"There are potential long term issues with GM crops, but so far none of the fears of crazy allergies have really born fruit."
One of the main problems with GM crops is that we have no choice in the matter. They are contaminating the carefully raised and collected seeds of crops that have a wider genetic base than what scientists are producing. Seeds with a narrow genetic base could conceivably meet up with some kind of disease or pest that wipes them out, and what do you think will happen then?
The creators and owners of GM crops have lied from the beginning. They said they would be cheaper -- they're not, they're quite expensive, but just wait until that's all there is. They said the pollen wouldn't travel far -- it does. They said it wouldn't make any difference to livestock -- the livestock won't eat it unless it's the only choice they have.
The owners of the GM seeds are sueing farmers for raising GM crops because they didn't buy the seeds from the patent owner, despite the farmers having no choice because the GM plants are cross-polinating their previously clean crops. When GM crops first came out, the scientists swore on a stack of Bibles that the pollen wouldn't travel more than 1/8 of a mile. The pollen is in the stratosphere, and is contaminating crops in countries where GM crops are not allowed (like England).
I think of the GM crops like African Killer Bees: they move into a new area, cross with the gentle Italian honey bee, and now you've got killer honey bees.
They are using taxpayers money to create these GM crops, and they are in production without actually knowing what the longterm results will be. "Perfectly safe" they say, when they don't really know, because they put them on the market with no testing. "Perfectly safe"... like DDT and Agent Orange.
They are being forced on people throughout the world (esp poor countries) even if they don't want them.
From WebMD: "When [Dr.] Pusztai [Scotland] fed rats GM potatoes genetically engineered to produce a supposedly safe insecticide called the GNA lectin, all the animals showed potentially pre-cancerous cell growths, smaller brains, livers and testicles, partially atrophied livers, and damaged to the immune system--with most changes appearing after just 10 days. Since other rats fed normal potatoes spiked with GNA lectin--even 700 times more GNA lectin than was present in the GM potatoes--did not develop these problems, Pusztai's results indicated that the problem lay with genetic engineering process itself. And that meant that all GM foods created from the same process, including those already on the market, might produce unintended ill effects."
Also from WebMD: 'Reality is that the FDA has absolutely no GMO safety testing requirements, and GM ingredients are ubiquitous in prepared foods. Unless a processed food contains only organic ingredients, it is highly likely to contain GM ingredients. The "research" that supports GMO safety is voluntarily provided by companies on their own GM crops and has been described by critics as "meticulously designed to avoid finding problems".'
But read the whole thing on GM foods from WebMD yourself, it's very interesting (it starts about 1/3 of the way down the page):
http://blogs.webmd.com/integrative-medic...ss-archive.htmlTwo years ago, it was discovered in Canada and the U.S. that pigs fed GM feed were showing an increase in lack of conception, and some were producing just bags of water. You wanted grandchildren?
From PigProgress.net: "GM-fed pigs -- New scientific evidence, revealed in the report, indicates that small amounts of GM DNA end up in the animal tissues and milk of GM-fed pigs and other animals. "This is contrary to assurances by the Food Standards Association," says the report. The effects of such GM DNA are alarming – "lesions in the gut, unexplained deaths and stunted offspring growth"."
And "60% of the maize and 30% of the soya used in feed by pig and dairy farmers originates from GM crops - the study found. In addition, it highlighted the fact that most supermarkets are permitting the use of GM feed in their meat supplies. "None of this food is labelled correctly as genetically modified due to a loophole in the law," the association commented."
An interesting article from Greenpeace on what Monsanto is doing:
http://www.greenpeace.org/international/news/monsanto-pig-patent-111Like many other things, most Americans believe what they're told. Pity about the Santa Claus thing, though.
Sue