Are you inflamed over GMO foods ? Sott.net
2/13/14
http://worldtraining.net/GMCornKills.htm http://worldtraining.net/BuildGoodwill.htm http://worldtraining.net/GMO9.htm (How
the chemical age spun evolution out of control Human activity is influencing the genetic world in
unexpected and dangerous ways,) http://worldtraining.net/GMO-GSA.htm (Girl Scouts try to sell GMO free cookies!)
http://worldtraining.net/GMOFreeBrands.htm http://worldtraining.net/GMOLabelsNow.htm
http://worldtraining.net/GMOTrolls.htm
Several years ago the general
public was completely unaware of GMOs and
GE foods (genetically modified organisms or genetic engineering), but today the topic is becoming rather well
known, thanks to growing education and alternative media coverage. The general
public is becoming better informed about the potential harms and health issues
associated with biotechnology and bioengineered foods, but the smoke and mirrors the mega-corporations use to obfuscate deeper understanding of the
dangers inherent in such 'mad science' increases in tandem with growing
awareness.
Ok, so a lot of people know they are eating GMO's and
what they are, but the real question is: are GMOs
actually safe, as proponents and supporters of biotechnology claim, or are they
not? Should we be worried about the long-term health and environmental effects
of genetically altered foods? In the following article I hope to present clear
evidence and data for stating very definitively: YES! We should be very
concerned! As an organic farmer,
agriculture consultant and researcher, I became interested in the GMO issue
over seven years ago, particularly their effects on the soil and the
contamination or mutation of various plant species. 'Connecting the dots', so
to speak, it dawned on me how serious this issue is, not just in terms of the
environmental effects of GMOs, but also the
consequences of eating GMO foods for human health. A very disturbing picture began to emerge.
As I realized that this 'genetic engineering'
is essentially a mad science, I joined a local group called 'Seeds of
Truth'. We began meeting weekly to discuss how to get the word out
about the growing takeover of Hawaii's agricultural lands by several
biotechnology corporations. In
November 2010, I had an opportunity to do a podcast with the SOTT team: GMO Frankenfoods and What
You Can Do to Improve Your Health. The transcript for the podcast
can be read here.
What exactly is Biotechnology & Genetic Engineering?
For those who are new to this topic, it's
important to explain some background knowledge when using the term
'Biotechnology'. According to Wikipedia: Biotechnology
(sometimes shortened to "biotech") is the use of living systems and
organisms to develop or make useful products, and it is usually seen in
agriculture, food production and medicine production. Modern use of similar
terms includes genetic engineering as well as cell
and tissue culture technologies. The concept
encompasses a wide range of procedures (and history)
for modifying living organisms according to human purposes - going back to
domestication of animals, cultivation of plants, and "improvements"
to these through breeding programs that employ artificial selection and hybridization. By comparison to
biotechnology, bioengineering is generally thought of as a
related field with its emphasis more on higher systems approaches (not
necessarily altering or using biological materials directly) for interfacing
with and utilizing living things. The United
Nations Convention on Biological Diversity defines
biotechnology as:[1] "Any technological
application that uses biological systems, living organisms, or derivatives
thereof, to make or modify products or processes for specific use." Genetic engineering, also
called genetic modification, is the direct manipulation of an organism's genome
using biotechnology.
New DNA may be inserted in the host genome by
first isolating and copying the genetic material of interest using molecular
cloning methods to generate a DNA sequence, or by synthesizing the
DNA, and then inserting this construct into the host organism. For the purpose of this article I will
use the term 'genetic engineering' and 'genetically modified organisms' (GMO's) in place of 'biotechnology'. I hope to clearly
explain that 'genetic engineering' is not in humanity's best interest,
regardless of claims by avid supporters. The agriculture industry, or Big Ag,
began introducing 'genetically engineered foods' to the public in the early
1990s. Today, 80% of U.S. grocery store foods contain GMOs.The
following articles carried on SOTT.net provide
important background information regarding the 'mad science' behind GMO
technology:
Explained: What Are GMOs? A GMO (genetically modified organism) is the result of a laboratory
process where genes from the DNA of one species are extracted and artificially
forced into the genes of an unrelated plant or animal. The foreign genes may
come from bacteria, viruses, insects, animals or even humans. Since this
involves the transfer of genes, GMOs are also known
as "transgenic" organisms. The genetic engineering technology was developed in
the 1970s. In the early 1990s, the tomato was one of the first to fall victim
to this technology. The anti-freeze genes from an Arctic fish were forced into
tomato DNA, allowing the plants to survive frost. Fortunately, this type of
tomato was not introduced into the marketplace. Actually, it never left the
lab. In 1976, a major
biotechnology company manufactured a herbicide called
Roundup. When the farmers sprayed this herbicide on their crops, not only would
it kill the weeds, but it would also kill the crops. This biotech company
developed genetically modified crops after finding bacteria in a chemical waste
dump near its factory that were not dying in the presence of the herbicide. The
bacterial gene that produced the protein that allowed it to survive in the
presence of herbicide was inserted into soy, corn, cotton and canola.
In 1996, this company (Monsanto) introduced
genetically modified soybeans, and slowly introduced genetically engineered
corn, cotton and canola. When these crops are sprayed with this Roundup, all
plants except the resistant crop are killed. In 1992, the FDA declared that GM crops are GRAS
(Generally Recognized As Safe) as long as their producers say they are.
Therefore, the FDA doesn't require any safety evaluations or labeling of GMOs. A company can even introduce a genetically modified
(GM) food to the market without telling the agency. The official FDA policy
stated, "The agency is not aware of any information showing that foods
derived by these new methods differ from other foods in any meaningful or
uniform way." But behind closed doors an internal FDA report stated:
"The processes of genetic engineering and traditional breeding are
different and according to the technical experts in the agency, they lead to
different risks."
Internal memos made public from a lawsuit
showed that GM crops can have unpredictable,
hard-to-detect side effects including allergies, toxins, nutritional effects
and new diseases as potential dangers. The FDA doesn't require a single study,
and the complex biology of GM crops may produce far more side-effects
than drugs. GM foods are fed to the entire population, and they are not labeled
or monitored, so symptoms are difficult or impossible to track. Dr. Tim O'Shea, author of the
website 'The Doctor Within', provides more background information explaining
what exactly GMOs are:
Genetically Modified Foods: 80% of What's In Your
Grocery Cart:
Since the 1990s world agriculture and food
production has undergone the most radical transformation in history. With very
little public awareness, in just a few short years genetically modified foods
have come to dominate both global agriculture and supermarket shelf space. The first GMO experiment was
crossing the DNA of a flounder with that of a tomato. This was done in order to
make the tomato able to withstand colder temperatures. Oh yes, did we mention?
- in the biotech industry, pieces of DNA can be
transferred theoretically from any plant to any animal, vice versa, or any
combination thereof.
Segments of DNA from one species are randomly
spliced into the DNA of the other species hundreds and hundreds of times until
the desired effect appears. How this cross-species DNA
insertion is accomplished is a little less than scientific. The two most common
methods of DNA modification are
the gene cannon
¥ using bacteria and viruses as
carriers for the DNA fragment
Scientists refer to the Position Effect when
talking about not being able to predict where the inserted fragments will end
up in the genetic sequence. Limitless possibilities result - recombining
genetic sequences that can turn on or turn off vital processes that have taken
thousands of years to refine.
In the gene cannon method tiny little golden
bullets are shot into the cells of the target organism with a .22 calibre pistol. Not kidding. Hundreds of
times. In this way the DNA of the host organism can be available for
splicing in new fragments from the donor species. Of course this method is
imprecise and unpredictable and anything but scientific. Only a tiny percentage
of the blasted foreign DNA ends up inside the host DNA, of course. But if you
do it enough times, you might eventually get a desired recombination. This was
the how the flounder and tomato genes were combined.
The more popular method however is to use
bacteria and viruses as carriers of donor DNA fragments which may then invade
the host's DNA and splice in the new pieces. We have long known that viruses
have this ability to invade the host's DNA and to actually splice themselves
into the DNA strands. Both these methods of genetic modification result in the
random scrambling of the host's DNA, which has virtually unlimited
unpredictable consequences.
Are you inflamed because of GMOs? By 'inflamed', I'm not just referring
to the state of anger and frustration people feel upon learning the sneaky,
deceptive tactics Biotechnology corporations use to put these unsafe
ingredients in our food. I am talking about inflammation in the body as a
result of eating genetically engineered food loaded with 'genetically mutated
bacteria and viruses'. Extensive
study has been conducted regarding inflammatory responses to disease in the
body. Doctors like Mark Hyman and Gabor Mate have written about the connections
between inflammation in the body and the onset of disease: Is Your Body Burning Up with Hidden Inflammation?
Inflammation: The Good, the Bad, and the
Ugly Everyone
who has had a sore throat, rash, hives, or a sprained ankle knows about
inflammation. These are normal and appropriate responses of the immune - your
body's defense system - to infection and trauma. This kind of inflammation is good. We need it to
survive - to help us determine friend from foe. The trouble occurs when that defense system runs out
of control, like a rebel army bent on destroying its own country. Many of us are familiar with an
overactive immune response and too much inflammation. It results in common
conditions like allergies, rheumatoid arthritis, autoimmune disease, and
asthma. This is bad inflammation, and if it is left unchecked it can become downright
ugly. What few people
understand is that hidden inflammation run amok is at the root of all chronic
illness we experience - conditions like heart disease, obesity, diabetes,
dementia, depression, cancer, and even autism.
How to Locate the Causes of Hidden Inflammation
So if inflammation and immune imbalances are at
the root of most of modern disease, how do we find the causes and get the body
back in balance? First, we need to
identify the triggers and causes of inflammation. Then we need to help reset
the body's natural immune balance by providing the right conditions for it to
thrive. As a doctor, my job
is to find those inflammatory factors unique to each person and to see how
various lifestyle, environmental, or infectious
factors spin the immune system out of control, leading to a host of chronic
illnesses. Thankfully, the
list of things that cause inflammation is relatively short:
¥ Poor diet - mostly sugar, refined flours, processed foods, and
inflammatory fats such as trans fats - Lack of exercise
¥ Stress
¥ Hidden or chronic infections with viruses, bacteria, yeasts, or
parasites
¥ Hidden allergens from food or the environment
¥ Toxins such as mercury and pesticides
¥ Mold toxins and allergens
Dr. Gabor Mate also describes inflammation in
the body in his book, When the Body Says No: Understanding the
Stress-Disease Connection:
Inflammation is an ingenious process invoked by
the body to isolate and destroy hostile or noxious particles (
think GMO's). It does so by tissue swelling
and the influx of a host of immune cells and anti bodies. To facilitate it's
defensive function, the lining or mucose, of the
bowel is in a perpetually controlled or orchestrated state of inflammation.
This is a normal state in healthy people. The powerfully destructive forces of
the immune apparatus must be routinely regulated, kept in balance, so that it
can carry out policing duties without harming the delicate body tissues, it is
in charge of defending. Some substances (again think GMO's)
promote inflammation others inhibit it. If the balance is upset disease can
result. Additional information
about the connection between inflammation and disease is available at the
Greenmedinfo.com website:
The Truth About Disease - What it is and What Causes it
Modern medicine describes hundreds of
individual "diseases." Each "disease" is generally named
for a group of symptoms and the area of the body affected. Many are suffixed by
-itis, meaning inflammation of... like tonsill-itis or arthr-itis. And
interestingly, recent studies are finding inflammation involved in virtually
all of them. Does this terminology serve to pigeonhole distinct
"diseases" and distract us from seeing the big picture of
inflammation as the disease? Have we been looking at secondary pathologies and
opportunistic microbes, and treating them at symptom-level... instead of addressing
a common root cause? Is there some imaginary partition that separates human
health from chemistry, physics and cell biology?
Whether inflammation is acute like appendicitis
or chronic like atherosclerosis and obesity, an immune response is taking place.
In-flam-mation literally means "on fire"
and is classically marked by the Latin: rubor, tumor,
calor and dolor - or redness, swelling, heat and pain
- so we know from those words that oxidation is at work. Oxidation is simply fire or rust
or whenever one molecule seizes an electron from another molecule. The needy
oxidant grabs or shares the electrons of an electron rich anti-oxidant. When
electrons are stolen from chemical bonds, those molecules (like DNA) come apart
or are deformed (like fats) and said to be oxidized,
burnt.
Inflammation does not just happen; a bacterium
or toxin or some other irritant triggers an immune response. The ammunition
used by the body for immune firefights is singlet oxygen, an all-purpose
defensive weapon. With an unpaired electron, an oxygen
radical is a powerful oxidant.
It can deconstruct and destroy pathogens, poisons, cell debris and other
unwanted substances, molecule by molecule, by snatching the electrons that hold
them together. Immune cells initiate the conflagration, armed with
mini-flamethrowers that generate oxidative bursts of singlet oxygen to burn the
area clean. Now that we have
covered both the history of GMO technology and the inflammatory response in the
body, we can begin to look at the deeper issues associated with 'genetic
engineering' and the introduction of mutated foreign pathogens into our bodies,
such as bacteria and viruses.
Is it possible that GMOs trigger and cause inflammation in the body?
With the introduction of 'genetic engineering'
and its widespread use in the production of food for both humans and animals,
we can begin connecting the dots. The issue here is that this 'genetic mad
science' is producing disease and illness in the population based on the foods
that are being touted as safe and healthy. Basically the population is being
used as guinea pigs to test the long term effects of
eating a diet composed of genetically modified organisms. Naysayers and pro GMO
advocates say that 'genetically altered foods' are safe, GRAS (Generally
regarded as Safe) or substantially equivalent to non GMO food, but where is the data to back up such a claim?
Biotechnology corporations like Monsanto claim that there is no need for value testing
the safety of GMO foods. What do scientists working in the field
say?
"As a scientist, actively working in the field [of GMO] I find
that it is very, very unfair to use our fellow citizens as guinea pigs." -
Arpad Pusztai, PhD
Researchers such as Jeffrey Smith have written
extensively on the health risks of GMO's. Executive
Director of the Institute for Responsible Technology and the leading
spokesperson on the health dangers of GMOs. Smith's
first book, Seeds of Deception, is the world's bestselling book on the subject.
His second book, Genetic Roulette: The Documented Health Risks of Genetically
Engineered Foods, identifies 65 risks of GMOs and
demonstrates how superficial government approvals are not competent to find
most of them. Jeffrey Smith recently released a new movie: Genetic Roulette: The Gamble
of Our Lives. The documentary tracks a certain category of
things that are going wrong - or several categories - in lab animals. So, when
the American Academy of Environmental Medicine, for example, reviewed the
peer-reviewed published studies, they said: "This (GMO's)
is messing up the animal's immune system, their reproductive system, their
gastrointestinal system; it's causing organ damage, they're aging faster, and
insulin and cholesterol regulation has gone hay wire".
Jeffrey Smith has stated:Among the symptoms associated with GMO consumption
are fatigue, allergies, weight problems, infertility, stomach issues, and
migraines, he noted, adding that doctors who've prescribed non-GMO foods to
their patients say that GMOs cause inflammation and
increase allergic responses. In the film "Genetic Roulette" I went to
interview the doctors who had been prescribing non-GMO diets to patients for
years, they were completely unambiguous. They said, "GMOs
CAUSE inflammation. GMOs INCREASE allergic responses
among my allergenic patients." GMOs DO cause all
these things. In fact, one doctor from Chicago said that 100% of her patients
get better on a NON-GMO diet. So I went to Chicago and interviewed their
patients, and it turns out Irritable Bowel, Crohn's
Disease, morning fog, weight problems, skin problems, migraine headaches ALL
found relief when the person switched to non-GMO eating.
Jeffrey Smith is not the only researcher
speaking out about this highly controversial issue, many scientists like Arpad Pusztai PhD, have been attacked and ridiculed when they
published their research detailing their concerns associated with genetic
engineering. Read the following article for more on this issue:
GMO Researchers Attacked, Evidence Denied, and a
Population at Risk
What conclusions are we to draw from such
information? Why are scientists being attacked? Why is evidence denied? And are
we really a population at risk? And if these claims are true, what are the health risks associated with consuming a diet loaded
with GMO's?
Are GMO foods triggers that lead to
inflammation in the body?
Based on the research gathered by Jeffrey Smith
it would appear there is a connection between GMO's
and the increasing onset of diseases of the immune system. It is important to
present additional data to make a compelling argument. Last year I attended the
National
Heirloom Seed Exhibition in California. The event was organized as
part of the California
Right to Know initiative or Proposition 37. The event had the
following guest speakers, Percy Schmeiser, Jeffrey
Smith, Ronnie Cummins (Organic
Consumers Association) Ken Rosoboro (The Organic
& Non-GMO Report) and Dr. Don Huber Emeritus Professor at Purdue
University. Many of the speakers shared the importance of the Right To Know
labeling initiative and spoke at length about the growing health and
environmental concerns of GMO's. In addition to
Jeffrey Smith, Dr. Don Huber spoke about his research and his disturbing
findings, regarding the effects of genetic engineering on the environment,
plants, animals, and humans.
Dr. Huber's talk was titled 'Impacts of Glyphosate
& GMO's on Crops, Animals, People and the
Environment'. His specific areas of training include soil-borne diseases,
microbial ecology, and host-parasite relationships. Dr. Huber taught plant
pathology, soil microbiology, and micro-ecological interactions as they relate
to plant disease as a staff Professor for 35 years. Dr. Huber spent over 40
years in military and professional capacities evaluating man-made and natural
threats, including biological warfare for military intelligence. In this interview Dr. Huber clearly describes the
serious negative health consequences of genetic engineering and focuses
specifically on RoundUp ready crops:
"One of the major modifications done to
genetically engineered food crops is the introduction of herbicide resistance.
Monsanto is the leader in this field, with their patented Roundup Ready corn,
cotton, soybean and sugar beets, which can survive otherwise lethal doses of glyphosate - the active ingredient in Roundup."
Dr. Huber reveals a number of shocking facts
that need to become common knowledge in order to stop this catastrophic
alteration and destruction of our environment, our food supply, and ultimately,
our own biology. Dr. Huber's research, which spans over 55 years, has been
devoted to looking at how the agricultural system can be managed for more
effective crop production, better disease control, improved nutrition, and
safety. The introduction of genetically engineered crops has dramatically
affected and changed all components in agricultural practices:
¥ The plants
¥ The physical environment
¥ The dynamics of the biological environment, and
¥ Pests and diseases (plant, animal, and human diseases)
The speech that Dr. Huber gave, with scientific
data and detailed diagrams, was shocking to say the least. As I listened to his
talk and noted the evidence he had gathered, a very scary picture began to
form; genetic engineering is literally effecting every
single organism and changing (for the worse) the biology of the environment,
plants, animals and human beings. A few key points made this 'genetic
modification madness' absolutely clear: if plant life is affected in the
following ways how can the same effects not be seen in animal and human organisms?:
¥ Herbicides are chelators - Glyphosate (herbicide) chelates
nutrient availability, kills micro-organisms in soil
and changes ecology.
¥ Glyphosate reduces
minerals in the soil, chelates nutrients essential
for crop growth, reduces the plants uptake potential.
Reduces uptake of Iron by 50% and manganese by 80%. Inhibits translocation of
minerals to the leaves of plants.
¥ Glyphosate makes the
plant susceptible to disease.
¥ Glyphosate
intensifies stress and accumulates in plant tissues, roots and tips.
¥ Glyphosate increases
virulence of soil borne disease organisms.
¥ Glyphosate causes
epigenetic changes - cannot absorb nutrients, depletes nutritional value of
plant.
¥ Glyphosate damage
causes the following symptoms in plants: low vigor, stunting, slow growth, leaf
yellowing, leaf deformation (copper deficiency), poor bulking (zinc, manganese
deficiency)
Food and Safety Concerns (Glyphosate
Exposure) presented by Dr. Huber
¥ Allergic reactions
¥ High disease levels
¥ Sterility, deformities, spontaneous abortions (in animals)
¥ Pre mature aging
¥ Infertility problems in all mammals
¥ Celiac Disease (Alberta Canada, as a result of Round Up ready
Canola)
¥ Irritable Bowel Disease (IBS) attributed to the huge increase of GM
soy and corn
¥ Autism - 600% increase since GMO foods came on the market
¥ Biological Imbalance
Dr. Huber was very clear in stating genetic
engineering is a massive experiment based on flawed science. He shared that the
concerns listed above are just the tip of the iceberg. In conclusion Huber said
that our basic responsibility in agriculture is providing safe and nutritious
food. Instead, with current GMO-based agricultural practices:
"we are willing
to sacrifice our children and jeopardize future generations based on failed
promises and flawed science just to benefit the 'bottom line' of a commercial
enterprise."
What can we conclude from such shocking data?
The following link has a video excerpt of Dr. Huber:
Worse than DDT: When you eat this, it ends up
lingering in your gut
Glyphosate Persists in Soil, and Promotes Disease-Causing Pathogens
According to Dr. Huber, glyphosate
can accumulate and persist in the soil for years. Persistence
is determined by biological activity, soil PH, clay content, and how firmly
it's sequestered or absorbed in the soil. This is bad news, because glyphosate not only decimates beneficial microorganisms in
the soil essential for proper plant function and high quality nutrition, it
also promotes the proliferation of disease-causing pathogens. ..."The
organisms that are stimulated are the pathogens," Dr. Huber says.
"...all of the natural biological control
organisms are very sensitive to that concentration of glyphosate. ..."All it does is
make it possible for that plant to survive and to accumulate more glyphosate. We still change the soil ecology, microbial
ecology, and...our intestinal
microbiology."
To quickly recap, while glyphosate
promotes the growth of more virulent pathogens, it also kills off beneficial
bacteria that might keep such pathogens in check - in the soil, and in the gut
of animals or humans that ingest the crop. "[W]ith
glyphosate, we also see an additional stimulation of
virulence, so we see increased ability to cause disease, as well as the loss of
the natural biological controls," Dr. Huber says. It's important to understand that
the glyphosate actually becomes systemic throughout
the plant, so it cannot be washed off. It's inside the plant. And once you eat
it, it ends up in your gut where it can wreak total havoc with your health,
considering the fact that 80 percent of your immune system resides there and is
dependent on a healthy ratio of good and bad bacteria. Dr. Huber is just one of many
scientists who have spent years studying genetic engineering and its negative
effects in animals, humans and the environment. The information provided above
is a small piece of the puzzle. Numerous articles, videos and research
concerning the negative effects of genetic engineering, are being published and
the debate is really beginning to heat up. The following articles carried on SOTT.NET provide
additional data about the serious negative health effects of GMO foods:
Why Genetically Engineered Food is Dangerous
The Human Feeding Experiment and New Disease
Children of the Corn: GMOs
Don't Qualify As Food
New Research: GMO Food Far Worse Than We Think
GMO's Alter the Genetic Makeup of our Healthy Bacteria
Avoid Genetically Modified Food: Doctors and Animals
Alike Tell Us
GMO Alert: Eating GM Wheat May Destroy Your Liver,
Warn Scientists
Monsantoª Roundup Ready Crops Leading to Mental
Illness, Obesity
Latest GMO Research: Decreased Fertility,
Immunological Alterations and Allergies
The Worlds Largest Human Experiment: GMOs, Roundup, and the Monsanto Monstrosity
Monsanto's Roundup Triggers Over 40 Plant Diseases and
Endangers Human and Animal Health
GMO labeling: Your Right to Know What is in Your Food
People are informing themselves more and more and they want
to know what is in their food, they are inflamed over this issue and they want
answers. The California Right to Know 2012 Ballot Initiative,
which did not pass on November 6, would
have required GMO food - that is, all food containing genetically engineered
ingredients - to be so labeled in the state. The labeling initiative in
California, was an attempt, by concerned grass roots organizations, to set a
precedence for other states to follow, many states have been pushing for labeling measures
when it comes to knowing what is in their food, and calls for GMO labeling keep cropping up.
And thanks to the FDA, you really have no idea what's in your food:
An estimated 60 to 70 percent of processed
foods contains genetically modified organisms, but
unlike 50 other countries, the US doesn't require labeling.
For years, polls have shown that about 90
percent of Americans support the labeling of foods that contain genetically
modified organisms (GMO). That's about as close to a consensus as you're going
to get in this country. But amazingly, in this supposed bastion of freedom and
democracy we're denied the fundamental right to know what's in our food - a
right that more than 50 other nations, including China and Russia, offer their
citizens.
It is obvious that the US government does not
want GMO foods labeled and there is a massive effort on the behalf of biotech
corporations to squash the labeling initiatives! Read more about the ongoing
labeling battles across the US and how the opposition resorts to dirty tricks and lies to squelch
labeling laws.
US opposes honest labeling of GMO foods
The official U.S. government position on genetically-modified organisms, is that there is no
difference between them and natural organisms. Crafted by the U.S. Food and
Drug Administration (FDA) and the Department of Agriculture (USDA), the
position set forth to the Codex Alimentarius
Committee on the issue goes even further to suggest that no country should be
able to require mandatory GMO labeling on food items, even though science shows
that GMOs act differently in the body than do natural
organisms and are a threat to health.
A group of over 80 food processors, farmers and
consumer organizations has sent an official letter to Michael Taylor, deputy
commission at the FDA, and Kathleen Merrigan, deputy
secretary of agriculture at the USDA, protesting the official U.S. government
position, citing the fact that it creates "significant problems" for
all U.S. food producers that wish to label their products as being GMO-free.
Not only is there no mandatory labeling of
products sold in the U.S. that contain GMO ingredients, but the FDA and USDA
now want to prohibit the labeling of products that do not contain GMO
ingredients. In other words, not only are you not allowed to know when there
are potentially harmful ingredients in your food, you not even allowed to know
when there aren't! Clearly the FDA and USDA are trying to outlaw truth in
labeling and are openly working deceive the public.
The "Empire Strikes Back" Against
California's GMO Labeling Initiative
Consumers all over the US are in favor of this
by wide margins. It is very important because, with the full power of the US
government behind GMO, and huge amounts of money flowing back to Washington
from GMO producers, the only way to stop the GMO juggernaut is to tell
consumers what they are buying.
Fighting GMO Labeling in California Is Food Lobby's
"Highest Priority"
In case you had any doubt that California's
Prop 37 - which would require labeling of food containing genetically-modified
organisms (GMOs) - is a significant threat to
industry, a top food lobby has now made it perfectly clear.
In a recent speech to the American Soybean Association
(most soy grown in the U.S. is genetically modified), Grocery Manufacturers
Association President Pamela Bailey said that defeating the initiative "is
the single-highest priority for GMA this year."
You may not know the about the Grocery
Manufacturer's Association, but its members represent the nation's largest food
makers - those with the most at stake in the battle over GMO labeling; for
example, soft drink and snack giant PepsiCo, cereal makers Kellogg and General
Mills, and of course, biotech behemoth Monsanto.
Based on the data above it would appear that
the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) is well aware of the following
fact:
"If you put a label on genetically
engineered food you might as well put a skull and crossbones on it." -
Norman Braksick, president of Asgrow
Seed Co., a subsidiary of Monsanto, quoted in the Kansas City Star, March 7,
1994
The Label Even Monsanto Considers a 'Skull and
Crossbones'...
Monsanto and Food Inc.'s stranglehold over the
nation's food and farming system is about to be challenged in a food fight that
will largely determine the future of American agriculture.
A growing corps of organic food and health
activists in California - supported by consumers and farmers across the nation
- are boldly standing up to Monsanto and its minions, taking the first steps to
expose the widespread contamination of non-organic grocery store foods with
Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs), and moving to
implement mandatory GMO labeling through a grassroots-powered Citizens Ballot
Initiative process...
Grocery Manufacturer's Association overtakes Monsanto
as "Most evil corporation on the planet"
Monsanto, as most of you may already know, has
long been referred to by those in the know as "the most evil company on
the planet." But it has stiff competition. Before there was Monsanto, junk
food companies were already hard at work influencing American politics to further
their own agenda. The processed food industry has a lot to answer for when it
comes to the general health of Americans, who spend upwards of 90 percent of
all their food dollars on processed convenience foods.
The latest developments in the fight for GMO
labeling actually makes a strong case for giving the title of "Most Evil
Organization on the Planet" to the Grocery Manufacturer's Association of
America (GMA), which represents the processed food leaders, including Pepsi,
Coke, Kraft, Kellogg's, and General Mills.
The Grocery Manufacturer's Association also
lists Monsanto as a member, so it would make sense that the sum
would be greater than the parts. This organization is no stranger to stooping
way down low to protect their members' interests - your health and human rights
be damned.
50 Countries label genetically engineered foods
It's important to realize that genetically
engineered foods must be labeled in nearly 50 other nations around the world,
yet "the land of the free" has persistently denied its citizens the
right to know whether or not a food is genetically engineered. The industry,
led by Monsanto, the worst company of 2011 according to Natural Society, has
gone so far as to threaten states with costly lawsuits, should they decide to
label GE foods. This is about as unAmerican as it can
get.
Meanwhile, what little research is actually
done on GE food keeps revealing disturbing results. The latest comes from
France, where rats fed Monsanto's GE corn, or exposed to glyphosate
(the active ingredient in Monsanto's herbicide Roundup), suffered tumors and
multiple organ damage.
Biotechnology and Corporate Agriculture use dirty political tricks
to block consumers Right to Know what is in their food
'Army of lobbyists' led by Monsanto helped neuter GMO
labeling law in Connecticut
Genetically modified food labeling measure to qualify
for Washington state ballot
Monsanto Threatens Vermont With Legal Action if it
Passes GMO Labeling Bill
Mainstream Media Blackout: Maine Second State to Pass
GMO Labeling Law
Did California voters defeat the food movement along
with Prop. 37?
And make no mistake, Prop. 37 was the
food-system equivalent to a lunge at the king. No fewer than two massive
sectors of the established food economy saw it as a threat: the GMO
seed/agrichemical industry, led by giant companies Monsanto, DuPont, Dow, and
Bayer; and the food-processing/junk-food industries who transform GMO crops
into profitable products, led by Kraft, Nestle, Coca-Cola, and their ilk.
Collectively, these companies represent billions in annual profits; and they
perceived a material threat to their bottom lines in the labeling requirement,
as evidenced by the gusher of cash they poured into defeating it.
Did Monsanto win Prop 37? Round one in the food fight
of our lives
Between Oct. 7 and Nov. 6, 4.3 million
Californians - nearly 47% of those who voted - cast their ballots in favor of
what would have become this country's first law to require mandatory labeling
of foods containing genetically modified organisms (GMOs)
and ban the routine industry practice of marketing GMO-tainted foods as
"natural."
It has permanently altered the national debate
surrounding food safety, chemical-intensive agriculture, and sustainability.
And it put the consumers' right-to-know and truth-in-labeling on the table for
millions of Americans. Prop
37 has exposed the dark side of Big Ag and Big Food, and their desperation to
keep U.S. consumers in the dark about whether or not our food has been
genetically engineered, a fundamental right enjoyed by citizens in over other
60 countries. What can be
done to reduce inflammation in the body and mind caused by GMO's?
Reduce inflammation in the body by Stimulating
the Vagus Nerve with easy to use breathing
exercises Vagus Nerve Controls Intestinal
Inflammation
¥ Vagus nerve's role in regulating inflammation
Learn about the benefits of a Ketogenic diet The Ketogenic Diet - An
Overview
¥ Solve Your Health Issues with a Ketogenic
Diet
¥ Is the Ketogenic Diet the
cure for multiple diseases?
¥ Ketogenic diet may be key to cancer recovery
¥ Ketogenic Diet (high-fat, low-carb)
Has Neuroprotective and Disease-modifying Effects
¥ Ketogenic Diet improves insulin sensitivity and numerous aging
markers
Eliminate all GMO food from
your diet: To date, a list of 10 food products have been identified to be genetically modified. They are as
follows: Corn, Soy, Cotton, Papaya, tomatoes, rice, rapeseed, peas, potatoes,
sugar beets and dairy products. Some of these foods are called by different
names. For example, rapeseed, an industrial heating oil, was never meant for
human consumption. It was later called canola oil, and marketed as being a
'healthy' oil to consume. The following links below will help provide helpful
information on HOW to effectively eliminate GMO's
from your diet
¥ Why We Need Mandatory GMO Food Labels
¥ Get a copy of the Non-GMO shopping guide
¥ Stop buying food tainted food from billion dollar
corporations
¥ Support local food producers and farmers
¥ Learn more about The GMO Tipping Point
Knowledge Protects: Learn more about GMO's and educate others on how to avoid them. The
following books and movies about the evils of GMO's
are a great place to start:
¥ Seeds of Destruction: The Hidden Agenda of Genetic
Manipulation by William F. Engdahl
¥ Failure to Yield: Evaluating the Performance of
Genetically Engineered Crops by the Union of Concerned Scientists
¥ Genetic Roulette and Seeds of Decpetion
by Jeffrey Smith
¥ The World According to Monsanto Food
Inc. The Future of Food Genetic Roulette: The Gamble of our Lives The Corporation
Erica Burt Erica Burt is an organic farmer, organic
agriculture researcher and Eiriu Eolas
Instructor. She holds a BachelorÕs Degree in Education from Chaminade
University and works to educate the public about healthy eating, food security
and safety in the Hawaiian Islands. As a contributing editor for SOTT.net Erica
has spent the last few years researching the long term health and environmental
effects of Genetically Modified Organisms
GMO-free
Brands: These brands, at the time of writing, source their ingredients
from GMO-free supplies. If youÕre concerned about the threat genetically modified organisms pose to our food supply
and health, purchase from these
companies and contact them to let them know you support and value their decision to use non-gmo soy, corn, canola and other ingredients. Please enjoy
this GMO-free food list and share it. * Arrowhead Mills: GMO-free providers of
baking mixes and flours found in both natural health food stores and regular
supermarkets.
* Eden Foods: GMO-free providers of canned goods, noodles, tamari, miso, vinegar and Asia *
Natural Choice Foods: GMO-free providers of frozen dessert products. *
Purity Foods: GMO-free makers of spelt-based noodles, snacks and other goodies. * Rapunzel:
My all-time favorite chocolate company. They also sell specialty oils. *
Spectrum Oils: GMO-free manufacturer of specialty oils, cooking oils, salad
oils and shortening. Genisoy: Uses
only certified GMO-free soybeans for their many soy products. *
EarthÕs Best: Baby food manufacturer uses non-GMO ingredients. Healthy
Times: Baby food manufacturer uses non-gmo
ingredients.
* BobÕs Red Mill: GMO-free provider of baking mixes and specialty flours. * PamelaÕs Products: Provider of
luscious gluten-free baking mixes sources non-GMO ingredients. *
Whole Foods Store Brands: Whole foods has committed to sourcing ingredients from GMO-free
sources.
* Cascadian Farms: Provider of frozen entrees, juices, frozen
vegetables fruit, yogurt and other foods. *
Imagine Foods: GMO-free provider of soy and rice milk as well as broth and
other foods.
*
Muir Glen: Source of canned goods and vegetable juice uses gmo-free
foods. *
Thai Kitchen: Source for coconut milks and Asian ingredients sources gmo-free ingredients. * AmyÕs Kitchen: GMO-free source of
canned soups, chilies, boxed and frozen meals. *
NatureÕs Path: Manufacturer of cereals and snack bars made with ingredients
sourced gmo-free. * AnnieÕs Naturals:
Manufacturer of BBQ sauce, salad dressings and condiments sourced gmo-free. * San
J: GMO-free manufacturer of soy sauce, shoyu and
tamari. *
Tradition Miso: Manufacturer of miso
pastes that are made from GMO-free ingredients.
* BarbaraÕs Bakery:
Manufacturer of cookies sources from gmo-free
ingredients.
*
Lundberg Family Farms: GMO-free provider of rice and wild rice foods including
raw rice, soups and
. *
Walkers: Provider of the best shortbread cookies ever as well as other sweet
treats *
Fantastic Foods: Provider of hummus, falafel, couscous, soup and other
mixes with gmo-free ingredients. * Vitasoy: Manufacturer of soy-based foods sourced
from gmo-free ingredients. *
Clif: Manufacturer of energy bars sourced from gmo-free foods. *
Kettle Chips: GMO-free manufacturer of potato and tortilla chips. *
Que Pasa: Manufacturer of
tortilla chips and other Mexican foods sourced from non-gmo
ingredients.
* Garden of Eatin: Manufacturer of chips, salsas and
other snack foods.
* French Meadow Bakery: Manufacturer of bread and baked goods using non-gmo ingredients.
* White Wave: Manufacturer of soy products including tofu and tempeh using gmo-free soy. * Bearitos:
Manufacturer of snack foods and dips using gmo-free
foods.
* Chaffin Family Orchards: committed to GMO-free foods sells an assortment of goods olive oil. * Cultures for Health: All starters and
products sold at Cultures for Health are GMO-free. * Grindstone Bakery: GMO-free provider
of wheat- and gluten-free bread.
* Pure Indian Foods: GMO-free provider of grass-fed ghee.
* To Your Health: Provider of gmo-free sprouted breads
and sprouted flours.
* US Wellness Meats: Provider of pasture- and grass-fed meats free of GMO
supplemental feed.
* Zukay: Provider of live cultured condiments and
salsa free from GMO.