3REPORT - HIV TAINTED CORN: Genocide in sub Saharan Africa?

HIV Infection Rates Increase With Corn Consumption in Sub Saharan Africa

June 09, 2010

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The president of a bio tech firm developing HIV tainted GM corn strains was appointed to the Board for International Food and Agriculture Development in 2002. Now, in 2010, studies show a possible link between HIV infection and corn consumption in sub Saharan Africa.

An article came out of Reuters today entitled “Fungus-tainted corn a factor in Africa HIV spread?”. The article reveals that a study conducted by researchers at the University of Georgia found that HIV infection rates may be linked to corn consumption in sub Saharan Africa.

“Using data from the World Health Organization and the Food and Agriculture Organization, the researchers found that as sub-Saharan countries’ per-person corn consumption rose, so did HIV transmission rates.”

The article proposes that this is due to a type of fungus growing on the corn which could weaken the immunity of those who consume it, thus making them more susceptible to the HIV virus. However, at the end of the article, they admit “All of that, however, remains speculation until further research is done confirming the link between contaminated corn and HIV.”

Link to the study from the University of Georgia:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20484447?dopt=Abstract

From the study abstract:

“CONCLUSIONS: HIV transmission frequency is positively associated with maize consumption in Africa. The relation between cancer and food suggests that fumonisin contamination rather than aflatoxin is the mostly likely factor in maize-promoting HIV. Changes to the quality of maize may avoid up to 1,000,000 transmissions of HIV annually.”

Let us flash back to 2002, when articles began to emerge about a biotech company called Prodigene. Prodigene specialized in producing genetically engineered crop varieties that would be used for pharmaceutical purposes. The following article, ProdiGene to spend millions on bio-corn tainting reveals that the company was fined by the USDA after their genetically modified corn strains contaminated a supply of soybeans.

“In the Nebraska incident, some 500,000 bushels of soybeans were accidentally contaminated by a tiny amount of ProdiGene’s bio-corn. The soybeans were seized by the USDA after harvest in October and have been kept in a locked warehouse.”

Another article was published in New Scientist which detailed Prodigene’s success in developing a strain of corn that had been genetically modified to contain a key protein found on the surface of the monkey form of HIV.”

Here is a link to a medical journal with an article published by Prodigene which explains “we expressed the SIV major surface glycoprotein gp130 (analogous to HIV gp120) in corn seed.”

Today, there is almost no trace of the company Prodigene. Their website has been taken down, their phone lines are disconnected. However, a google search reveals that the CEO and President of Prodigene, Anthony G. Laos, was appointed to the Board for International Food and Agriculture Development by President Bush in 2002.

The Board for International Food and Agriculture Development, otherwise known as USAID, is an independent federal government agency that works in third world countries to develop agriculture. Their website describes involvement in sub Saharan Africa. Their mission in sub Saharan Africa is to “incorporate good governance principles and innovative approaches to health, education, economic growth, agriculture, and the environment.”

The Wikipedia entry on USAID: reveals that the organization financed the forced sterilization of 350,000 Peruvians to the tune of 36 million dollars.

“In Peru, former president Alberto Fujimori (1990-2000) pressured 200,000 indigenous people in rural areas (mainly Quechuas and Aymaras) into being sterilized. In July 2002, a final report from the Health minister proved that between 1995 and 2000, 331 600 women and 25 590 men had been sterilized. The program was mainly financed by the USAID (36 000 000 dollars) and the UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund).”

The USAID website also reveals that over the past 20 years, genetically modified crops have accounted for “an estimated half of agricultural productivity improvements.” It goes on to say that “As we face global population growth, increased competition for land and water resources from industrial and urban growth, climate change, and the need to protect the environment, we need new solutions to increasing agricultural productivity to combat hunger and poverty.”

In summary, we have the president of a company producing HIV tainted strains of corn on the board of an organization that is involved in providing genetically modified crops to sub Saharan Africa, where corn consumption is now being linked to HIV infection rates.
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More information has come to light about Prodigene since this article was originally published. The following two articles explain what happened to Prodigene and establish a link between Prodigene and the Obama administration

Rajiv Shah, Obamas Top USAID appointee, was working under a man named Tom Vilsack at the USDA. Tom Vilsask was involved with Prodigene and the push for limited regulation on biopharma crop growers.

The Case Against Rajiv Shah: Don’t Let Monsanto Take Over USAID

“ProdiGene eventually went out of business, but not before it received a $6 million investment from the Governors Biotechnology Partnership, chaired by Iowa governor, Tom Vilsack, currently Shah’s boss at the USDA. Vilsack didn’t want any restrictions placed on experimental pharma crops. In reaction to suggestions that pharma crops should be kept away from food crops, Vilsack argued that ‘we should not overreact and hamstring this industry.’”

“Beachy, currently working under Shah as the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture director, joined Vilsack in support of ProdiGene and against regulation of pharma crops when he was still the director of the Danforth Center. He said in 2004 that scientists must be free to experiment in open fields”

Obama’s Pick for Head of USAID: Forcing GMO’s on the World’s Poor

“After a short stint at USDA, Rajiv Shah has been picked by the Obama Administration to head up the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).”

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Here is another article about the financial history of Prodigene.

From the article:

1996: The protein products division of Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc. in Des Moines merged with a Texas pharmaceutical firm to form ProdiGene Inc., which is now based in College Station, Texas. Pioneer remained an investor in ProdiGene.

1999: Pioneer and its parent, DuPont, invested $2 million in tecTerra Food Capital Fund, a venture-capital fund started by Iowa lawmakers.

2001: tecTerra Food invests $3 million in Omaha-based StaufferSeeds Inc. That investment was pooled with other funds and converted into ProdiGene stock.

Today: tecTerra`s investment in ProdiGene grows to $6 million. The Iowa Agricultural Finance Corp., which controls the fund, is a 14.5 percent owner of ProdiGene, and tecTerra has a seat on ProdiGene`s board.