全球22位科学家公开信抗议转基因黄金大米不道德试验

　　

 [编者按] 我们刚收到在欧洲工作的医学博士祝国光老师来稿，提供以英国桑德兰大学药化名誉教授马尔科姆•胡珀(Prof Malcolm Hooper)为代表的22位全球知名教授签署的公开谴责转基因黄金大米（Golden Rice ）在人体身上进行临床试验的不道德行为，尽管这封公开信是在2009年2月发表的,但是它可以让中国公众从另一个角度了解欧美国家的一些严谨科学家，在转基因主粮安全性问题上的立场与观点。

[译者的话] 近日,收到欧洲、美国和加拿大的几位同事来信，告知关于美国和中国有人在中国做转基因黄金大米人体试验一事，及中国的李连达院士力挺该试验的长篇讲话，希望我能做点什么。

我想到了2009年2月发表的这封由欧州科学家为主体、有全球22名著名学者签署的公开信应该很能说明这个问题的国际医学界专家共识。这封信代表了欧洲很大一部分学者的看法，尤其是信中的这句话，“现在大量的证据表明，转基因作物/食品有非常容易疏忽和不可预测的多效性作用，用转基因食品喂养动物，能够导致对健康产生有害的影响”，是很中肯也很科学的声音。

这封信是2009年2月发表的，当时我刚好代表欧洲中医协会到中国揭露李连达院士课题组近20篇论文造假案。李连达造假案曾轰动整个欧洲学术界。历史真会开玩笑，我没有想到的是时至2012年，这位大名鼎鼎的造假院士还在打着中国工程院院士和中国中医科学院首席研究员（注意这是现职，不是退休职位）的旗号招摇撞骗，为这项严重违反科学伦理、违背纽伦堡法典、并且违反中国政府规定的黄金大米在儿童身上进行临床试验大唱赞歌。经过在2009年之后这几年同李院士的多次涉及科学基本原则问题讨论与交手，自己对李连达其人己经比较了解。这次原本对转基因问题和营养科学毫无研究的李院士迫不及待地跳出以院士身份为转基因黄金大米试验站台，其原因和动机值得公众高度质疑，特别是要弄清李连达院士与黄金大米违法人体试验案是否有关联、有什么关联，它们很可能就是揭开整个转基因黄金大米试验内幕的关键。

这封2009年发表的公开信，恰恰是从科学的角度，批驳了类似李连达院士这样不遵守科学原则、不遵守各国法制，却公开力挺转基因黄金大米试验的人口中所谓理由。它给中国的科学界必须提高法“治”水平提供了又一个鲜活案例！

现在，我将它译成中文发给《光明日报》的光明网卫生事业部沈阳总监，因为光明网卫生频道的《转基因主粮安全大视野》专题不仅内容丰富、更新及时，而且不少第一手译文表达准确，国内外不少人都从中了解到关心这个问题的有用信息，这符合新闻业全球规范。

祝国光

********************************************************

罗伯特•罗素 教授，

Professor Emeritus, Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy

Tufts University School of Medicine

711 Washington Street

Boston, MA 02111-1524

电子邮件：rob.russell @ tufts.edu

亲爱的罗素教授，

我们写这封信是表达我们的震惊，和毫不含糊地谴责你的同事们所进行的转基因金大米实验。我们都是致力于人体（成人和儿童）的健康和转基因生物对环境的影响的资深科学家/学者，我们指的三项试验都来自美国的临床试验网站：

1. Project NCT 00680355.(10) Bioavailability of Golden Rice Carotenoids in Humans.

2. Project NCT 00082420. Retinol Equivalence of Plant Carotenoids in Children. 

3. Project NCT 00680212. Vitamin A Equivalence of Plant Carotenoids in Children.

我们想提醒你，在临床试验网站和其他公开的文献中，对你们实验中所用的金大米的品种（GR2）描述的生物学和生物化学特性是不足的，是远远不够做出预临床评价的。它是一种没有经过时间考验被证明是独特的，均匀的和稳定的转基因产品。并且从来没有在世界任何地方通过法规/审批程序。现在大量的证据表明，转基因作物/食品有非常容易疏忽和不可预测的多效性作用，用转基因食品喂养动物，能够导致对健康产生有害的影响（有关综述请见Pusztai and Bardocz , 2006; Schubert, 2008; Dona and Arvanitoyannis, 2009）。我们尤其关心的是，这种设计产生过量β-胡萝卜素的大米，从未做过动物试验。 而大量的医学文献显示，β-胡萝卜素可以转化成类维生素A化合物，后者是有毒的，并且会导致出生缺陷。

在这种情况下，使用人类受试者（包括已经患有维生素A缺乏症的儿童）的转基因喂养实验是完全不能接受的。这三个已经公示的项目违反了纽伦堡法典和医疗伦理准则中的多项条款，我们强烈建议您通知他们立即终止这些试验。在关于黄金水稻品种的实验室和动物饲养试验完成并且发表之前，在有关监管机构有机会就我们提出的有关健康和安全的问题做出审核之前，这项目不应该被恢复。

可以肯定地说，这些缺乏安全信息的试验在欧盟范围内是不会被批准的，这凸显美国农业部和FDA监管体系在转基因食品方面的缺陷，即在没有过硬的实验数据之前，总是假设转基因作物/食品“通常认为是安全的 ”。

References:

1. Pusztai A. and Bardocz S. (2006) GMO in animal nutrition: potential benefits and risks. In: Biology of Nutrition in Growing Animals, eds. R. Mosenthin, J. Zentek and T. Zebrowska, Elsevier Limited, pp. 513-540.

2. Schubert D.R. (2008) The problem with nutritionally enhanced plants. J Med Food. 11: 601-605.

3. Dona A. and Arvanitoyannis I.S. (2009) Health Risks of Genetically Modified Foods. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr., 49: 164–175.

这些不道德的和有潜在危险的试验必须停止。我们要求你进行一次彻底检查，首先他们是如何被批准和得到资助的。请将此信视为一个正式的抗议信，并请转发给美国农业部、食品药品管理署，美国国立糖尿病消化道疾病和肾病研究所、美国国立卫生研究院、和美国国务院的负责人。

我们期待着您的回音。此致，

Prof Malcolm Hooper, Emeritus Professor of Medicinal Chemistry, University of Sunderland SUNDERLAND , SR2 3SD , UK .

Prof David Schubert Salk Institute for Biological Studies 10010 N. Torrey Pines Road, La. Jolla, CA 92037 USA

Professor Brian Goodwin Schumacher College, Dartington Hall Estate, Totnes, Devon TQ9 6EA

Dr Michael Antoniou Head: Nuclear Biology Group King's College London School of Medicine Department of Medical and Molecular Genetics 8th Floor, Tower Wing Guy's Hospital Great Maze Pond London SE1 9RT, UK

Dr Vandana Shiva Ph D Research Foundation for Science Technology and Ecology 105 Rajpur Road Dehra Dun, India

Stanley W.B. Ewen M.B.Ch.B., Ph.D., F.R.C.Path. Consultant Pathologist (Locum) Department of Pathology, University of Aberdeen, Foresterhill Aberdeen AB25 2ZD UK

Dr Mira Shiva MD Initiative for Health and Equity A 60 Hauz Khas New Delhi, 110016 India

Dr Brian John (Past Lecturer in Geography, University of Durham) Member, Independent Science Panel Trefelin Cilgwyn Newport, Pembrokeshire SA42 0QN

Dr Phil Davies Director, Institute of Health and Environmental Research, PO Box 155 Kensington Park, South Australia, 5068

Dr Irina Ermakova Institute of Higher Nervous Activity and Neurophysiology RAS (IHNA) Russian Academy of Sciences Butlerov str., 5a, Moscow 117463, Russia

Dr Judy Carman BSc (Hons) PhD MPH MPHAA Epidemiologist and Biochemist Director Institute of Health and Environmental Research PO Box 155 Kensington Park, South Australia, 5068

Prof E R Orskov IFRU Macaulay Institute Craigiebuckler Aberdeen AB15 8QH

Professor Leda Raptis, Ph.D. Department of Microbiology and Immunology and Dept. of Pathology Botterell Hall, Room 713 Queen's University Kingston, Ontario Canada, K7L 3N6

Dr Eva Novotny Associate, Institute of Science in Society, Member Independent Science Panel, 25 Brownlow Road, Cambridge, CB4 3NG

Professor Peter T Saunders Professor of Applied Mahematics Department of Mathematics King's College London Strand, London WC2R 2LS

Dr E. Ann Clark, Associate Professor Department of Plant Agriculture University of Guelph Guelph, Ontario, Canada N1G 2W1

Professor Carlo Leifert Res Dev Prof of Ecological Agriculture Newcastle University School of Agriculture, Food and Rural Development (SAFRD) Nafferton Farm Stocksfield Northumberland, NE43 7XD, UK

Dr Mae-Wan Ho Institute of Science in Society, PO Box 51885, London, NW2 9DH, UK.

Professor Ralph C. Martin, Ph.D., P.Ag., Founding Director, Organic Agriculture Centre of Canada Department of Plant and Animal Sciences Nova Scotia Agricultural College Truro, Nova Scotia, Canada B2N 5E3

Prof. Joe Cummins Prof. Emeritus of Genetics, University of Western Ontario, 738 Wilkins Street, London, Ontario , Canada N6C4z9

Prof David Suzuki Professor Emeritus Zoology Dept. University of British Columbia Vancouver, BC, Canada

THIS LETTER IS ALSO SIGNED BY CHILDREN'S ADVOCATE JOAN KNOX

Joan Knox Food Service Manager -Advocate for Children University of Guelph Child Care and Learning Centre University of Guelph. 50 Stone Road East . Guelph, Ontario, N1G 2W1 Canada

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Copies: 副本：

Tufts Medical Center and TUHS Institutional Review Board -- Jennifer A. Graf, BA IRB Administrative and Operations Manager [e-mail]

Dr David Chelmow Chair, Tufts University Institutional Review Board [e-mail]

Dr Leslie Curtis NIDDK Office of Communications and Public Liaison [e-mail]

Dr Guangwen Tang Golden Rice Project researcher [e-mail]

附英文原文：

Scientists Protest Unethical Clinical Trials of GM Golden Rice

Professor Robert Russell,

Professor Emeritus, Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy

Tufts University School of Medicine

711 Washington Street Boston, MA 02111-1524

Email: [e-mail]

Dear Professor Russell,

TUFTS UNIVERSITY INVOLVEMENT IN GOLDEN RICE FEEDING TRIALS

We are writing to express our shock and unequivocal denunciation of the experiments being conducted by your colleagues which involve the feeding of genetically modified Golden Rice to human subjects (adults and children.) We are all senior scientists / academics with a professional interest in the health and environmental effects of GMOs. We refer to three trials described on the US Clinical Trials web site:

1. Project NCT 00680355.(10) Bioavailability of Golden Rice Carotenoids in Humans.

2. Project NCT 00082420. Retinol Equivalence of Plant Carotenoids in Children. 

3. Project NCT 00680212. Vitamin A Equivalence of Plant Carotenoids in Children. 

We wish to remind you that the variety of Golden Rice used in these experiments (GR2) is inadequately described in terms of biological and biochemical characterisation on the Clinical Trials web site and indeed anywhere else in the publicly available literature, and has woefully inadequate pre-clinical evaluation. It is a genetically modified product which has not been shown to be distinctive, uniform and stable over time. It has never been through a regulatory /approvals process anywhere in the world. There is now a large body of evidence that shows that GM crop/food production is highly prone to inadvertent and unpredictable pleiotropic effects, which can result in health damaging effects when GM food products are fed to animals (for reviews see Pusztai and Bardocz , 2006; Schubert, 2008; Dona and Arvanitoyannis, 2009). More specifically, our greatest concern is that this rice, which is engineered to overproduce beta carotene, has never been tested in animals, and there is an extensive medical literature showing that retinoids that can be derived from beta carotene are both toxic and cause birth defects.

In these circumstances the use of human subjects (including children who are already suffering illness as a result of Vitamin A deficiency) for GM feeding experiments is completely unacceptable. The three Projects listed breach the Nuremberg Code / medical ethics code on a number of counts, and we urge you to call them to a halt immediately. They should not be resumed unless and until the researchers can demonstrate that a full range of laboratory and animal feeding trials have been completed and published for the Golden Rice strain being used, and unless and until appropriate regulatory bodies have had an opportunity to come to a view on the health and safety issues about which we are very concerned.

We can assure you that such trials would not have been approved within the European Union in the absence of safety information, which highlights yet again the flaw of the USDA and FDA regulatory system in considering GM crops/foods as hypothetically “generally recognised as safe – GRAS” in the absence of hard experimental data.