If the need to halt GMOs were not urgent
enough, this article should scare the pants off you. Here we glimpse
some of the potentials for the unabated and bizarre proliferation of
GMOs. Some of these developments you will already know about
(hopefully), but some will come as a surprise. As I see it we are now at
a crossroads where we can still dismantle this dangerous and perverted
manipulation of the very fabric of life, the sacred code of nature,
which will undoubtedly affect each and every one of us in profound ways
now and in the future.
Here we are reminded that the fight
against GMOs and to save organics is not just a battle for what we knew
yesterday, which is bad enough. It is a fight against the future of the
GE movement and the unlikely and increasingly creepy, scary, and
deranged turns it will likely take. Just today I read elsewhere that 35
species of fish, in addition to salmon, are slotted to be genetically
engineered for various traits. I am not going to preview the highlights
of what is below, but maybe you too will be left wondering, “What will
they think of next?”
I hope we never have to find out. We have
to stop this now before we and future generations have to be
genetically engineered, RoundUp and 2,4-D Ready at the least perhaps, to
withstand the onslaught of the weird stuff being channelled into our
food supply and into our environment. If you haven’t already, perhaps
after reading this article you will be more ready to take a real stand
against GMOs by enacting the 11 Simple Steps to Eradicate GMOs and join
our GMO Eradication Movement.
Now put down that bowl of GMO corn chowder, buckle your seatbelts,
clear you ears and clean off your eyeglasses for the list of 20 GMOs
coming soon and already arrived to supermarket shelves near you.
Good luck distinguishing these Frankenfoods from real, natural food as they flood our supermarkets.
Genetically altered to withstand heavy applications of toxic chemicals, resist disease or contain more nutrients, so-called “Frankenfoods”
are appearing on supermarket shelves at a rapid rate. Currently,
genetically modified (GM) corn and soy can be found in many processed
foods, and the produce section may contain GM zucchini, corn on the cob
and papaya. But beyond those that have already been approved for human
consumption, many more GMOs are on the way – and they probably won’t be labeled.
These 20 crops and animal products include both those that are already
available (whether we like it or not) and some that are still in
development, like cows that produce human breast milk.
Corn
If you eat any kind of processed food on a
regular basis – tortilla chips, cereal, granola bars – chances are, you
consume genetically modified corn. The Center for Food Safety estimates
that over 70% of the processed foods in American grocery stores contain
genetically modified corn or soy. Corn is altered to contain proteins
that kill insects that eat them, so they effectively produce their own
pesticides.
Rice
Rice plants are often modified to
be resistant to herbicides and pests, to increase grain size and to
generate nutrients that don’t exist in the grain naturally. Varieties
include Bayer’s herbicide-resistant “LibertyLink” rice, vitamin
A-infused “golden rice” and the bizarre Ventria Bioscience “Express Tec”
rice, which has been altered to contain human proteins naturally found
in breast milk. The latter is used globally in infant formula.
Tomatoes
Among the first foods to be genetically
altered, GM tomatoes have been developed to be unnaturally high in
anti-oxidants, to have more intense flavor and to stay fresh longer.
While there are not currently any genetically modified tomatoes on
store shelves, they’re being used extensively by scientists to study the
function of genes that are naturally present in the plants.
Soybeans
The most common genetically engineered
food of all is the soybean. Since 1996, scientists have been creating
varieties of soybeans that are resistant to both pests and herbicides,
and they wind up in places you’d least expect them, like candy bars. A
new GM soybean with higher levels of healthy oils was approved by the
USDA in 2010; chemical companies DuPont and Monsanto are both working on their own versions of the biotech bean.
Cotton
We don’t think of cotton as a food, and
technically it isn’t – but we still end up eating it. Cotton isn’t
classified as a food crop, so farmers can use any chemicals they want
when growing it. That means cottonseed oil, which is present in products
like mayonnaise and salad dressing, can be packed full of pesticides.
Along with soy, corn and canola, cotton grown for oil extraction is one
of the most frequently genetically modified crops in the world.
Canola Oil
Canola, a cultivar of rapeseed, produces
one of the most commonly consumed food oils, and it’s one of America’s
biggest cash crops. What you may not know is that canola stands for
“Canadian oil, low acid,” referring to a variety of rapeseed developed
in the 1970s. 80% of the acres of canola sown in the U.S. are
genetically modified, and a 2010 study in North Dakota found that the
modified genes of these plants have spread to 80% of wild natural rapeseed plants.
Sugar Beets
Despite the fact that an environmental impact study has yet to be completed, the USDA has announced that
farmers may now plant Monsanto’s Roundup Ready sugar beets, which have
been altered to withstand the company’s herbicide. This decision comes
despite a 2010 court order that prohibited planting the GMO beets until
the study was performed. Sugar beets provide about half of America’s
sugar.
Salmon
Salmon may become the first genetically modified animal to be approved for direct human consumption. The FDA has decided that
a variety of GM salmon that grow twice as fast as their natural,
un-modified peers is both safe to eat and safe for the environment.
“We’re looking here at a scenario where
the fish might wind up sooner or later in the ocean,” Brian Ellis, plant
biotechnologist at the University of British Columbia Vancouver, told
Discovery News. “I think if we go down this route, we have to be
prepared to accept some potentially unknown consequences.”
Sugar Cane
Providing the other half of America’s
precious sugar, sugar cane is set to debut on our shelves in genetically
modified form sometime soon. Brazil’s state-owned agricultural research
agency has beenhard at work developing
drought-resistant sugar cane that also bears increased yields for years
now, and may have it certified for commercial use within five years.
Australia is also working on its own version.
Papaya
After the Ringspot Virus nearly destroyed
all of Hawaii’s papaya crops, a new variety was engineered to resist
the disease, and it now represents the majority of the papayas grown in
the United States.
“Papaya would be unique in the sense where the industry in Hawaii is dependent on biotech,” says Kevin Richards,
director of regulatory relations for the American Farm Bureau. “What
you have in Hawaii is a very contained, isolated agro-eco system, which
is vulnerable to diseases.”
Potatoes
The first genetically modified food to be approved for cultivation in Europe in over a decade, Amflora potatoes are
currently being grown in Sweden. High in starch content, the potatoes
are actually meant for use in paper, glues and other commercial products
rather than as food, but that doesn’t mean they won’t end up affecting
the food chain. Nearby farmers worry about their rabbits, deer, and
especially their bees.
Honey
Could genetically modified crops have something to do with the mysterious ailments that are killing honeybee colonies by
the billions? Some researchers believe so. A zoologist in Germany found
that genes used to modify rapeseed crops had transferred to bacteria
living inside bees. GMOs are currently considered to be among the
possible causes of Colony Collapse Disorder. And if the genes are
causing changes within the bees, they’re also likely to cause changes to
the honey that the bees produce.
Bananas
After banana crops in Uganda were affected by a bacterial disease that caused the plants to rot, scientists developed a genetically modified variety that
could help alleviate the $500 million annual loss. The ban on GM crops
was waived to make way for the GM version of Uganda’s staple food. A
gene from sweet pepper was inserted into the bananas that make them
resistant to the bacteria. Cultivated bananas have almost no genetic
diversity, so supporters of this decision argue that introducing the GMO
fruits will actually help bananas as a whole.
SOURCE:
ecosalon.com
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