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biotech crops, biotech industry, cancer, corruption, crops, EPA, FDA, Food and Drug Administration, food supply, Genetic engineering, Genetically modified food, Genetically modified organism, Glyphosate, GM food, GMO, GMO labeling, GMOs, greed, health hazards, Health Problems, herbicides, I-522 Bill, Monsanto, Nancy L. Swanson, pesticides, poison, Roundup, Toxic, Toxic Chemicals, U.S, United States, Washington
Below is part of a 33 page report on GMOs and the toxic problems they cause humans!
Genetically Modified Organisms and the deterioration of health in the United States
by N.L. Swanson, 4/24/2013
This document was first published as a series of articles on Seattle examiner.com
Washington state residents likely to vote on GMO food labels
Hearings have been held in both the Washington state Senate (Feb. 14) and the House (March 5) on the initiative to label GMOs in our food. It is highly unusual for the legislature to take action on an initiative so it is likely that I-522 will show up on our ballots next November. It behooves us to educate ourselves about this important issue.
A majority of Americans favor labeling GMOs
According to a poll taken two weeks ago by the Huffington Post, 82% of Americans think that GMOs should be labeled, 9% believe they don’t need to be labeled and 8% aren’t sure. The poll also showed that, while most people think that GMOs should be labeled, many people don’t really know too much about GMOs.
What is a GMO?
A genetically modified organism, or GMO is the term commonly used for crops that have been genetically engineered (GE) to produce some desired trait. The first GE crops were tobacco plants modified in 1986 to be resistant to direct application of herbicides. The following year, tobacco plants were engineered to resist insects. There followed a host of field trials to also develop plants resistant to viral and fungal diseases and to modify traits such as ripening, starch content and so on. In 1995 the FDA approved GE corn, soy, cotton, canola, potato, squash and tomato for commercialization and the amount of GE crops since then has been steadily increasing. Most often the genes are altered to render
the plant resistant to either insects or herbicides.
How are plants engineered to be insect resistant (IR)?
Sections of the DNA from the bacteria known as Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt)are isolated and inserted into the plant cells by a process known as genetic transformation. The entire plant is then regenerated from the transgenic plant cells. There are thousands of different Bt strains that produce protein crystals toxic to insect pests. Particular strains are chosen to target specific plant pests. The resulting plant contains the Bt toxin in its cells. When the plant is eaten by the target insect the toxin binds to receptors in the insect’s gut, causing the gut wall to break down and allowing toxin spores and normal gut bacteria to enter the body. As spores and bacteria proliferate in the body, the insect dies.
How are plants engineered to be herbicide tolerant (HT)?
Micro-organisms are identified that are tolerant of the active chemical in the herbicide. In the case of glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, glyphosate-resistant enzymes are isolated from a strain of Agrobacterium. These are inserted into the genes of the plant via a multi-step process resulting in a plant that can withstand direct application of the herbicide.
The stance taken by Monsanto, Dow and the other peddlers of both chemicals and genetically engineered seeds is that GMO food is “identical to non-GMO products.” They claim that genetic engineering is no different than plant hybridization, which has been practiced for centuries. It is the reason they gave, and the EPA accepted, for not having to submit GMO food to rigorous testing to obtain EPA approval. It’s up to the companies that manufacture GMOs to research and determine the safety of their products.
Not only are the bacteria genes themselves potentially toxic, but the plants can be sprayed directly with herbicides, the herbicide-resistant plants absorb the poisons and we eat them. It’s difficult to understand how this can be considered “essentially” the same as plant hybridization.
GMOs are prevalent in the U.S. food supply
Chances are that potato or corn chip you are eating has been genetically engineered. Even more so if it has been fried in canola, corn, cottonseed, or soy oil. Most residents of the U.S. are consuming large quantities of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) in their food. GMOs were first approved by the FDA for food crops in 1994. Since then the number of FDA approvals for GMO crops has steadily increased.
How are transgenic or genetically engineered (GE) crops approved?
The USDA/Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) issues permits for field trials, and later for general environmental release of GE crops. If the GE crop contains a pesticide, as is the case for Bt crops, approval is also required by the Environmental Protection Agency. If the product from a transgenic crop is for food or feed use, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) must give final approval before the crops can be grown commercially.
How many and what kind of GE crops have been approved?
As of August, 2012, there have been a total of 144 crops approved by the FDA. The most widely and rapidly adopted transgenic crops in the United States are those with herbicide-tolerant traits. Of the 144 crops approved by the FDA, 75% have been genetically engineered to either withstand direct applications of herbicides or they contain an insecticide Bt toxin, or both. In the mid-’90s, scientists figured out how to combine more than one trait in the same plant. These were first released in 1997 and are called “stacked gene traits.” The crops that have been approved are summarized in the table below, along with a partial list of food products and other uses for each type of crop. Any or all of
these products can be found in packaged foods and drinks: cereals, energy bars, chips, juices etc.
For further information including charts and graphs, ESPECIALLY HEALTH PROBLEMS, please read more here: http://sustainablepulse.com/wp-content/uploads/GMO-health.pdf
