New Info on Hidden Hazards of Genetically Modified Foods

There are many controversial questions surrounding the use of genetically modified crops and foods, also known as GM foods, GE foods, Nano-foods, Frankenfoods, etc. You may not agree with my opinions, but you should probably at least be informed of the issues.

On Earth Day, April 22nd, there will be a lot of hype regarding global warming and global carbon taxes as a possible remedy. Much of the data, however, regarding “Climategate” has been exposed as false. In December 2009 Lord Christopher Monckton named names, revealing that global governance, rather than protecting the Earth, has been one of the main underlying agendas. This past week Monckton was on the stump again. Unlike Climategate, there has not been any outright fraud implicated in the data regarding the hazards of GM crops. Quite the opposite, the fraud and corruption have been convincingly on the side of covering up this information.

The GMO Issue is a Cross-Platform Grassroots Issue
 

If you are not familiar with the hazards of GM foods, don’t be surprised. The mainstream media has done worse than just drop the ball on the issue. In a 2003 appeals court, Fox News won a verdict against its former journalist Jane Akre, after firing her for her conscientious objection about lying, regarding the hazards of Monsanto’s bovine (cow) growth hormone. The court held that Fox News had no obligation to report truthfully, and the First Amendment protects their right to deceive the public. Due to the cronyism between big business, the government and the media, awareness of GM hazards is being raised mainly through grassroots sources, including independent media, the Internet, and bloggers.

As a Christian, I find it disappointing to walk into health food stores and, more often than not, find that the main message presented is that the New Age worldview is supposedly the only health conscious one. While it's true Christians consider the spiritual life as more important than the physical life (1 Timothy 4.8), Jesus showed that our bodies are living temples and that we are to be good stewards of these temples (1 Corinthians 6.19). Whether you are a Scientologist, a Seventh Day Adventist or a complete spiritual skeptic, you'll probably find GM health hazards to be personally relevant. It's also a cross-platform issue politically. You don’t have to be a liberal, a Greenpeace activist or a “tree-hugger” to be health conscious and informed. Beginning January 1, 2010, various articles at indie-news portals, such as Food Freedom, went viral showing “Three Approved GMOs Linked to Organ Damage,” based on a report in the International Journal of Biological Sciences. You can help raise awareness by informing your friends and family of these issues, even if the mainstream media won't.

Are You a Geneticly Modified Organism?

Dr. Joseph Mercola and Jeffrey Smith offer valuable data on the subject, such as an article posted April 3, 2010, entitled: “Engineered Poison Lurking in Your Everyday Food? Dr Mercola interviews Jeffrey Smith.” The article highlighted the only published study to date related to genetically modified foods and living human beings. The British funded experiment, including seven volunteers who ate GM soy, showed that GM foods could actually set up a small genetic factory inside your system, which reproduces unnatural chemicals, perhaps for the duration of your life. And so it’s not so much a question of “Do you eat genetically modified foods?” but “Are you a genetically modified organism?” In three of the seven volunteers, the active gene of the soy was transferred from the soy into the DNA of the intestinal bacteria of the test subjects and continued to function long after they stopped eating the soy. There is both a video and a PDF transcript available of the interview at the above link. Jeffrey Smith’s book Genetic Roulette delves into the health issues of genetically modified foods. 

Like cigarette smoking, the effects of GM crops seem to be gradual but serious. Like the smoking issue, there seems to have been a cover-up of the dangers, as shown in film "The Insider," based on the true story of big tobacco corruption. A recent study in Russia showed that hampsters fed GM soy become infertile after three generations. As noted, "By the third generation, most GM soy-fed hamsters lost the ability to have babies. They also suffered slower growth, and a high mortality rate among the pups." The study, jointly conducted by Surov's Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the National Association for Gene Security, is due for publication in July 2010. I suppose this is one way for globalists to reduce the world's population.

Increased Cancer Risks

Samuel Epstein, M.D., Chairman of the Cancer Prevention Coalition, has written a concise article on the hazards of genetically engineered milk, entitled, "Milk: America's Health Problem." Epstein warned of the cancer risks back in 1996 in the International Journal of Health Sciences, related to the high levels of IGF-1 contained in milk from cows injected with synthetic bovine growth hormone (rBGH). A litany of research reports from a variety of sources have confirmed the growth hormone cancer connections, including a 1990 Stanford University study, related to various cancers, and a January 23, 1998 Harvard Medical School study, related to prostate cancer, as well as two studies in the May 9, 1998 LANCET journal, linking bovine growth hormones to women's breast cancer. The Canadian government banned rBGH in early 1999, due to a report released in 1998 by their government scientists showing that rBGH in the prostate of the rats as well as thyroid cysts indicated potential cancer hazards from the drug. The European Union has had a continuous ban on GE milk since 1994.

Increasing Food Allergies

I used to joke with my Ukrainian wife that she was allergic to the United States because when we visited she would come down with continuous allergic reactions. She would have itching, red, running eyes and a running sinus condition. This time, however, she realized she didn't need any allergy pills. What was the main difference? We began eating organic foods in the US. An MSNBC article dated March 26, 2010 shows “From 1997 to 2007, the number of children with food allergies rose 18 percent, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.” The article, however, failed to suggest any possible connection with the introduction of GM foods in the 1990s. Scientific research, however, such as a 2005 study by Australian CSIRO, revealed the adverse effects of GM peas on mice: "The injected mice showed a hypersensitive skin response, while the airway-exposed mice developed airway inflammation and mild lung damage." This same allergic reaction may occur in humans: "...once the bean gene was in the pea plant, it not only repelled the weevil, but also produced a protein that caused an allergic response in mice--and could potentially cause allergies in humans." These types of tests, which revealed allergic responses, are not required by the regulatory agencies of most countries, including the US.

Global GM Production and the Labeling Issue

According to a list in USA Today article "Genetically modified foods get U.S. traction, global debate," dated April 17, 2010, the United States has the largest GM crop complex in the world, at 158.1 million acres. An estimated 60% of the foods in the US are tainted with GM ingredients in products, which are not labeled as such. A majority of Americans desire the labeling of GM foods in supermarkets but there is a question as to whether this will ever occur. While Fox News may have a constitutional right to lie, it seems, people should have a constitutional right to see labels of food showing harmful ingredients.

Back in 1999, the Union of Concerned Scientists posted a list of foods tested positive for GMOs, which you may have been eating all along as an American. Monsanto is coming out with a new food corn this year in the US and Canada named Genuity SmartStax corn. It has not one but eight abnormal gene traits, which will likely find their way into many foods as additives. See article “Health Scandal of the Decade – Monsanto’s GMO Perversion of Food” for details. Europe and many other countries are largely GM food free or at a minimum require food labeling. Ukraine recently required the labeling of GM foods but most food companies are not voluntarily following suit. After a twelve-year moratorium on GM crops, on March 2, 2010, the EU allowed its first non-food GM crop through company BASF, a partner of Monsanto. Also in March 2010 the Business Mirror announced that China approved its first GM food crop for human consumption, "Bt" rice. 

Hazards to the Environment as Well as Your Body

Crops using genetically modified seeds are immune to insecticides and herbicides, therefore increased doses of these poisons are added. Studies have shown GM crops are much worse for the environment than traditional ones and are implicated in the worldwide collapse of bee populations, for example. A report dated March 30, 2010 entitled “Scientists stumped as bee population declines further,” links the historic and increasing worldwide bee declines with increased pesticide use. At least as far back as 2007, independent studies linked these declines to GM crops. See article “Requiem for the Honeybee.” For a comprehensive understanding of GMO hazards, web-article “50 Harmful Effects of Genetically Modified Foods,” by Nathan Batalion, ND, is recommended.

The American Academy of Environmental Medicine issued a warning statement May 8, 2009 stating in part,

"Animal studies also show altered structure and function of the liver, including altered lipid and carbohydrate metabolism as well as cellular changes that could lead to accelerated aging and possibly lead to the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). ^7,8,10 Changes in the kidney, pancreas and spleen have also been documented. ^6,8,10 A recent 2008 study links GM corn with infertility, showing a significant decrease in offspring over time and significantly lower litter weight in mice fed GM corn.⁸ This study also found that over 400 genes were found to be expressed differently in the mice fed GM corn. These are genes known to control protein synthesis and modification, cell signaling, cholesterol synthesis, and insulin regulation. Studies also show intestinal damage in animals fed GM foods, including proliferative cell growth9 and disruption of the intestinal immune system.^6"

They have also called for "...a moratorium on GM food, implementation of immediate long term independent safety testing."

Health and Spirituality

Before I was living as a dedicated Christian, I found that smoking wasn’t a big problem for me. I didn’t really care if I lived a few days or even a few years longer. But once I became a dedicated believer I found that I wanted to respect this temple of the Holy Spirit, which God had entrusted to me 

(Revised February 21, 2012)

Photo authorized by Old American Century website