Staff Writer, Nicole Meyer-Greene
GMO's / Food Industry
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GMO's, or genetically modified organisms, in the past few decades have been pushed on the American public in secret. Education from large biotech and chemical companies has been nonexistent as well as independent, third party safety studies. All these trade protections have led to a major push back from consumers who see an increase in illness and diseases since GMO's have proliferated the grocery isles. Consumers want answers, labeling, and control over their bodies.
Politicians and big corporations do not see how Americans can be educated about something as clandestine as GMO's and that is the reason why Americans are too ignorant to have information such as food labeling.
Congress held a hearing about GMO labeling and concluded with its skewed witness testimony that Americans are just too ignorant and stupid to understand GMO's or labels for them.
That is not an accurate summation but Congress and GMO advocates still believe you are stupid:
Really? It sounds like Congress is the one that is stupid. Let's talk about Congressional ignorance on the subject of GMO's:
1. There is no consensus on GM food safety
2. There are no epidemiological studies investigating potential effects of GM food consumption on human health
3. Claims that scientific and governmental bodies endorse GMO safety are exaggerated or inaccurate
4. EU research project does not provide reliable evidence of GM food safety
5. List of several hundred studies does not show GM food safety
6. There is no consensus on the environmental risks of GM crops
7. International agreements show widespread recognition of risks posed by GM foods and crops
What are the facts about GMO crops?
Over 80% of all GMOs grown worldwide are engineered for herbicide tolerance. As a result, use of toxic herbicides like Roundup has increased 15 times since GMOs were introduced. GMO crops are also responsible for the emergence of “super weeds” and “super bugs:’ which can only be killed with ever more toxic poisons like 2,4-D (a major ingredient in Agent Orange). GMOs are a direct extension of chemical agriculture, and are developed and sold by the world’s biggest chemical companies. The long-term impacts of GMOs are unknown, and once released into the environment these novel organisms cannot be recalled.
Or read, Dr. Mercola's article: Why GMOs Can Never Be Safe:
The truth is that studies of GM food have shown tumors, organ failure, gastric lesions, liver damage, kidney damage, allergic reactions and more.
What are the Myths of GM crops that Mainstream Media, Congressional witnesses, biotech companies, and Congress wants you to believe? Here's a list:
Myth #1: No one has ever proven that GMOs are harmful to people
The truth is that studies of GM food have shown tumors, premature death, organ failure, gastric lesions, liver damage, kidney damage, allergic reactions, and more.
Myth #2: GM crops are the only way to solve world hunger
The reality is that GM farming practices are not sustainable, which virtually guarantees future crop collapses and subsequent famine. Nor are farmers able to save their seeds due to patent infringement and poor fertility in the seeds. Sustainable agricultural practices are the answer to world hunger.
Myth #3: GM crops need less pesticide spraying
The truth is that after the first couple of years, the use of pesticides and herbicides on GM crops has increased dramatically.
Myth #4: GM technology is comparable to the cross-breeding that our ancestors did to create hardier versions of heritage crops
Cross pollination of different varieties of the same plant (what our ancestors did) is low-tech and can occur naturally. Genetic modification of seeds is done in a lab and often crosses different biological kingdoms, such as crossing a bacteria with a plant the unintended adverse effects of which may be incalculably large and impossible to ascertain before they are released into the biosphere.
Myth #5: If the FDA and the USDA allow them, they must be safe
Monsanto has close ties with the US government, such that, despite the obvious conflict of interest, Monsanto executives have been given policy-making positions in Bush, Clinton and Obama administrations.
Myth #6: There is no nutritional difference between GM food and non-GM food
A 2012 nutritional analysis of GM versus non-GM corn showed shocking differences in nutritional content. Non-GM corn contains 437 times more calcium, 56 times more magnesium, and 7 times more manganese than GM corn. GM corn was also found to contain 13 ppm of glyphosate, a pesticide so toxic that it may be carcinogenic in the parts-per-trillion range, compared to zero in non-GM corn.
Myth #7: GMOs are impossible to avoid
GM ingredients are found in more than 70 percent of processed foods, but you can largely avoid them by avoiding these processed foods. By switching to whole foods like vegetables, fruits, grass-fed meats and other basic staples, you can control the GM foods in your diet.
Myth #8: Monsanto has our best interests in mind
Monsanto has spent over half a million dollars on hiring a firm to help 'protect the Monsanto brand name' from activists. There is speculation that they have placed trolls on anti-GM Web sites, hidden posts from social media, and even possibly hacked researchers computers days before they were set to release a damaging study. There's even speculation that the US government is spying on anti-Monsanto activists.
Myth #9: GMOs are not harmful to the environment
On the Hawaiian island of Molokai, where a nearly 2,000-acre test facility for Monsanto sits, air and water quality are horrendous and there are reports of deaths, infertility, uncontrolled cross-pollination, bloody skin rashes, asthma and pesticide contamination in the groundwater.
Myth #10: GMOs are here to stay
Biotech wants you to believe that GM crops are here to stay, but a war is being waged against GMOs, and the resistance is gaining significant ground. By sharing information like this, we can fight back against biotech and the poisons they're releasing into our environment.
All this information that shows that GMO's need further research before the crops are sold to the American people are astounding. Why couldn't Congress do a search online and find out this type of information?
Because Congress is stupid.
Maybe it is about time people in Washington, D.C. stop listening to bribers and do right by the American people. Calling us ignorant or stupid means you cannot defend the poison that is GM food-like products.
If you would like to live GMO free, use this handy webpage of Verified Products to assist in living a non-GMO life.
Vote with your pocket book and your vote. Get rid of Congresspersons who believe the American public cannot make health and wellbeing decisions without the consent of biotech companies.
For more information on GMO's, here are some VDP Gazette articles on the subject:
Monsanto vs the Monarch: Why Destroy These Beautiful Butterfles? 