Tag Archives: GMO

GMOs: worse risk of ruin than nuclear power –Nassim Nicholas Taleb

Because Genetically modified crops risk widespread ruin, they should not be permitted without far greater scientific knowledge, for which the burden of proof falls on those proposing GMOs, not those opposing, say experts in risk and ruin.

Risk management or mitigation may work for localized harm, but GMOs risk widespread systemic damage, which is ruin, and to prevent that the precautionary principal is needed:

if an action or policy has a suspected risk of causing severe harm to the public domain (such as general health or the environment), and in the absence of scientific near-certainty about the safety of the action, the burden of proof about absence of harm falls on those proposing the action.

A paper by Nassim Nicholas Taleb and co-authors lays out Continue reading →

Small organic farms can (already) feed the world

Research, including studies presented at the conference in Istanbul, is showing that organic agriculture can deliver reliably high yields ”and that organic fields thrive in the face of disaster and duress, where chemical-reliant crops falter. Organic fields, for example, fare significantly better than chemically managed ones in the face of extreme weather, such as droughts or floods.

Anna Lappe, for takepart, 4 November 2014, Yes, Organic Farming Can Feed the World, Continue reading →

Basics for integrating vegetable and fish production in aquaponics –Pat Duncan @ SOGALO15 2015-01-24

Dr. Pat Duncan, director of the Georgia Center for Aquaculture Development, Fort Valley State University, Fort Valley, GA, will explain aquaculture.

Safe local food movements are no longer a passing fad as consumers avoid the dangers and fears associated with processed industrialized food. Any number of associated causes drives concerns about GMO plants, pesticides, and other chemicals. With many options and systems designs available for cost effective ways of safe food production, one system with unique opportunities is aquaponics.

As with most food production systems, there are twists and turns on systems and designs to approach the development and management of an aquaponics system. Ranging from small do-it-yourself systems to elaborate automated commercial designs, each of these systems requires Continue reading →

Roundup bred mutant pigweed

With GM crops come herbicides, which breed resistant weeds. This has happened in about a decade for the worse mutants. We can reverse the problem by reversing the spraying, using plowing, cultivation, and crop rotation instead.

Mark Jeschke wrote for Pioneer Dupont, Crop Insights: Weed Management in the Era of Glyphosate Resistance, Continue reading →

Proof Is in the Certification –Connie Hayes

Connie Hayes of Healthy Hollow Farms will speak at South Georgia Growing Local 2014,

How do we prove to customers that our products are free of genetically modified ingredients? while many homesteaders choose to be not certified or certified naturally grown, consumers are becoming more concerned with GMOs. We will offer practical tips for insuring consumers, as well as how to on certifications & non-GMO testing.

Here’s her conference bio:

Members of Coastal Organic Growers (COG), Connie & Jimmy Hayes own & operate Healthy Hollow Farms near Stilson, GA, which has been certified organic since 2007. They grow organic peanuts and raise Belted Galloway cattle. They are in the process of setting up an on-farm processing facility for their peanuts. Connie serves on the board of Georgia Organics and has trained under Jeffery Smith with The Institute for Responsible Technology to speak on GMOs.

Come to SOGALO2014 and hear Connie about getting certified organic!

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Roundup and gluten sensitivity

Likely effects of dousing 90+% of all corn, soybeans, peanuts, and cotton grown in Georgia (and elsewhere) in Roundup and other toxic chemicals, often drifting onto other people’s land, schools, shops, and churches. It’s not that hard to grow the same crops without those poisons and without the toxic seeds that require them; not that hard and more profitable.

Yes, I know Jeffrey M. Smith is not a biological scientist or medical doctor. But many of the sources he cites are.

Posted by MyScienceAcademy 29 November 2013, GMOs linked to gluten disorders plaguing 18 million Americans – report

The IRT release also indicated that glyphosate, a weed killer sold under the brand name ‘Roundup’ was also found to have a negative effect on intestinal bacteria. GMO crops contain high levels of the toxin at harvest.

“Even with minimal exposure, glyphosate can significantly reduce the population of beneficial gut bacteria and promote the overgrowth of harmful strains,” the report found.
Continue reading →

Science that’s proven safe by not the very same companies that stand to gain by its approval –Rachel Parent

14 year old Rachel Parent destroys a pro-Monsanto-GMO TV host on every point, from science to his ad hominem attacks against her. He twists, he turns, he avoids admitting when he’s defeated, and he loses bigtime. No summary can do this justice.

Mat Agorist posted for Realfarmacy.com 30 August 2013 about the CNBC Lang & O’Leary show of 31 July 2013, 14 Year Old, Rachel Parent, Anti-GMO Activist, Destroys Establishment Shill, Kevin O’Leary, On Air

Meet Rachel Parent, a 14 year old activist, who knows her stuff! This brave girl should serve as a role model for all teens. If 10 percent of children had this girl’s drive and knowledge, we wouldn’t even be having this debate right now.

In this video Ms. Parent braves the establishment hack, Kevin O’Leary, and does outstanding. O’Leary hammers out the industry talking points like the good shill he is and Ms. Parent slams each and every one. Bravo Rachel Parent, thanks for doing what you do.

If you like the work of Rachel Parent and want to help, please visit her website at http://www.gmo-news.com.

Here’s the video:

Continue reading →

Monsanto crops: same as and different from natural crops?

If Monsanto’s crops are indistinguishable from non-GMO, aren’t natural crops prior art invalidating MON’s patents?

Ethan A. Huff wrote for NaturalNews.com 26 June 2013, Monsanto hypocrisy: GMOs supposedly identical to natural crops on safety, but unique for patent enforcement,

The biotechnology industry has pulled a fast one with regards to the legitimacy of genetically-modified organisms (GMOs). Straddling both sides of the fence, multinational corporations like Monsanto continually claim that their GM monstrosities are “substantially equivalent” to natural crops when it comes to their safety. And yet at the very same time, this ilk also insists that its products are uniquely different from natural crops when it comes to enforcing its patents, a clearly hypocritical and duplicitous stance that proves the illegitimacy of the entire GMO business model.

On its corporate website, Monsanto clearly expresses its opinion that Continue reading →

USDA approves Non-GMO meat label

Now easier to vote at the checkout counter (or the farmers market), at least for non-GMO meat.

Stephanie Strom wrote for NYTimes 20 June 2013, U.S. Approves a Label for Meat From Animals Fed a Diet Free of Gene-Modified Products,

The Agriculture Department has approved a label for meat and liquid egg products that includes a claim about the absence of genetically engineered products.

It is the first time that the department, which regulates meat and poultry processing, has approved a non-G.M.O. label claim, which attests that meat certified by the Non-GMO Project came from animals that never ate feed containing genetically engineered ingredients like corn, soy and alfalfa.

Seen here.

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GM crops cause organ disruptions —multiple studies

It’s not just the pesticides, it’s the crops themselves.

Gilles-Eric Séralini and colleagues surveyed the state of research and found GMOs Linked to Organ Disruption in 19 Studies, as Jeffrey Smith reports for the Institute for Responsible Technology.

…consuming genetically modified (GM) corn or soybeans leads to significant organ disruptions in rats and mice, particularly in livers and kidneys. …9% of the measured parameters, including blood and urine biochemistry, organ weights, and microscopic analyses (histopathology), were significantly disrupted in the GM-fed animals. The kidneys of males fared the worst, with 43.5% of all the changes. The liver of females followed, with 30.8%. The report, published in Environmental Sciences Europe on March 1, 2011, confirms that “several convergent data appear to indicate liver and kidney problems as end points of GMO diet effects.” The authors point out that livers and kidneys “are the major reactive organs” in cases of chronic food toxicity.

And these were the corn and soybeans that people eat.

Here’s the study.

Why didn’t we know about this long ago? Continue reading →

Canopy Roads of South Georgia

Outside the city; off the main roads.