Spiritual Forum

(Continued from last week’s GMO discussion.)

Monsanto and similar big biotech companies aren’t farmers themselves; they’re comprised of scientists who’ve used gene splicing and genetic manipulation to produce unnatural crops that pose myriad health risks to humans.

While only one human study of GMOs has been performed, because of admittedly unfortunate studies on animals we have an idea of how bad they are.

In this section, we’re going to get into their negative effects on our health and I’m going to post as many snippets from our next reference as possible to give you all the clearest glimpse of just how detrimental GMO products are. 

Jeffrey Smith wrote a detailed article in 2008 about the numerous negative health effects of GMOs and GMO products, and it’s from that article we’re going to discuss this subject. I’ve taken snippets from the repost of this article on The Organic Consumers Association’s website.

“GM plants, such as soybean, corn, cottonseed, and canola have had foreign genes forced into their DNA. And the inserted genes come from species, such as bacteria and viruses, that have never been in the human food supply.

(…) Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are not safe. They have been linked to thousands of toxic and allergenic reactions, thousands of sick, sterile, and dead livestock, and damage to virtually every organ and system studied in lab animals.” (2)

In the face of all of this, perhaps we here in the U.S. should ask why the FDA hasn’t “had our backs” in relation to GMOs. Why haven’t they banned these unnatural products like so many other countries have?

Jeffrey Smith explains.

“In 1992, the Food and Drug Administration claimed that they had no information showing that GM foods were substantially different from conventionally grown foods and therefore were safe to eat. But internal memos made public by a lawsuit reveal that their position was staged by political appointees under orders from the White House to promote GMOs. FDA scientists, on the other hand, warned that GMOs can create unpredictable, hard-to-detect side effects, including allergies, toxins, new diseases, and nutritional problems.” (2)

Does it surprise any of you reading this that the FDA ignored their own scientists and allowed GMOs to be put on the market basically untested? You may find your opinion of that organization harden a bit as we continue to explore their health hazards.

In doing so, perhaps we should understand the process of shooting foreign genes into the DNA of crops.

“Gene insertion is done either by shooting genes from a “gene gun” into a plate of cells or by using bacteria to invade the cell with foreign DNA. The altered cell is then cloned into a plant. These processes create massive collateral damage, causing mutations in hundreds or thousands of locations throughout the plant’s DNA. Natural genes can be deleted or permanently turned on or off, and hundreds may change their levels of expression.

In addition:

*The inserted gene is often rearranged;

*It may transfer from the food into our body’s cells or into the DNA of bacteria inside us; and

*The GM protein produced by the gene may have unintended properties or effects.” (2)

I should note that Jeffrey Smith backs up these claims with references. (2)

We’re then told about the allergic reactions we can have to consuming GMO products, and about the herbicide-resistant crops that have been engineered.

“Soy allergies skyrocketed by 50% in the UK, soon after GM soy was introduced. A human subject showed a skin prick allergic-type reaction to GM soy, but not to natural soy.

The level of one known soy allergen is as much as 7-times higher in cooked GM soy compared to non-GM soy.

GM soy also contains an unexpected allergen-type protein not found in natural soy.

The biotech industry claims that Bt-toxin [Bacillus thuringiensis – a soil bacterium that’s genes are spliced into GMO crops] is harmless to humans and mammals because the natural bacteria version has been used as a spray by farmers for years. In reality, hundreds of people exposed to Bt spray had allergic-type symptoms, and mice fed Bt had powerful immune responses and damaged intestines. Moreover, Bt in GM crops is designed to be more toxic than the natural spray and is thousands of times more concentrated.

Hundreds of laborers in India report allergic reactions from handling Bt cotton. Their symptoms are identical to those exposed to Bt spray.” (2)

When we consume GMO-ridden products, the genetic material inserted into them can actually go on to live and grow in us, potentially causing “super diseases” in the future. Jeffrey Smith explains.

“Unlike safety evaluations for drugs, there are no human clinical trials of GM foods. The only published human feeding experiment verified that genetic material inserted into GM soy transfers into the DNA of intestinal bacteria and continues to function. This means that long after we stop eating GM foods, we may still have their GM proteins produced continuously inside us.

If the antibiotic gene inserted into most GM crops were to transfer, it could create super diseases, resistant to antibiotics.

If the gene that creates Bt -toxin in GM corn were to transfer, it might turn our intestinal flora into living pesticide factories.

Animal studies show that DNA in food can travel into organs throughout the body, even into the fetus.” (2)

Finally, we’re told about the resistance to the natural counterparts of GMO food that can be built up in our immune system when we consume the unnatural products.

“If proteins ‘digest’ slowly, there is more time for allergic reactions. Because GM soy reduces digestive enzymes in mice, it may slow protein digestion and promote allergies to many foods.

Mice not only reacted to Bt-toxin, they had immune responses to formerly harmless compounds.

Similarly, a mouse test indicated that people eating GM peas could develop allergies both to the peas and to a range of other foods. The peas had already passed all the allergy tests normally used to get GMOs on the market. It took this advanced mouse test, which was never used on the GMOs we eat, to discover that the peas could be deadly.” (2)

Though I won’t post the snippets from it here, the referenced article also discusses the numerous detrimental effects on the livers of mice who were given GMO food, indicating that GMOs are likely very bad for our livers (and, I can imagine, all of our organs). (2)

Concluded in part 3 next week.

Footnote:

(2)- Jeffrey Smith: “Spilling the Beans: Unintended GMO Health Risks” at:

http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_11361.cfm

Image: http://edmortimer.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/monsanto-no1.jpg