Many if not most pesticides are sprayed on crops genetically modified
to resist them. Ban GM crops and reduce spraying. Two states in Mexico
prove it can be done. Mexico, the country where corn was originally
domesticated could lead the way back to healthy agriculture.
The Mexican States of Tlaxcala and Michoacán each passed legislation
banning the planting of genetically modified corn to protect natural
plants from further contamination of transgenes. Together, both states
produce about a third of all of Mexico’s corn. Below this story is a
detailed timeline of genetic contamination and legislation in Mexico.
The timeline is a long saga including intimidation of scientists
attempting to research the problem.
The Mexican federal government caved in to big agro,
but two Mexican states are fighting back anyway.
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 is peer-reviewed evidence that we are the guinea pigs
for worldwide experimentation on the food supply
using fatally-flawed science.
Experimentation that isn’t needed because we already know how to do it right.
…the technology is based on obsolete science, that biotechnology
companies such as Monsanto have too much influence on government
regulators and “public” universities, and that university scientists
are ignoring the health and environmental risks of GM crops.
The research is published as two papers by Don Lotter in the
International Journal of the Sociology of Agriculture and Food:
Some people didn’t like the source of a recent post about
the toxic effects of agrochemicals and GM plants on the environment,
plants, animals, and people.
There are plenty of other sources, including:
Especially
vote at the checkout counter.
If you don’t know it’s local and non-GMO, don’t buy it.
There may be no labelling laws, but local supermarkets know what’s local.
Multibillion-dollar agricultural corporations, including Monsanto and
Syngenta, have restricted independent research on their genetically
engineered crops. They have often refused to provide independent
scientists with seeds, or they’ve set restrictive conditions that severely
limit research options.
In case you wondered why all the research seems to come from other countries,
such as Argentina and France, as shown in this
documentary from Germany?
Well, now you know.
Camano Island is NW of Everett, Washington, and this article is from 2002,
responding to an article in the local paper there. -jsq
Commentary
A Call for Skepticism
by Steven K. Roberts
Camano Island
If ever we needed a demonstration that the fundamental flaw in many
arguments is a lack of discrimination regarding information sources,
we have it in the Nels Konnerup article, “Toxicology 101 Defended,”
in the March 26 issue of the S/C News.
The author makes a “plea for cogent thought, rather than a visceral
reaction to the use of pesticides and herbicides,” and cites a number of
references “authored by highly qualified and respected scientists.” So
far, so good.
But just for fun, I spent a few minutes researching some of these sources
to see if I could determine the affiliations and biases of their authors.
The documentary points out many products in German stores that
include GM soy.
In Argentina, it’s even worse, with increasing numbers of birth defects.
They interview
Prof. Andrés Carrasco about his research on amphibians:
“The hemispheres do not separate, like you can see here.
If you look closely you can see one brain.
Glyphosate can cause this kind of mechanisms, for it is an enzymatic toxin.”
“To human cells glyphosate is already toxic in a very low dose.
A farmer uses a much higher dose on the field.
Roundup is even more toxic than glysophate,
for that is only one of the ingredients in Roundup.”
Roundup says none of this applies to humans and Roundup is safe.
Seralini
says:
Who should you believe?
A corporation repeatedly convicted of deception,
or scientists who say that GM crops
cause liver and kidney damage in animals,
according to research using Monsanto’s own data.
The first economic analysis of growing genetically modified crops on a wide scale has found that the biggest winners were the farmers who decided not to grow them.
The study, which looked at maize yields in the corn belt of the United States, found that farmers who continued to grow conventional crops actually earned more money over a 14-year period than those who cultivated GM varieties.
The article then tries to say they nonetheless benefited from genetic modification:
All farmers benefited from the significantly lower level of pests that came about after the introduction of GM maize to the US in 1996, but the conventional farmers who continued to cultivate non-GM varieties also benefited financially from not having to pay the extra costs of purchasing GM seeds.
Um, what about not having to pay for the pesticides that go with the GM seeds?
The study’s author admits they didn’t study that sort of thing:
“Additionally, environmental
benefits from corn borer suppression are likely occurring, such as less insecticide use, but these benefits have yet to be documented,” Dr Hutchinson said.
The Telegraph spelled his name wrong. This appears to be the actual report:
Areawide Suppression of European Corn Borer with Bt Maize Reaps Savings to Non-Bt Maize Growers
W. D. Hutchison, E. C. Burkness, P. D. Mitchell, R. D. Moon, T. W. Leslie, S. J. Fleischer, M. Abrahamson, K. L. Hamilton, K. L. Steffey, M. E. Gray, R. L. Hellmich, L. V. Kaster, T. E. Hunt, R. J. Wright, K. Pecinovsky, T. L. Rabaey, B. R. Flood, and E. S. Raun (8 October 2010)
Science 330 (6001), 222. [DOI: 10.1126/science.1190242]
The full text is behind a paywall, but
the abstract
concludes with:
…and highlight economic incentives for growers to maintain non-Bt maize refugia for sustainable insect resistance management.
So growing 98% of crops from GM seeds, as is the case in Georgia,
is a bad idea.
OMAHA, Neb., May 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Hunt’s®, a ConAgra Foods brand, is pleased to announce that it has removed the high fructose corn syrup from every bottle of its ketchup products. Hunt’s 100% Natural Ketchup brings forth the naturally rich tomato flavor of Hunt’s tomatoes and contains only five simple ingredients: tomatoes, sugar, vinegar, salt and other seasonings, with no high fructose corn syrup, artificial ingredients or preservatives.
“In direct response to consumer demand(1), Hunt’s is pleased to offer ketchup sweetened with sugar and containing only five simple ingredients,” said Ryan Toreson, Hunt’s Ketchup brand manager. “Parents are looking for wholesome meals and ingredients they recognize—and the taste of Hunt’s ketchup is something both kids and adults love. Even with the new recipe, we have maintained the same great tangy, sweet taste that Hunt’s has always had and that consumers tell us they prefer.”
“When rats are drinking high-fructose corn syrup at levels well below those in soda pop, they’re becoming obese — every single one, across the board. Even when rats are fed a high-fat diet, you don’t see this; they don’t all gain extra weight.”
So a corporation that doesn’t care about science that says a key ingredient
in their product makes rats fat, every one of them, in ways that produce
the same risk factors that in humans contribute to high blood pressure,
coronary artery disease, cancer, and diabetes, that same corporation does
care when its customers say they don’t want that ingredient.
As ConAgra says in the press release:
(1) The 2009 HealthFocus® Trend Report indicated consumer concern over high fructose corn syrup has risen from 27% of shoppers being extremely or very concerned in 2004 to 45% of shoppers in 2008.
The Mexican States of Tlaxcala and Michoacán each passed legislation banning the planting of genetically modified corn to protect natural plants from further contamination of transgenes. Together, both states produce about a third of all of Mexico’s corn. Below this story is a detailed timeline of genetic contamination and legislation in Mexico.
Some people didn’t like the source of a recent post about
the toxic effects of agrochemicals and GM plants on the environment,
plants, animals, and people.
There are plenty of other sources, including:
