant companies must first sign an End User Agreement with the company. For the past decade, the period when the greatest proliferation of GMO seeds in agriculture has taken place, Monsanto, Pioneer (DuPont) and Syngenta require anyone buying their GMO seeds to sign an agreement that explicitly forbids that the seeds be used for any independent research. Scientists are prohibited from testing a seed to explore under what conditions it flourishes or even fails. They cannot compare any characteristics of the GMO seed with any other GMO or non-GMO seeds from another company. Most alarming, they are prohibited from examining whether the genetically modified crops lead to unintended side-effects either in the environment or in animals or humans.
Lois, I agree that these companies may be acting in a heavy handed fashion but this is a unique situation. Once someone is allowed to study or copy their product the company is likely to suffer a large loss of their investment. I don’t have a copy of the 2009 Scientific American edition you are referring to. Was this an actual article written by one of their staff writers or a paid advertisement? At any rate you need to keep two things in mind. Farmers don’t do any significant level of research, scientists do, so limiting how much an end user can tinker with your product does not really impair research on that product. The FDA and EPA have jurisdiction over these products and they are unencumbered by the end user agreement that the farmers sign. They can and do monitor these products for safety. Also remember that growers and seed manufacturers still develop new varieties of plants using the old method of GM and no one requires or is asking for any similar testing or study of those products.
http://www.fda.gov/Food/FoodScienceResearch/Biotechnology/ucm346030.htm
As far as any research on the effectiveness of these modifications, I am again not sure how much research would be done by end users anyway. They are farmers not scientists and while they might be able to do this sort of study its not their job. Consider this though. No one is going to know or stop a farmer from running a little study on an acre or two of his own land if he wants to test out the benefits. If his little study showed there was no benefit to the new plants he would stop using them. I would think that pretty soon other farmers either through a similar process or just through gut feeling might notice the GMO plants didn’t have any advantage and would stop paying a premium to use them also. Its a bit of the “emperors new clothes”. If there isn’t anything there eventually its going to become apparent to everyone.
Except that the article never mentions anything about “harmful side effects.” It talks about scientists not being allowed to verify if the crops may have any “unintended environmental effects.” Don’t make stuff up, Lois.
Maybe I should add that the “unintended environmental effects” are mentioned in reference to the use of the agricultural land. But I understand, it doesn’t sound as scary as Lois’s “harmful side effects.”
I know this has nothing to do with G.M. food, but I was in Costco today and was given a sample of a probiotic yogurt drink. I took a sip of it and realized from the taste, that I’d far prefer an ANTI-biotic yogurt drink. 
Occam
I think all cars should display a huge sign saying 'May cause fatal injuries,' just like the cigarette packs in Canada. And just like the cigarette packs it should also show photos of people dying from car accidents.Probiotics are the new antioxidants, a great marketing ploy that has very little basis in science. Get out your wallets.