I have to apologize a head of time. This is a heady and heavy post and not so happy, but really important to me. I realize I might get some hate mail for this.
What are GMO's or Transgenic foods?
GMOs' are genetically modified food and to be honest, they scare the H-E-double hockey sticks out of me.
A corporation started making genetically modified food in the 1990's as a hopeful panacea of relief for starving nations and struggling farmer's.
First they made a potato modified with a BT gene. This seemed like a great thing because what ever ate the plant died as it's a normal soil dwelling bacterium. So cool! It's safe for humans and other creatures, but just kills off the pests.. great! But the farmer's still had to spray weed killer.
Then came the Round up Ready products ( corn and soybean).
The problem is is Round up (glycophosphate) is still a chemical. While it's technically "safer" for human's than DDT... I say safer, not safe.
In these new GM's is a gene to recognize and be resistant to round up, so a farmer could spray an entire field and the only weeds that would die would be the non-round up ones.
The problem is Round up gets into our water ways once it flushes throughout the ground and not only cannot be filtered out of our drinking water, and according to Mother Earth News, They cause a whole bunch of other medical problems. And now it is growing super weeds that are evolving and becoming resistant.
And then there's the whole antibiotic thing.
They have inserted into the genetic code an antibiotic resistant marker to make sure the gene is working. Is it a strange coincidence that antibiotic resistance is hot on our heels in the last 10 years when we started eating these products. and you are eating them. They are in up to 70% of our grocery store shelves under names like high fructose corn syrup, xanthan gum, corn syrup.
Then came the fact that farmer's could only buy this product from the corporation and were not allowed to save their seed. If a farmer who was growing a non-GMO product that cross pollinated from the wind was sued and lost because they were"stealing" the patent.
Here's the other problem. Right now it's in corn and soy.
Right now conventional Cattle and Chickens are being fed this GM products. So we get way more than double doses.
GM Wheat and beets are next. Supposedly they are now testing a product with a "kill switch" so the seeds are sterile and cannot be re-sewn, so the farmer has to buy new ones every year.
So, if the wind can carry and cross contaminate one thing, what happens to all of the other seeds in the world if it cross contaminates with this kill switch? Would we eventually have to clone all of our plants? Plus they have no idea what happens down the line if plants cross bread or how the DNA genes recombine.
They are even working in testing to make corn that is modified with a human gene. Super-gross.
DDT was once considered the safest pesticide on the planet. Kids would ride their bikes in the plumes behind the trucks.
And.. they don't know the real true effect on us from eating this stuff long term. It's genetic engineering.. how does it effect us long term? Can we all become antibiotic resistant? Infertile?
What are the long term effects. Some scientists are projecting an increase in stomach cancers at a young age.
It's almost like Kudzu. People who live in the south realize the effect of Kudzu. A "harmless"plant brought from Asia for ornamental purposes That has completely taken over and caused tons of damage.
The biggest questions.. who is affected first? The worst answer is...The ones with the littlest bodies, our kids.
GMO's right now are not required to be labeled on our food, but are required to be labeled in the U.K.
I realize this sounds very Sci-fi, but it's very true. I am no expert, and I know this might be upsetting to some people. My sources have been The Future of Food, Food inc, Mother Earth news, and research from information from the University of Florida web page. Please feel free to investigate it further and let me know if there is any other info on it. Google GMO's and transgenic foods.
So to make a long story short, Buy your seeds and food non- GMO.
We have been trying to be more aware of what we eat, and it is really hard to find food that is organic and affordable. We tried to grow beans and cauliflower and other veggies, but the only thing that takes is tomatoes. I am just to impatient, and forget to put cover on it for frost. Reading this made me want to get more serious about it. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteHey girl, it's me again. I teach...first graders. I believe that we are poisoning them with their food and drinks. What drink should coat their tongues bright blue? How much sugar should they eat? A cookie or two, fine, but snacks that contain almost as much sugar as the recipe for the cookies called for?
ReplyDeleteI can't stand walking into a garden center and passing the fertilizers...it hurts to breathe. You should have to have permission to buy chemicals to make grass grow and kill weeds in YOUR LAWN. My brother in law...lawn proud. Feeds the lawn, then complains he has to cut it. My lawn, at my old house, was planted with a type of grass that spreads with runners. It grows slowly, doesn't require water (except when you plant it)stays green during the hottest part of the summer but looks like straw in the winter. Plant it, forget it. He couldn't accept that it was yellow in the WINTER.
We have lost touch with nature. We have killed the frogs, songbirds are disappearing, I just read that LIZARDS are in danger. How about this massive oil spill? It sounds alarmist, but the denigrated "tree huggers" were right. Make those people sound crazy...said the corporate executive. Animals know not poop where they eat...we have been messing up our world and unfortunately, many people still don't care or don't want to learn.