Many if not most pesticides are sprayed on crops genetically modified
to resist them. Ban GM crops and reduce spraying. Two states in Mexico
prove it can be done. Mexico, the country where corn was originally
domesticated could lead the way back to healthy agriculture.
The Mexican States of Tlaxcala and Michoacán each passed legislation
banning the planting of genetically modified corn to protect natural
plants from further contamination of transgenes. Together, both states
produce about a third of all of Mexico’s corn. Below this story is a
detailed timeline of genetic contamination and legislation in Mexico.
The timeline is a long saga including intimidation of scientists
attempting to research the problem.
The Mexican federal government caved in to big agro,
but two Mexican states are fighting back anyway.
It's not just the pesticides, it's the crops themselves.
Gilles-Eric Séralini and colleagues surveyed the state
of research and found
GMOs Linked to Organ Disruption in 19 Studies,
as Jeffrey Smith reports for the Institute for Responsible Technology.
...consuming genetically modified (GM) corn or soybeans leads to significant
organ disruptions in rats and mice, particularly in livers and kidneys.
...9% of the measured parameters, including
blood and urine biochemistry, organ weights, and microscopic analyses
(histopathology), were significantly disrupted in the GM-fed animals. The
kidneys of males fared the worst, with 43.5% of all the changes. The liver
of females followed, with 30.8%. The report, published in Environmental
Sciences Europe on March 1, 2011, confirms that "several convergent
data appear to indicate liver and kidney problems as end points of GMO
diet effects." The authors point out that livers and kidneys "are
the major reactive organs" in cases of chronic food toxicity.
And these were the corn and soybeans that people eat.
Some people didn't like the source of a recent post about
the toxic effects of agrochemicals and GM plants on the environment,
plants, animals, and people.
There are plenty of other sources, including:
Especially
vote at the checkout counter.
If you don't know it's local and non-GMO, don't buy it.
There may be no labelling laws, but local supermarkets know what's local.
There are only two applications that have been commercialized
in these twenty years of genetic engineering.
One is to make seeds more resilient to herbicides,
which means you get to spread more Roundup,
you get to spread more Glysophate,
and you get to spread more poison.
Not a very desirable trait in farming systems.
Especially since what Monsanto will call weeds
are ultimately sources of food.
It gets even better from there.
These are illusions that are being marketed
in order for people to hand over the power to decide what we eat
to a handful of corporations.
Multibillion-dollar agricultural corporations, including Monsanto and
Syngenta, have restricted independent research on their genetically
engineered crops. They have often refused to provide independent
scientists with seeds, or they've set restrictive conditions that severely
limit research options.
In case you wondered why all the research seems to come from other countries,
such as Argentina and France, as shown in this
documentary from Germany?
Well, now you know.
Camano Island is NW of Everett, Washington, and this article is from 2002,
responding to an article in the local paper there. -jsq
Commentary
A Call for Skepticism
by Steven K. Roberts
Camano Island
If ever we needed a demonstration that the fundamental flaw in many
arguments is a lack of discrimination regarding information sources,
we have it in the Nels Konnerup article, "Toxicology 101 Defended,"
in the March 26 issue of the S/C News.
The author makes a "plea for cogent thought, rather than a visceral
reaction to the use of pesticides and herbicides," and cites a number of
references "authored by highly qualified and respected scientists." So
far, so good.
But just for fun, I spent a few minutes researching some of these sources
to see if I could determine the affiliations and biases of their authors.
The documentary points out many products in German stores that
include GM soy.
In Argentina, it's even worse, with increasing numbers of birth defects.
They interview
Prof. Andrés Carrasco about his research on amphibians:
"The hemispheres do not separate, like you can see here.
If you look closely you can see one brain.
Glyphosate can cause this kind of mechanisms, for it is an enzymatic toxin."
"To human cells glyphosate is already toxic in a very low dose.
A farmer uses a much higher dose on the field.
Roundup is even more toxic than glysophate,
for that is only one of the ingredients in Roundup."
Roundup says none of this applies to humans and Roundup is safe.
Seralini
says:
Who should you believe?
A corporation repeatedly convicted of deception,
or scientists who say that GM crops
cause liver and kidney damage in animals,
according to research using Monsanto's own data.
In honor of Donald Rumsfeld's memoir, here's another part of his legacy:
as president of G.D. Searle,
Rumsfeld got the FDA to approve aspartame
(aka Nutra-sweet, Equal, or Canderel),
shortly after Reagan was elected, despite massive evidence that it
caused cancer.
Don't believe me,
listen to Mike Wallace:
"If Donald Rumsfeld had never been born think of how many millions of
people the world over would not suffer headaches and dizziness. Thousands
blind from the free methyl alcohol in aspartame would have sight,
and there would be much fewer cases of optic neuritis and macular
degeneration. Millions suffering seizures would live normal lives and
wouldn`t be taking anti-seizure medication that won't work because
aspartame interacts with drugs and vaccines. Think of the runner, Flo
Jo, who drank Diet Coke and died of a grand mal seizure. She, no doubt,
would still be alive. Brain fog and memory loss, skyrocketing symptoms
of aspartame disease, would not be epidemic."
What's not opinion is that aspartame includes methyl acohol and other
toxic and carinogenic chemicals.
Researchers tracked the pesticides' breakdown products in children' urine and found those with high levels were almost twice as likely to develop ADHD as those with undetectable levels.
The findings are based on data from the general U.S. population, meaning that exposure to the pesticides could be harmful even at levels commonly found in children's environment.
"There is growing concern that these pesticides may be related to ADHD," said researcher Marc Weisskopf of the Harvard School of Public Health, who worked on the study.
"What this paper specifically highlights is that this may be true even at low concentrations."
Organophosphates were originally developed for chemical warfare, and they are known to be toxic to the nervous system.
Then they try to greenwash the problem by saying to wash food before eating.
Sure, that will help a bit, but many of the chemicals are inside the food,
not just on it.
The problem is that by waging chemical warfare on weeds,
we're waging chemical warfare on ourselves.
The Mexican States of Tlaxcala and Michoacán each passed legislation banning the planting of genetically modified corn to protect natural plants from further contamination of transgenes. Together, both states produce about a third of all of Mexico’s corn. Below this story is a detailed timeline of genetic contamination and legislation in Mexico.
Some people didn't like the source of a recent post about
the toxic effects of agrochemicals and GM plants on the environment,
plants, animals, and people.
There are plenty of other sources, including:
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