Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) are, to my way of thinking, a massive-scale, scary ?science project.? A Create Vibrant Health? community member recently sent me a link to an article outlining that Monsanto?s Roundup-ready crops have been linked to autism, Parkinson?s, and Alzheimer?s. Another member sent me THIS LINK which clearly outlines the devastation inherent in the exciting endeavor of GMO TREES. (Seriously!?!) I am thrilled that some of this fantabulous community is aware of what should register as a top concern on any human being?s ?this needs to change? list. But sadly, many, many people are not even AWARE that the genetic modification of foods (grain & produce crops), trees, animals (salmon and pigs) is going on?much less why they should be deeply concerned about it.
The effects of GMOs are far-reaching, profoundly frightening and, in my opinion, are a top threat to the survival of the human race. I?m serious. This stuff scares the pants off me. Actually, I?m not sure which is more pant-scaring. One, the fact that a relatively tiny group of people are quietly going about genetically modifying our food & environment, creating far-reaching, non-reversible, quickly-spreading human-created genetic mutations (whew! that was a lot of adjectives), while the other 99.9x percent of the people, who aren?t involved in making that happen, are guinea pigs in the experiment. Two, that a company like Monsanto has such a ridiculous amount of power, both financially and politically, that it can continue to do whatever it pleases to maximize profits while our world, and everything in it, is altered. Okay, I?ll stop talking about scary, for a minute, and share some facts with you. Probably more educational than talking about my pants, and whether they are on or not.
A GMO 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. Read: messing with Mother Nature. The foreign genes may come from bacteria, viruses, insects, animals or even humans. First introduced into the food supply in the mid-1990s, GMOs are now present in the vast majority of processed foods in the US.
Now, Europe and many countries have banned GMOs from their food supplies, but, in the great country of America, the FDA does not even require the labeling of GMOs in food ingredient lists. Friends, 237 years ago, those that drafted The Declaration of Independence stated that we had the right to pursue ?Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.? The collateral damage that is coming from the proliferation of GMOs clearly violates all three of those rights. And, although there have been attempts to increase nutritional benefits or productivity in plant foods via GMO science, the two main traits that have been added to date are pesticide tolerance and the ability of the plant to produce its own pesticide. These results have no health benefit, only economic benefit. And, I don?t know about you, but the idea of changing the DNA of a great plant like a tomato so that it inherently contains chemicals that kill living things (of which we are one)?.um, need I say more? WHY WOULD WE WANT TO EAT THAT!?!! Couldn?t help myself, I had to say more.
Currently commercialized GMO crops in the U.S. include soy (94% of soy is GMO), cotton (90%), canola (90%), sugar beets (95%), corn (88%), Hawaiian papaya (more than 50%), zucchini and yellow squash (over 24,000 acres). Products derived from these crops, including?oils from the first four, soy protein, soy lecithin, cornstarch, corn syrup and high fructose corn syrup, among others?have completely infiltrated our processed ?food? supply. There are also many “invisible ingredients,” derived from GMO crops that are not obviously from corn or soy. And, of course, all of the industrially-farmed livestock EATS all of this mutated junk, making their milk, eggs, and meat tainted. Not cool.
Genetically modified foods have been linked to toxic and allergic reactions; sick, sterile, and dead livestock; and damage to virtually every organ studied in lab animals. HUGE tumors in lab animals?like, one-quarter the size of the animal itself?and, many of them are tumors of the mammary glands. Hmmm. You folks all up-to-date on the alarming increased incidence of breast cancer in the U.S.? Makes you wonder. And, farmers in India, who let their sheep graze on GMO cotton plants after the harvest, saw thousands of sheep die!
Well, that?s not so bad?, you might say, ?because eventually we can get regulations passed to control all of this creepiness.? Well, here?s the problem. Pollen from GMO crops contaminate nearby non-GMO crops of the same type (except for soy, which does not cross-pollinate). In fact, virtually all heritage varieties of corn in Mexico (the origin of all corn) have been found to have some contamination. Canola and cotton also cross-pollinate. The long-term effects on the environment could be disastrous. It?s like spilling hundreds of thousands of gallons of oil into Prince William Sound and then trying to clean it up (but much, much worse). Already dispersed. Largely irreversible. Back to the pant-scaring.
I would suggest that this needs to stop, now. Please see the activist organizations below, in the first two links provided. I would also suggest that, as a personal measure, you begin to educate yourself about where, in our food supply, these GMO foods and products are most heavily concentrated, by utilizing the third link. We need to care about this folks, and work to change the tide.
Creating vibrant health is a process, not a prescription?that includes our planet & food supply too!
With love & illumination,
Laurie
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