This, most of you will agree, is a very different story to what you will hear from most health professionals and so it is easy to dismiss it as un-duly alarmist. Reserve your judgment.

Although the autopsy is inconclusive and tests on the food are not yet complete, a porridge made of EdenSoy Extra soy milk and cornmeal may be responsible for the deaths of two infant brothers living in Brooklyn. When their mother attempted to wake them, shortly after noon, she found they were unconscious and took them to the hospital. Both were pronounced dead on arrival. Initial thoughts were that the twins had been overcome by a gas leak, but tests showed no leak. Because medical examiners also found no evidence of choking as a result of consuming the food, or any signs of foul play, the police instead began focusing on what the infants had eaten. The police cleaned out two nearby supermarkets of EdenSoy milk and cornmeal for testing.

New York Times October 21, 2005 Registration Required Most Offspring Died When Mother Rats Ate Genetically Engineered Soy Date: 11/4/05 Author: Jefferey Smith author of Seeds of Deception Source: Institute For Responsible Technology Most Offspring Died When Mother Rats Ate Genetically Engineered Soy

By Jeffrey M. Smith, author of Seeds of Deception

The Russian scientist planned a simple experiment to see if eating genetically modified (GM) soy might influence offspring. What she got, however, was an astounding result that may threaten a multi-billion dollar industry.

Irina Ermakova, a leading scientist at the Institute of Higher Nervous Activity and Neurophysiology of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), added GM soy flour (5-7 grams) to the diet of female rats. Other females were fed non-GM soy or no soy at all. The experimental diet began two weeks before the rats conceived and continued through pregnancy and nursing.

Ermakova's first surprise came when her pregnant rats started giving birth. Some pups from GM-fed mothers were quite a bit smaller. After 2 weeks, 36% of them weighed less than 20 grams compared to about 6% from the other groups.

But the real shock came when the rats started dying. Within three weeks, 25 of the 45 (55.6%) rats from the GM soy group died compared to only 3 of 33 (9%) from the non-GM soy group and 3 of 44 (6.8%) from the non-soy controls.

Ermakova preserved several major organs from the mother rats and offspring, drew up designs for a detailed organ analysis, created plans to repeat and expand the feeding trial, and promptly ran out of research money. The money needed was not expected to arrive for a year. Therefore, when she was invited to present her research at a symposium organized by the National Association for Genetic Security, Ermakova wrote 'PRELIMINARY STUDIES' on the top of her paper. She presented it on October 10, 2005 at a session devoted to the risks of GM food.

Her findings are hardly welcome by an industry already steeped in controversy.

GM Soy's Divisive Past

The soy she was testing was Monsanto's Roundup Ready variety. Its DNA has bacterial genes added that allow the soy plant to survive applications of Monsanto's 'Roundup' brand herbicide. About 85% of the soy grown in the US is Roundup Ready. Since soy derivatives, including oil, flour and lecithin, are found in the majority of processed foods sold in the US, many Americans eat ingredients derived from Roundup Ready soy every day.

The FDA does not require any safety tests on genetically modified foods. If Monsanto or other biotech companies declare their foods safe, the agency has no further questions. Are you going out there to warn your friends about Monsanto and their GM soy?

This gives rise to the role of our once iconic CSIRO. We believe that they should be free from the constraints of seeking funds from industry and return to pure independent research into matters of concern to Australians. The Russian research is highly relevant to mothers and soy consumers.