To read part one click HERE
Creating a Genetically Modified or Genetically Engineered crop can produce massive changes in the natural functioning of a plant's DNA. Native genes can be mutated, deleted, permanently turned on or off or change their levels of protein expression. No one knows how this will impact human health, but one researcher has documented at least 65 serious health risks related to GM foods.
Since most US research is funded by agricultural businesses, little objective research has been done on genetically modified foods, so one must look abroad to obtain information.
French professor, Gilles-Eric Seralini, a molecular endocrinologist at the University of Caen and a member of two French government commissions evaluating GM food, found that MON 810, a corn created by the American company Monsanto, along with several other varieties of GM crops, showed that the effects of the GM crops were similar to that of pesticides, generating inflammation disorders, and problems with liver and kidneys, two major organs involved with detoxification...
Large portions of Europe have already succeeded in removing GM foods from their food supply. Close to 9,000 acres in Germany are slated to be planted with the MON 810 corn, assuming the GM ban stands up in court. But the US will plant tens of millions of acres of GM corn. German Agriculture Minister Ilse Aigner announced she was banning not only the cultivation of Genetically Modified corn, but also the sale of its seeds, saying she had "legitimate reasons to believe that MON 810 corn posed a danger to the environment."
GM seeds contain "suicide genes" that render the seeds from the current year's crop useless. They simply will not grow, so you cannot save them to plant for your next season's harvest - a traditional farming method that's been used since the dawn of farming itself. This means farmers are forced to buy the patented seeds and fertilizer again and again, every year. Because of this, poor or 3rd world farmers will be wiped out.
Biology professor Bela Darvas of Hungary's Debrecen University discovered that Monsanto's Mon 810 is lethal to two Hungarian protected species and one insect classified as rare. Now Monsanto refuses to give him any more Mon 810 corn to use in his tests. They also refused his request for Mon 863, another GM variety. Not only has this GM corn been shown to cause serious damage to animals, but it may also wipe out protected plant and insect species. Adding to the potential devastation is the fact that corn depends on the wind for pollination. Where will that wind take a crop? Some believe these genetic disruptions play a role in the large-scale deaths of butterflies and bees.
Genetically Modified foods can be patented, thus providing huge profits because the food chain can be controlled. Since the 1980s, Monsanto has become the world leader in genetic modification of seeds and has won 674 biotechnology patents, more than any other company.
According to the Chicago Tribune, the most recent Bush administration attempted to force famine stricken countries, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa, to plant GE crops, as part of a $770 million aid package. Such biotech bullying has been a part of US foreign trade.
The globalization of genetically modified crop model of agriculture promoted by companies like Monsanto is causing great problems for small farmers, and the sustainability of traditional crops. That, the health effects and the fact that few people even know this is happening to their food does not bode well for anyone who eats.
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