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; . . LA NINA'S GLOBAL WEATHER EXTREMES
Professor James issued statements to the press, saying that Dr
Pusztai "would have to retire" because he'd "got it wrong" by ( yr Springs, Maryland, 23 February 1999 — This year's
suggesting the rats in question had been fed potatoes modified La Nifia is one of the strongest in the past 50 years,
with genes from a bean—when, in fact, these particular experi- according to scientists at the US National Weather
ments had never been carried out. The apparent mix-up, made Service's Climate Prediction Center. La Nifia is the phenomenon
amid the glare of TV publicity, cost Dr Pusztai his reputation. of cooler-than-normal sea surface temperatures in the tropical
But Dr Pusztai had conducted other crucial experiments using Pacific Ocean, impacting on global weather patterns. La Nifia
potatoes altered by another gene—and these tests demonstrated a conditions may last for as long as two years.
worst-case scenario. The tests were carried out on rats that were Forecasts show the present La Nifia Pacific Ocean conditions
fed potato altered to carry a gene from snowdrops. This enabled continuing through June 1999, with greater intensity possible
the vegetable to make a chemical known as GNA lectin, which during the next few months.
would protect it from insect and worm damage. However, the This La Nifia pattern began in May 1998. A rapid cooling of
effect was devastating. the near-equatorial waters in the central Pacific signalled the end
Dr Pusztai's results—contained in a report to Professor James of the 1997-1998 El Nifio and the beginnings of La Nifia.
and the Scottish Office—detail liver damage, even in rats fed EI Nifio and La Nifia are extreme phases of a naturally occur-
cooked genetically-modified potatoes for 10 days. His findings ring climate cycle referred to as El Nifio/Southern Oscillation.
reveal that, in most animals, "highly significant changes" Both terms refer to large-scale changes in sea-surface tempera-
occurred in the weights of some or most of the rats’ vital organs ture across the eastern tropical Pacific.
and that immune system organs, like the spleen and thymus, The strengthening La Nifia influenced weather patterns that
were "frequently affecte sent Alaskan temperatures dipping to -74°F (—23.3°C) and wind
Dr Pusztai's conclusions have now been backed by more than chills to -90°F (—32.2°C) in late January and early February. It
20 scientists from 13 countries, in a co-ordinated statement has brought flooding and heavy snow to the American West,
issued in early February. An independent analysis has been con- warmth to the East, and extreme weather from South America to
ducted by consultant pathologist Dr Stanley Ewen, of Aberdeen Asia, according to National Oceanic and Atmospheric
University, who examined the preserved rats' organs. Neither Dr Administration (NOAA) scientists.
Ewen nor Dr Pusztai will discuss their findings, though they may "This La Nifia provides the physical link between many of the
make them public by late February. unusual weather patterns seen recently in far-flung parts of the
The doctors' conclusions are a setback for the multibillion- globe," said John Janowiak, a NOAA scientist.
pound biotechnology industry which is seeking licences world- The global La Nifia impacts include heavy rains, severe storms
wide to grow high-volume crops that resist herbicides. At the and flooding in eastern Australia and southern Africa, drought in
start of the experiment, it was thought that snowdrop lectin was Kenya and Tanzania, flooding in the Philippines and Indonesia,
unlikely to produce harmful effects, so it would have been con- and abnormal wetness in northern South America. The same
sidered suitable for commercial development. But now the reve- regions suffered the opposite impacts during the 1997-1998 El
lations have thrown GM foods research into disarray. Niiio pattern.
(Source: by Christopher Leake and Lorraine Fraser, The Mail On "While parts of Alaska have experienced severe cold, most of
Sunday, London, 31 Jan 1999; Nature, vol. 397, 18 Feb 1999; see the lower forty-eight states, especially those in the southern tier,
Rowett Research Institute website