For a long time I've wanted to do a study on autism rates and GMOs. Could they be related?
Take a look at this chart, from autismspeaks.org and you'll see that the rates have been steadily increasing since approximately 1980. Now there is a recent report that the rate is up to 1 in 50.
Genetically modified foods were first created as early as 1983 and commercially produced starting in 1994. This infographic from http://www.isaaa.org/ shows us that biotech crops in non-developed countries have been steadily rising since 1996.
So, what are the autism rates in the developing world?
What I found is that in China it is as low as 1.1 per 1000. And in other countries, due to different cultural standards and lack of access to psychiatrists, it is not reported or detected at the rates that we detect it in America.
This interesting Harvard study states:
"....many scientists theorize that other factors may also be responsible for the increasing rates in post-industrial countries. Some claim that about one third of ASD is due to immune dysregulation during pregnancy. That is, anything that causes an inflammatory response in the pregnant mother, such as infection or an immune disorder, may expose the fetal brain to inflammatory signals and disrupt development. For example, mothers with celiac disease have an increased chance of autism by 350 percent, while those with rheumatoid arthritis have an elevated risk of 80 percent4." http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/hghr/online/autism-on-the-rise-a-global-perspective/
What is causing this inflammation? Do genetically modified crops increase gut inflammation?
Take a look at this chart, from autismspeaks.org and you'll see that the rates have been steadily increasing since approximately 1980. Now there is a recent report that the rate is up to 1 in 50.
Genetically modified foods were first created as early as 1983 and commercially produced starting in 1994. This infographic from http://www.isaaa.org/ shows us that biotech crops in non-developed countries have been steadily rising since 1996.
So, what are the autism rates in the developing world?
What I found is that in China it is as low as 1.1 per 1000. And in other countries, due to different cultural standards and lack of access to psychiatrists, it is not reported or detected at the rates that we detect it in America.
This interesting Harvard study states:
"....many scientists theorize that other factors may also be responsible for the increasing rates in post-industrial countries. Some claim that about one third of ASD is due to immune dysregulation during pregnancy. That is, anything that causes an inflammatory response in the pregnant mother, such as infection or an immune disorder, may expose the fetal brain to inflammatory signals and disrupt development. For example, mothers with celiac disease have an increased chance of autism by 350 percent, while those with rheumatoid arthritis have an elevated risk of 80 percent4." http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/hghr/online/autism-on-the-rise-a-global-perspective/
What is causing this inflammation? Do genetically modified crops increase gut inflammation?
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