37 Reasons to Avoid Genetically Modified Foods

Disturbing new research published in the Journal of Applied Toxicology indicates that genetically modified (GM) crops with "stacked traits," that is, with multiple traits such as glyphosate-herbicide resistance and Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) insecticidal toxins engineered together into the same plant, are likely far more dangerous to human health than previously believed, due to their synergistic toxicity.

Resistance to glyphosate, the active ingredient in the herbicide Roundup, has been engineered into many GM plants, so that fields can be sprayed indiscriminately with herbicide without destroying the crops. While the GM glyphosate-resistant plants survive, they subsequently contain residues of glyphosate and its various metabolites (e.g. aminomethylphosphonic acid) that present a significant health threat to the public.

In this latest study the glyphosate-containing herbicide Roundup was tested on human embryonic kidney cells at concentrations between 1 to 20,000 parts per million (ppm). It was found that concentrations as low as 50 ppm per million, which the authors noted were "far below agricultural dilutions," induced cell death, with the 50% of the cells dying at 57.5 ppm.

The researchers also found that the insecticidal toxin produced by GM plants known as Cry1Ab was capable of causing cell death at 100 ppm concentrations.

Taken together the authors concluded "In these results, we argue that modified Bt toxins are not inert on nontarget human cells, and that they can present combined side-effects with other residues of pesticides specific to GM plants."

These disturbing findings follow on the heels of recent revelations that Roundup is several orders of magnitude more toxic than previously believed. Only 5 days ago (Feb. 14) the journal Archives of Toxicology reported that Roundup is toxic to human DNA even when diluted to concentrations 450-fold lower than used in agricultural applications. This effect is likely due to the presence of the surfactant polyoxyethyleneamine within the Roundup formulation which may dramatically enhance the absorption of glyphosate into exposed human cells and tissue.

For additional research on two dozen adverse health effects reported in the biomedical literature on Roundup, go here. Also, for research on the ubiquitous nature of glyphosate exposure, read our article on the subject here.

37 Reasons to Avoid Genetically Modified Foods
February 1, 2012
blacklistednews.com

By Kevin Hayden
TruthisTreason

The adulteration and modification of some of the planet’s most widely used crops has changed our food landscape. Chemicals, preservatives, genetic modification and low-cost substitutions and fillers have wrecked meals that were once healthy for us. Stepping inside of a grocery store nowadays, we find ourselves in a dangerous and toxic new world. The introduction of genetically modified organisms into the food supply in the 1990?s, coupled with rampant use of carcinogens such as aspartame, and substitutions like high fructose corn syrup, set the perfect stage to form a deadly concoction known as processed food. Sadly, this is what encompasses the average American diet.

Genetically modified foods are now found in approximately 80% of all food in a typical grocery store.

What Exactly is a GMO?

A GMO, or genetically modified organism, is the result of a laboratory process of taking genes from one species and inserting them into another in an attempt to obtain a desired trait or characteristic, hence they are also known as transgenic organisms. This process may be called either Genetic Engineering (GE) or Genetic Modification (GM); they are one and the same.

It’s Hard to Be Informed Without Labels!

In Germany and throughout the European Union, food products that contain GMOs must be properly labeled as such. As a result, there are few GM products on store shelves because, when made aware of their presence, consumers almost unanimously reject them. But what many people fail to realize, both in Europe and in the US, is that conventional livestock is often fed GM soy and corn, which ultimately ends up on store shelves in the form of conventional meat, milk, and eggs.

Furthermore, the development of genetically modified foods often comes from seed and chemical companies, such as Monsanto, the developer of Roundup Weed Killer. Monsanto inserts most GMOs with a bacterial gene which allows the plant to survive a normally deadly dose of Roundup herbicide. Although the spray doesn’t kill the plant, its active ingredient called glyphosate accumulates in the plant, and is then consumed by rats, livestock, and humans.

Roundup Ready, Chemicals, and Glyphosate

There is so much glyphosate in GM soybeans, that when they were introduced in Europe, countries had to increase their allowable residue levels by 200 fold.

In the Journal of Toxicology in Vitro, researchers found that Monsanto’s popular “weed killer,” known as Roundup, is capable of interfering with and/or harming the male reproductive system. (Dec., 2011)

Glyphosate is considered to be within safe, acceptable levels up to 10,000 ppm. What is more disturbing is that even at a lower, presumably “non toxic” and almost non existent concentration of 1 ppm of Roundup herbicide, testosterone concentrations were observed to decrease by 35%.

A German university study has found significant concentrations of glyphosate in the urine samples of city dwellers. The analysis of the urine samples found that all had concentrations of glyphosate at 5 to 20-fold the limit for drinking water. As well as being used increasingly widely in food production, glyphosate-based weedkillers often also get sprayed onto railway lines, urban pavements, and roadsides.

News of this study comes not long after the publication of a study confirming glyphosate was contaminating groundwater. Last year also saw the publication of two US Geological Survey studies which consistently found glyphosate in streams, rain and even air in agricultural areas of the US.

Genetically modified crops are causing a growing epidemic of “superweeds.” These massive weeds have evolved a resistance to glyphosate, a chemical used on GM crops. Stronger toxic chemicals and soil-eroding tillage operations are required in order to eliminate superweeds.

Furthermore, by increasing the need for stronger and more poisonous pesticides, Dow Chemical company is awaiting approval from the USDA for their new line of corn and soybeans resistant to 2, 4-D, a chemical related to Agent Orange.

Years ago, this same Agent Orange ingredient was suggested, but the USDA stated that glyphosate was much safer and effective. We now see super-weeds resistant to gylphosate and so the USDA is nearing a complete reversal on its earlier statements by approving 2, 4-D to be inserted into the genes of our food staples.

GMOS were initially promoted as a bio-technology to reduce pesticide usage, but GM crops in the US used 26 percent more pesticides, per acre, in 2008 than non-GMO crops, based on US Department of Agriculture (USDA) data.

Animal Studies and Further Reproductive Issues

In a Brazilian study, female rats fed GM soy for 15 months showed significant changes in their uterus and reproductive cycle, compared to rats fed organic soy or those raised without soy. (Published in The Anatomical Record in 2009)

In Haryana, India, a team of investigating veterinarians report that buffalo consuming GM cottonseed suffer from infertility, as well as frequent and spontaneous abortions, premature deliveries, and prolapsed uteruses.

A study of male rabbits showed that glyphosate can cause a reduction in sexual activity and sperm concentration, and an increase in dead or abnormal sperm.

… “As an example, it is now being discovered that pollen from genetically modified corn can kill monarch butterflies,” writes Ron Garner in his book Conscious Health.

A Cornell University study showed that monarch butterflies suffered higher mortality rates when consuming milkweed leaves dusted with the Bt toxin associated with GM crops.

Industry mouthpieces have long alleged that Monsanto’s Bt toxin, which is derived from a soil bacterium known as Bacillus thuringiensis, is harmless to humans. The built-in pesticide has been integrated into certain GM crops to ward off pests. Bt corn, for instance, has actually been designed to produce the toxin directly inside its kernels, which are later eaten by both livestock and humans. (http://www.naturalnews.com/026426_G…) -

In the recent study, researchers Aziz Aris and Samuel Leblanc evaluated 30 pregnant women and 39 non-pregnant women … researchers detected Monsanto’s Bt Cry1Ab toxin in a shocking 93 percent of maternal and 80 percent of fetal blood samples. And 69 percent of non-pregnant women tested positive for the toxin in their blood.

Organ Failure

In what is being described as the first ever and most comprehensive study of the effects of genetically modified foods on mammalian health, researchers have linked organ damage with consumption of Monsanto’s GM maize (corn):

“Three varieties of Monsanto’s GM corn – Mon 863, insecticide-producing Mon 810, and Roundup® herbicide-absorbing NK 603 – were approved for consumption by US, European and several other national food safety authorities… “Effects were mostly concentrated in kidney and liver function, the two major diet detoxification organs, but in detail differed with each GM type. In addition, some effects on heart, adrenal, spleen and blood cells were also frequently noted.

As there normally exists sex differences in liver and kidney metabolism, the highly statistically significant disturbances in the function of these organs, seen between male and female rats, cannot be dismissed as biologically insignificant as has been proposed by others.

We therefore conclude that our data strongly suggests that these GM maize varieties induce a state of hepatorenal toxicity….These substances have never before been an integral part of the human or animal diet and therefore their health consequences for those who consume them, especially over long time periods are currently unknown.”

In regards to consuming Bt and GMO corn:

US corn agriculture (almost exclusively genetically engineered) has been criticized as environmentally unsustainable and conspicuously subsidized by the Federal government. Of the 160 food products that can be purchased at a Wendy’s fast-food restaurant, not one item can be traced back to a non-corn source. (It’s hard to avoid corn ingredients and by-products, with high fructose corn syrup being the most common!)

When speaking about high fructose corn syrup, one must understand that due to the government subsidies and the huge lobbying firms who stand behind corn, it has now become the dominant ingredient in our food supply. Corn syrup is far cheaper to manufacture than real sugar and it is added to almost everything. Aside from the human body’s irregular, confused, and cancerous response to the unnatural high fructose corn syrup, it is mostly made from genetically modified corn supplies. Your bread, soft drinks, juices, processed meats, pastas, chips, desserts, and everything in between have countless forms of GMO corn and high fructose corn syrup.

See my other articles regarding the dangers of corn syrup here.

Agencies and Countries Condemning or Banning GMOs

The German government has banned the cultivation of genetically modified corn, calling it, “a danger to the environment.”

The World Trade Organization, as urged by the United States, Argentina and Canada, ruled in 2006 that banning genetically modified foods was against trade rules. However, Austria and Hungary went ahead with their bans, regardless. The trade rules have since been overturned and now allow member countries to develop their own policies.

The Polish government adopted a policy on GMO food in November 2008. It allows cultivating GMOs only in laboratories and bans GMO trade; it also opposes cultivation of genetically modified foods.

Ireland has banned the growing of GM crops, and a voluntary GM-free label can be placed on all animal products–such as meat, poultry, eggs, fish, crustaceans, and dairy–that are raised with GM-free feed, according to a GM-Free Ireland press release.

Sri Lanka has banned the importation of genetically modified foods, preservatives and additives.

“This decision shows the majority of Swiss do not want genetically modified food on their plates,” Marlyse Dormond, a member of Parliament who backed the ban, told Radio Suisse Romande.

Greece has extended a ban on a strain of genetically modified corn produced by U.S. agriculture biotechnology company Monsanto for another two years.

France banned GMO maize (corn) in February of 2008, invoking a so-called safeguard clause because of, “serious risks for the environment.”

The four regions of Tuscany, Molise, Lazio and Marche and around 25 provinces, cities and communes in Italy banned GE crops, including Rome, Milan, Turin, Brescia and Genoa. These are all democratically-taken decisions in local or regional councils and in the case of Tuscany, the result has been ratified by the national government.

Portugal has two regions, the Algarve region and the Madeira islands, that have declared themselves GMO-free. Additionally, 27 municipalities all over Portugal have passed GMO-free declarations.

Peru’s Congress overwhelmingly approved a 10-year moratorium on imports of genetically modified organisms in order to safeguard the country’s biodiversity.

The Environmental Protection Agency has recently found that Monsanto’s genetically modified corn, which was created to kill insects, may be losing its effectiveness against rootworms. Furthermore, the EPA stated “Monsanto’s program for monitoring suspected cases of resistance is ‘inadequate’”.

Genetically engineered agriculture is an extension of the current industrial-farming practices that have resulted in the loss of family farms and farmer livelihoods around the globe.

In recent years, India has seen an incredible surge in GM cotton farmer suicides. This is attributed to the GM cotton and repeated spraying of herbicides destroying the fertility of the soil and the micro-organisms that exist naturally, resulting in massive crop failures. Additionally, many farmers have bankrupted themselves by having to purchase new seed every year from the bio-tech companies due to implanted seed self-termination genes.

GMO crops are promoted as way to feed the world and mitigate hunger; however, numerous studies demonstrate that the GM crops do not produce higher yields as claimed. As one example, a USDA publication reports that “GM crops do not increase the yield potential.”

Monsanto, the world leader in genetically modified crops and seeds, has been named the worst company of 2011 by Natural Society — for “threatening both human health and the environment.”

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Kevin Hayden is a former New Orleans police officer-turned-political activist. He endured Hurricane Katrina’s chaos and societal collapse in the days following and after 5 years in New Orleans, moved to Oklahoma. Kevin currently runs www.TruthisTreason.net and works on local politics and education about our monetary, food, and foreign policies while building an off-grid homestead and helping people become prepared. He can be contacted directly at Contact@TruthisTreason.net

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Informed consent is one of the most basic aspects of patient-physician relations, as well as subject-researcher relations in the case of research. This involves making the patient aware of and verifying that they understand the risks, benefits, facts, and the future implications of the procedure or test they are going to be subjected to.

In the case of genetically modified organisms we have not been made aware of the risks. In fact, the GMO industry has deliberately hidden the real dangers behind the seeds and herbicides they peddle.

The Food and Drug Administration of the United States of America has defined informed consent in the following bureaucratic jargon:

Except as provided in 50.23 and 50.24, no investigator may involve a human being as a subject in research covered by these regulations unless the investigator has obtained the legally effective informed consent of the subject or the subject's legally authorized representative. An investigator shall seek such consent only under circumstances that provide the prospective subject or the representative sufficient opportunity to consider whether or not to participate and that minimize the possibility of coercion or undue influence. The information that is given to the subject or the representative shall be in language understandable to the subject or the representative. No informed consent, whether oral or written, may include any exculpatory language through which the subject or the representative is made to waive or appear to waive any of the subject's legal rights, or releases or appears to release the investigator, the sponsor, the institution, or its agents from liability for negligence.

Under all of these definitions, including the exceptions which you can peruse at the above linked official website, what Monsanto is doing with GM crops and their Roundup products are ethically wrong and illegal.

Some might say, "So what? It doesn't matter since genetically modified products are perfectly safe! Why would I care, if it helps farmers, and it is safe, then what is wrong with doing it without informed consent?"

Well, so many people disagree that after much argumentation, the United States was forced to drop their opposition to the labeling of products that have genetically modified ingredients. Unfortunately, this step forward was a very small one, as this is completely voluntary. Since many consumers do not want to eat these products, it is almost guaranteed that we won't see them on the ingredient list on our food labels any time soon.

This would be quite hilarious if it wasn't so dangerous: the new "guidance" approved by the Codex Alimentarius Commission simply

"allows countries to label genetically modified foods without [breaching] international free trade laws."

That is, of course, unless the people of America start realizing the real dangers that these products pose and demand that all companies be legally required to identify if any ingredients were genetically modified anywhere along the line of production.

This means that if corn was grown from a Monsanto GM seed, the producer would be forced to identify that the corn is indeed genetically modified on the label.

Are there real health risks, or is this just a bunch of hype attempting to defame the good name of the multinational giant known as Monsanto?

In this article we will review the scientific findings and compare them to what we are told by the media and government about the total safety of these products.

In a report published in June 2011 in Earth Open Source, written by several professors and researchers from across the world entitled,' Roundup and birth defects: Is the public being kept in the dark?' significant evidence is presented showing that the best-selling herbicide Roundup is indeed linked with birth defects.

Roundup, a product of Monsanto, is comprised mostly of the isopropylamine salt of glyphosate, which is the most used herbicidal chemical in America. Monsanto's Roundup has been outselling every other herbicide worldwide since four years after its introduction to the market in 1976. For those who are not familiar with the history of Monsanto and their Roundup product, I highly recommend the documentary entitled The World According to Monsanto.

Roundup is far from the only dangerous GM product, as you will see as this article continues.

So what exactly are the dangers of Roundup? Should you be worried about your food source using it or using "Roundup" ready genetically modified seeds?

To put it simply: yes, in fact you should be very concerned and this article will lay it out so anyone can understand exactly why we need to get active and fight back against the monster that is Monsanto and the gargantuan genetically modified organism market.

First I must describe what a "Roundup ready" genetically modified crop entails. The GM plant has been specially engineered to be able to handle the incredibly toxic herbicide Roundup. It does not resist the herbicide but instead it has been modified so it can uptake the poison and still live. The Roundup then makes its way into your system, and anyone will tell you that eating a ton of glyphosate is not a good idea.

Roundup is not backed by any impartial, independent, rigorous scientific research. The studies used to back up the claims of governments around the world and especially in the EU are unpublished industry studies.

The real research shows a very different picture.

In 2002, a scientific research paper was published in Chemical Research in Toxicology, a publication of the American Chemical Society, entitled 'Pesticide Roundup Provokes Cell Division Dysfunction at the Level of CDK1/Cyclin B Activation'. This bombshell paper reveals the real inherent dangers of the world's most popular systemic herbicide.

The model they used to test the effects of the glyphosate based Roundup was an embryonic sea urchin in the first cell divisions after successful fertilization. This is suitable for an analog study (meaning that it can be applied to human cell division) because these first divisions represent the universal cell cycle regulation.

They found that a solution containing just 8 mM (millimolar, or 8/1000 moles) of glyphosate "induces a delay in the kinetic of the first cell cleavage of the sea urchin embryos." This means that the initial cell division, which starts with cleavage of the single cell zygote is delayed, something which could prove destructive in human beings.

Anyone who has taken a biology course can tell you that the human reproductive cycle is a beautiful, finely tuned, and remarkably elegant system. When this system is upset, say by toxins in the mother's blood, the results are not pretty.

They further reveal, "The delay in the cell cycle could be induced using increasing glyphosate concentrations (1-10 mM) in the presence of a subthreshold concentration of Roundup 0.2%, while glyphosate alone was ineffective, thus indicating synergy between glyphosate and Roundup formulation products." While the effects of the toxin were "not lethal," it still induced "a delay into M-phase of the cell cycle."

CDK1 and cyclin B universally regulate the cell's M-phase, and Roundup delayed the activation of these compounds in vivo. Furthermore, "Roundup inhibited also the global protein synthetic rate" and "affects cell cycle regulation by delaying activation of the CDK1/cyclin B complex" which leads to the ominous conclusion: "our results question the safety of glyphosate and Roundup on human health."

Why is this not headline news? Why are the people of the world not up in arms about these toxins being present in our foods, possibly affecting the embryonic development of our children?

Shockingly, this is not the only scientific study published in the prestigious journal Chemical Research in Toxicology. In 2009, two French researchers at the University of Caen in France out of the Laboratory for Estrogens and Reproduction in the Institute of Biology published 'Glyphosate Formulations Induce Apoptosis and Necrosis in Human Umbilical, Embryonic, and Placental Cells.'

For those unfamiliar with the terms, Apoptosis is the natural process of programmed cell death that allows human fetuses to develop fingers, toes and other features. This is distinct from necrosis because the cells break up into fragments that are easily consumed by phagocytic cells (cells that consume other cells) which quickly remove the dead cell fragments before they can cause damage to surrounding cells.

Necrosis, on the other hand, is the premature death of living cells and living tissues, which is not naturally occurring and necessary process like apoptosis. Unlike the vital process of apoptosis, necrosis can prove fatal. Necrotic tissues are not consumed by the phagocytic cells, which means that the tissues usually have to be "debrided" which is the surgical removal of the necrotic tissue.

If you want to witness the effects of necrosis and have a strong stomach, you might want to search for images of necrosis online; although I must emphasize that you should have a strong stomach before viewing these images.

This study was especially conservative, evaluating the toxicity of four different glyphosate-based herbicides in Monsanto's Roundup products in solutions diluted 100,000 times. This is clearly far below the level at which it is used in agricultural applications, which therefore corresponds to the low levels detected in food for human consumptions as well as animal feeds.

To make the study even more scientifically rigorous, they tested it on three distinct human cell types, embryonic, placental, and umbilical as well as testing both glyphosate alone and the Roundup formula.

Unlike glyphosate alone, all of the heavily diluted Roundup formations caused total cell death within twenty four hours through necrosis. It was also found that Roundup induces apoptosis, causing DNA fragmentation, shrinkage of the nucleus, and fragmentation of the nucleus.

As I briefly outlined above, apoptosis is a necessary part of the human development process, however, when it is artificially induced, danger arises.

While Roundup induced complete cell death, glyphosate alone induced only apoptosis. They found conclusive evidence that the Roundup adjuvants (an agent that modifies the behavior and activity of another agent, while having few effects on its own) change the permeability of the three human cells studied.

This amplifies the toxicity already induced via glyphosate, proving that the adjuvants in Roundup are not inert.

They conclude the abstract of the paper with the following ominous sentence,

"Moreover, the proprietary mixtures available on the market could cause cell damage and even death around residual levels to be expected, especially in food and feed derived from [Roundup] formulation-treated crops."

Now that you know the horrors of Roundup and the inherent dangers of this systemic herbicide, would you like to eat it? I doubt it. If you don't like the idea of consuming this necrosis-inducing toxin, you must know what contains the poison and what does not.

Unfortunately, without proper labeling practices, you cannot be sure unless you buy all of your food from farmers you know and trust and/or have a home garden that can sustain you.

Until these practices are put in place, I highly recommend that you seek out as much locally grown organic food as humanly possible. Inform your friends and family about the real dangers of Roundup and the hard science this is based upon.

When more people around the world start demanding that their food be properly labeled with warnings just like cigarettes or alcohol, some real change can occur. If we continue to sit back and hope our governments will actually represent us instead of their corporate interests, we will continue to be subjected to the largest human experiment in history, in which you never have to give informed consent.

In part two we will explore some of the newest research, including some of the details revealed in the study published in June of this year. If you would like me to cover something specific regarding GMOs or have some research and links to share, please do not hesitate to contact me at: admin@endthelie.com I would highly appreciate your contribution.

Black Salve Indonesia

Information About
Reasons to Avoid Genetically Modified Foods

New Research: GMO Food Far Worse Than We Think

The Worlds Largest Human Experiment: GMOs, Roundup, and the Monsanto Monstrosity

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Black Salve Indonesia

Information About Reasons to Avoid Genetically Modified Foods

New Research: GMO Food Far Worse Than We Think

The Worlds Largest Human Experiment: GMOs, Roundup, and the Monsanto Monstrosity

Information About
Reasons to Avoid Genetically Modified Foods