By David Noble
While we are constantly being reassured that GMO is not only safe but every bit as good for us as organic there is overwhelming evidence that tells us otherwise. Biotech companies like Monsanto are using superficial, rigged research which is designed to avoid finding problems to try and convince us that GMOs are safe. The Main stream media are also guilty of trying to promote GMO as a safe cheaper alternative to organic by citing inaccurate studies which do not address the health concerns or the damage GMO does to the environment.
If people were told the truth about the food they are buying I am sure most would choose organic. Lets face it, if you were given the choice of buying some nice fresh organic tomatoes or potatoes grown as nature intended or take a chance on tomatoes that may contain a gene from a fish or how about potatoes with DNA from an insect which would you choose? While the tomatoes were taken off the market due to commercial failure it makes you wonder what else has been added to our food. These are just two examples of what the future of our food will look like if company’s like Monsanto get their way.
Then there is the health concerns where several animal studies have shown that GMO foods cause organ damage, gastrointestinal and immune system disorders, accelerated aging, and infertility. While human studies have shown how genetically modified (GM) food can leave material behind inside us. An example of this is that genes inserted into GM soy can transfer into the DNA of bacteria living inside us, and that the toxic insecticide produced by GM corn was found in the blood of pregnant women and their unborn fetuses. Since GMOs were introduced in the 1990s food allergies have skyrocketed, and disorders such as autism, reproductive disorders, digestive problems, and others have risen at an alarming rate.
It is not just us that GM crops are causing harm to but also the environment. There is a lot of evidence that the herbicides used on these crops do great harm to wildlife. Examples of this are the declining Bee population and that of the monarch butterflies whose population is down 50% in the US. Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide has been shown to cause birth defects in amphibians, embryonic deaths and endocrine disruptions, and organ damage in animals even at very low doses. This despite claims that it is totally safe. The overuse of roundup has resulted in super-weeds with the very weeds the herbicides are used to kill becoming more and more resistant, resulting in farmers having to use even more toxic herbicides every year causing great environmental harm. These herbicides have been linked with sterility, hormone disruption, birth defects, and cancer. I am sure that bag of GMO potatoes with the added insect DNA sounds even less appealing after reading this. But due to what I can only put down to as universal ignorance that is what most choose over the healthier organic option. So the next time you go to buy some GM foods have a think about what DNA they could contain.
Another problem with GMO is that they cross pollinate and their seeds can travel in the wind contaminating nearby farms. This has become a problem for many organic farmers and non-GMO farmers who often struggle to keep their crops pure.
Then there is the claims that the use of GM crops results in increased yields which will help end starvation. Once again the evidence does not back this claim up. In fact it has been shown that GMOs do not increase yields, and actually work against feeding a hungry world.This was shown in the Union of Concerned Scientists’ 2009 report- Failure to Yield― the definitive study to date on GM crops and yield.
One of the main reasons that this information is not public knowledge is that Scientists who have discovered problems with GMOs have been attacked, gagged, fired, threatened, and denied funding. Add to this the support and protection company’s like Monsanto get from the main stream media and government and you get a clearer picture of the problems faced by those trying to put an end to a growing problem that has serious consequences for us all.
We must start taking responsibility now by educating ourselves to the problems companies like Monsanto (and their profit without a conscience way of business) are doing to not only our health but also the environment. By choosing to buy organic you are helping to put an end to the likes of Monsanto who rely on an ignorant public buying their products despite the health risks
