 Bringing new meaning to the term blue balls , a study has shown that eating a diet containing genetically modified soy actually caused the testicles of rats to turn blue. The study is just one of many cited in a report by the Institute for Responsible Technology reviewing research on the potential harmful effects of a diet containing genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The report warns that the overall public health damage from GMOs will likely exceed that from other notorious poisons once touted as safe, such as asbestos or tobacco. That's because unlike those substances, GMOs have directly and profoundly contaminated the human food supply. 'Everyone eats: everyone is affected,' the report reads. GMOs also turn your organs black According to the report, nearly every independent animal feeding study conducted with GMOs has demonstrated harms from a diet containing transgenic feed. The 'blue balls' are mentioned in a section of the report focused on reproductive failure and infant mortality. The change in color was only one of numerous changes observed in the testicles of rats fed soybeans engineered to resist Monsanto's Roundup herbicide (this trait is found in 80 percent of commercialized GMOs planted). Mice also underwent testicular changes (though not a change in color), including alterations to the function of young sperm cells. Other studies have found changes in the DNA function of embryos, lower litter size, lower birth weight and dramatically higher infant mortality in rodents fed GMOs. Farmers have also reported dramatic fertility problems among livestock fed GMO feed. Sterility has been reported in cows, bulls and pigs. Pigs have also had false pregnancies or birthed empty bags of water GMO feed has also been implicated in the deaths of a wide variety of livestock, including sheep, cows, horses, chickens and water buffaloes. In one notorious case, sheep in India allowed to graze on GM cotton suffered a one in four mortality rate. In one region in India, GM cotton was linked to 10,000 sheep deaths. Postmortem examination found black patches in the internal organs of the sheep, and investigators said preliminary evidence 'strongly suggests that the sheep mortality was due to a toxin.... most probably Bt-toxin.' The cotton in question was engineered to produce Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) toxin. Bt varieties represent about 20 percent of commercial GMOs. Industry and government collude to keep you eating poison Other studies reviewed in the report have connected GMOs with damage to internal organs (especially the liver), toxic digestive effects, allergies and immune dysfunction, and higher death rates. In spite of this overwhelming body of evidence, the FDA continues to grant GMOs a presumption of safety. In a shocking and potentially illegal 1992 decision that is still in force, the FDA ruled that GMOs could be considered safe with no further testing simply if the company producing them said they were! The FDA's collusion with GMO producers is just one part of a wider campaign to conceal the toxic health effects of GMOs, the report alleges. Other tactics used by GMO advocates include attempts to discredit critics of GMOs, including independent scientists who turn up evidence of harm; performing deliberately flawed research studies to 'prove' the safety of GMOs; and manipulating public opinion by disseminating dishonest information and intimidating mainstream media outlets out of running GMO-critical stories. Yet in spite of these efforts, US consumers are increasingly skeptical of GMOs, with about 90 percent supporting mandatory labeling of GMO ingredients. On March 16, the Senate rejected a bill that would have prohibited such mandatory labeling measures, replacing them with a voluntary program administered by the industry-friendly US Department of Agriculture (USDA) . 