There's a LOT more to this story.
I once worked with Bacillus thuringiensis, the bacteria from which the gene coding for BT toxin was taken and inserted into corn.
Did you know that B. thuringiensis is nearly 100% identical to Bacillus anthracis (anthrax) at the chromosomal level? Well, now you do. Bet you won't see that on a box of corn flakes.
They used to spray B.t. on crops directly. BT toxin produced by B.t. is deadly to Lepidoptera (moths), as it destroys their intestinal lining when ingested. This wasn't so bad for people, though, as you could just wash off most of the bacteria, and it is non-toxic when ingested (not so, anthrax!).
But this wasn't good enough for the corporate scientists - why not just take the gene itself and put it into corn? Heck, people's guts are millions of times larger than an insect's, it won't be a problem! Then we don't have to spray it with B.t., which doesn't make us much money; we will just use a broad-spectrum herbicide that we already make a lot of money on: Roundup!
Well, there was a problem with that. Actually, many problems. First, in order to isolate the BT gene and test it, and also add genetic markers to make it easy to work with, they took that gene and put it into Eschericia coli...which is present in large numbers in the human GI tract. This matters, as I will explain later.
Second, people eat a LOT of corn. It is the second or third most ingested grain after wheat and rice, after all. So, people get a heavier dose of BT toxin than expected, as corn is in almost everything in one form or another (corn syrup, maltodextrin, etc.).
Third, nearly all corn these days is GMO. Very little non-GMO corn is produced in the US. And, GMO crops are routinely treated with Roundup, which contains glyphosate...which has been implicated as a carcinogen by the World Health Organization. Roundup is an herbicide, but it *also* kills other things...such as gut bacteria...
...but, not E. coli bacteria that have taken up BT toxin DNA from food that people eat, for that DNA came from corn that is ALSO resistant to Roundup, and THAT DNA was also expressed in E. coli for study.
So, now you have E. coli bacteria in your gut that: 1. are now present in greater numbers, due to the effects of Roundup on your gut bacteria; 2. contain the DNA for producing BT toxin, which they got from corn and which has ALREADY been shown to produce BT toxin in that strain; and 3. this bacteria is also immune to the effects of Roundup.
So, now, chronic eaters of corn products have BT-producing bacteria factories in their guts. And, this BT toxin destroys the intestinal lining, leading to chronic problems as now complex food molecules can enter the bloodstream directly - molecules that are not natural, and which the body determines is a foreign entity that it makes antibodies to...so, now, when one eats corn their body ATTACKS ITSELF.
And, this will happen with almost ANY food that one eats a lot of. This is the genesis of 'Leaky Gut' syndrome, also known as Coeliac disease, and also the cause of many autoimmune disorders, such as lupus, arthritis, alopecia, etc.
Also: glyphosate has been found to replace glycine in protein synthesis. The ramifications of this are still being discussed, but it is not good news.
