EIGHT [GENETICALLY MODIFIED] FOODS THAT COULD BE DISASTROUS TO YOUR HEALTH Posted By Dr. Mercola | August 30 2010 | 153,540 views (in less than one day)

PLEASE, READ THIS AND PRINT IT OUT TO KEEP.  This article is vital not only for your own health, but for that of generations to come.  

EIGHT [GENETICALLY MODIFIED] FOODS THAT COULD BE DISASTROUS TO YOUR HEALTH

Posted By Dr. Mercola | August 30 2010 | 153,540 views (in less than one day)

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/08/30/gm-crop-escapes-into-the-american-wild.aspx

Eight Foods that Could be Disastrous for Your Health

Posted By Dr. Mercola | August 30 2010 | 154,022 views

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A genetically modified (GM) crop has been found thriving in the wild for the first time in the United States. At the recent Ecological Society of America conference in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, researchers broke the news that transgenic canola is growing freely in parts of North Dakota.


GM crops have spread from cultivated land to the wild in several countries, but they have not previously been found in uncultivated land in the United States.
The scientists behind the discovery say this highlights a lack of proper monitoring and control of GM crops in the United States.


"The extent of the escape is unprecedented," says Cynthia Sagers, an ecologist at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, who led the research team that found the canola (Brassica napus, also known as rapeseed).


Sagers says the discovery of plants that are resistant to two major herbicides shows that "these feral populations of canola have been part of the landscape for several generations."

Sources:

  Nature News August 6, 2010

 

Dr. Mercola's Comments:

It’s a well-known fact that conventionally-grown crops can cross-breed with genetically modified (GM) plants, as pollen easily disperses over large areas by wind, roving wild animals, and insects.

Farmers across the world have experienced this problem, and many have been sued by Monsanto for growing patented crops without paying the requisite licensing fees – despite the fact that the farmer didn’t want the GM crop growing in his field in the first place.

And although nature itself can’t be sued for patent infringement when sprouting seeds created by man, the ramifications of GM plants proliferating unchecked in the wild may have more far-reaching consequences than anyone might suspect.

The fact is, no one knows exactly what might happen when plants with different sets of genetically engineered traits start to mix with conventional- and other GM varieties, as this creates completely unintended hybrids.
These second- and third-generation hybrids may pose additional risks, on top of those already linked to each individual GM variety. Plants could turn into interminable ‘pests’ that can’t be killed; new insects will likely begin to proliferate while others are kept at bay; and unforeseen health hazards may ensue if the plant in question is used in food production.

GM Varieties Cross-Breeding, Creating Newer Unintended Breeds

In the US, over 90 percent of all canola grown is genetically modified, compared to just over 20 percent in the rest of the world.

According to Nature News, the research team discovered two varieties of transgenic canola in the wild, plus a third GM variety that is a cross of the two GM breeds.

One of the transgenic varieties found was Monsanto’s Roundup Ready canola, which is engineered to be resistant to glyphosate, and the other was Bayer Crop Science’s Liberty Link canola, which is resistant to gluphosinate.

The third variety contained transgenes from each of these, and is resistant to both types of herbicide.
Private, for-profit companies like Monsanto have unleashed something into nature that will proliferate, cross-breed, and create new plants that we simply do not understand. This is particularly disturbing when it comes to food crops, such as canola, which is used in a vast number of processed food products consumed by millions of people.

The fact that GM crops can infiltrate conventional crops is a concern for any food where GM experimentation is taking place. For example, in 2004, Hawaii reported widespread contamination of papaya crops by GM varieties. Even seed stocks sold as conventional were found to be contaminated, which threatened the existence of organic papaya, and opened farmers up to lawsuits.

These types of transgene contaminations are completely unavoidable once you start growing them out in the open– including the cross-mixing of GM breeds.

Science has recently revealed that the genome (whether plant, animal or human) is not constant and static, which is the scientific base for genetic engineering of plants and animals. This means that you may not necessarily get the results you think you’re going to get when you insert or remove genetic material.
Instead, geneticists have discovered that the genome is remarkably dynamic and changeable, and constantly ‘conversing’ and adapting to the environment. This interaction determines which genes are turned on, when, where, by what and how much, and for how long.

They’ve also found that the genetic material itself has the ability to be changed according to experience, passing it on to subsequent generations.

Why GM Crops are a Threat to Your Health

I believe that aside from common sense, which says it might not be such a good idea to consume toxins in every bite of food (which is what you’re doing when you eat a food that contains built-in pesticide or herbicide), there’s compelling scientific evidence demonstrating that GM foods can cause a number of health problems, and that these health problems may get more and more critical with each passing generation.

I recently interviewed GMO expert Jeffrey Smith on this topic. In that interview, he discussed a recent Russian animal study that illustrates the generational health hazards of a GM diet.

In the second generation, GM soy-fed hamsters had a five-fold higher infant mortality rate, compared the controls.

But it got worse, because nearly all of the third generation hamsters fed GM soy were sterile...
As you may know, genetically modified crops weren’t released until 1996, starting with GM soy, corn and cotton. Modified canola came about a year later.

Humans have much longer life spans than hamsters and other lab animals, so we have not even begun to see the health effects of GM foods on our FIRST generation yet!

We’re still nowhere near seeing the full effects of these potential ramifications in humans, as we’re only about 15 years into it. But if the effects are anything like the effects on numerous types of animals, we could be looking at significant health problems, including sterility on a grand scale as our great-grandchildren grow up...
The fact that the US is completely unwilling to implement the precautionary principle with regards to GM foods is incomprehensible in light of the findings we already have from animal studies.

Additionally, some 800 genetically engineered food applications have been submitted to the USDA, but not one single environmental impact statement has been prepared!
So not only are human health ramifications ignored, but the entire eco system is being jeopardized.

Health Effects of GM Foods

I strongly believe that one of the most obvious clues about the danger of GMO foods is that animals virtually never opt to eat a GM food if conventional food is available. Many times they will avoid GM food to the point of starvation – a clear indication that they have an intuitive sense of the danger inherent with this food.
Many people are unaware of the fact that no safety study has ever proved that GM foods are safe for consumption. Studies have, however, linked GM foods to:

• Cancer
• Food allergies
• Damage to your immune system
• Super-viruses

In a 2007 article published on the Institute for Responsible Technology’s web site, Jeffrey Smith also points out several animal studies that show a number of different GM foods appear to cause liver damage.
Your liver is a main detoxifier in your body, so liver damage can indicate that your toxic load is simply too great. In his article Smith includes the following study results (for full references, please see the original article):

• The livers of rats fed Roundup Ready canola were 12–16 percent heavier, possibly due to liver disease or inflammation
• Rats fed GNA lectin potatoes had smaller and partially atrophied livers
• Rats fed Monsanto’s Mon 863 corn, engineered to produce Bt-toxin, had liver lesions and other indications of toxicity
• Rabbits fed GM soy showed altered enzyme production in their livers as well as higher metabolic activity
• Microscopic analysis of the livers of mice fed Roundup Ready soybeans revealed altered gene expression and structural and functional changes. Many of these changes reversed after the mice diet was switched to non-GM soy, indicating that GM soy was the culprit. The findings, according to molecular geneticist Michael Antoniou, PhD, “are not random and must reflect some ‘insult’ on the liver by the GM soy”

With all the evidence against them, why are these products still on the market?
Because there’s big money to be made – these seeds are all patented and must be purchased anew each season -- and because it’s difficult to link health problems directly to them, in large part because many of the side effects happen over time – it may even take generations before certain health outcomes become apparent. So there’s plenty of room for denial.

Only time will reveal, as Jeffrey Smith points out in this excellent video, the extent of the unforeseen and surprising illnesses caused by GM foods.

The question is, are you willing to ‘wait and see,’ which equates to playing Russian Roulette with your grandchildren, and great-grandchildren’s, health?

If you’re still unconvinced, I highly recommend you read through Smith’s ten-part Huffington Post series on GM foods. It’s a great read, loaded with valuable information.

How to Avoid GM Food

There are currently eight major GM food crops on the market, so memorizing this list will help you avoid any and all food products that might contain GMO’s:

1. Soy
2. Corn
3. Cottonseed (used in vegetable cooking oils)
4. Canola (canola oil)
5. Sugar from sugar beets
6. Hawaiian papaya
7. Some varieties of zucchini
8. Crookneck squash

You’ll also want to avoid any kind of derivative of these, such as high fructose corn syrup, for example.
Depending on where you live within the European Union, you may also have to contend with the recently approved AmFlora potato, designed by BASF, which contains a gene that produces an enzyme which can confer resistance to several antibiotics. The European Commission approved the commercial growing of the GM potato in early March of this year, despite widespread protests, and concerns raised by the EU’s pharmaceutical regulator.

Part of the potato is also allowed to be used in cattle feed, and the meat will not need to be labeled as GM.
Your best bet to avoid genetically modified foods is to take advantage of local sources of organic foods as often as you can. Remember, some 75 percent of processed foods contain GM ingredients, so you’ll want to avoid as many processed foods as possible.

MUST HAVE Copy of Non-GMO Shopping Guide

The easiest way to avoid ending up with GM foods in your shopping cart is to do some pre-planning using this free non-GMO shopping guide. The Institute for Responsible Technology has also created a free iPhone application that is available in the iTunes store. You can find it by searching for ShopNoGMO in the applications.

The shopping guide lists the various derivatives of each crop to be avoided, and even better, it lists hundreds of brand products in 22 food categories that are non-GMO, so if you’re still buying processed foods, at least you can easily select a brand that does not use genetically modified ingredients.

Related Links:

  Genetically Modified Foods -- What to Know Before You Eat Them

  Why Grow GM Crops That Need Pesticides Anyway?

  The Dangers of Genetic Engineering

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Posted On Aug 30, 2010 What I find amazing is THE BIGGER THE LIE THE MORE ITS BELIEVED......How much longer can we be "fed" the barefaced lies and manipulations by Govt and corporations.  We have to wake up. I think slowly we are waking up but if you talk to friends, neighbors, relations or the general public they are still willing to believe what they are told on all media outlets or their doctors, the general reaction to anything that counters the opinions of the establishment is met with derision and disbelief. I have tolerated nasty comments by so called friends when trying to have a discussion about stating, HRT, lactose, gluten, medication or supplements - they simply are not willing to take anything on board or even consider the possibility of there being alternatives to the dangerous drugs they are so used to taking. Sometimes they just refuse to continue with the conversation. It is discouraging to always be re-buffed, but I feel that it is necessary to continue trying to get the message across that what they are being told is not always in their best interests. Its hard not to come over a "know-it-all" and probably people "glaze over" when they hear something they would prefer not to and I try to put myself in their place listening to me "yakking on" about alternative (I dislike that expression) health.  BUT WE MUST WAKE UP BEFORE ITS TOO LATE..............(maybe it already is). Reply | Mark as Spam 21 Points Jacqui_203 Joined On 6/2006 Novice User Add as Friend Send Message LinnieMae Joined On 6/2010 Novice User Add as Friend Send Message   Posted On Aug 30, 2010 I've found lately that people ARE starting to listen. I've been learning and spreading the word about pharmaceuticals for 10 years by telling the stories of people I know. Turns out, a lot of people are seeing their own examples and it strikes a chord. It's slow, though. People have been sold the idea that they need "science" (medicine) because they have physical symptoms, even though the root cause is never explained or addressed. IMO, this got exponentially more dangerous when they started widely prescribing mind-altering drugs that "fixed" mood disorders. It's slow going, though. I'm too familiar with the glazed-over eyes and occasionally, downright hostility to the idea. What really helps is the commercials that have to list all the nasty side effects of their product. Mark as Spam | 13 Points vikingstork Joined On 6/2009 Novice User Add as Friend Send Message   Posted On Aug 30, 2010 They won't listen, because of mental symptom called "blind faith in authority". Since, in their eyes, you are not accepted and recognized authority, they won't believe anything you tell them. It used to be called "false authority syndrome", and it better indicates what the problems are, it was too ambiguous and was renamed. Problem is, once they accept the presumed authority, they will not question it anymore, and resist any attempt to discredit it. And their wishful thinking maintains it, they will greedily gobble up anything that supports their assumptions, and reject any scientific research that seems to contradict it. Mark as Spam | 5 Points curious7 Joined On 3/2007 Savvy User Add as Friend Send Message   Posted On Aug 30, 2010 Oh no our Government is there to protect us, and would not allow any such danger on the market.  If anyone believes that statement he or she has been living on another planet, or parallel universe.  This has nothing to do with expanding or enlarging the food supply to feed the hungry, and everything to do with money and control. If you have enough property install your own garden, but in the meantime make an effort to buy local organic, and get to know the growers.  Government is impotent in the face of money so we must take matters into our own hands.  Our good health is up to us Mark as Spam | 1 Points tonygallo Joined On 7/2010 Apprentice User Add as Friend Send Message   Posted On Aug 30, 2010 COINCIDENCE or CONSPIRACY ?  Has anyone thought of how these companies stand to win if the Bee Colony Collapse syndrome isn't stopped . Just imagine the Bees have all disappeared  the world would be at their complete mercy. Also check out this documentary film (Poison & Genes) from 2008 made in Canada Mark as Spam | 1 Points Islander Joined On 3/2007 Savvy User Add as Friend Send Message   Posted On Aug 30, 2010 Tony, Tony, Tony...a link, please. All I can find on youtube is the trailer. Mark as Spam | 6 Points Annie12120 Joined On 4/2010 Novice User Add as Friend Send Message   Posted On Aug 30, 2010 Wow.. I could have wrote exactly what you just wrote! Word for word, I try the same with family and friends and they cannot see why they need to change. I can't understand it at all. They even argue that WHO, AMA and CDC and FDA are all reputable organizations and who am I to question them? Sigh Who am I indeed - one of the minority who woke up a few years ago and can see the horrid mess we are in. I didn't know sugar beets are on the list and will have to make sure the beet pulp I feed is GM free. Thank you for the GMO list Mark as Spam | 0 Points Sheltie Lover Joined On 6/2006 Apprentice User Add as Friend Send Message   Posted On Aug 31, 2010 . Actually, it already is too late. The genie can't be put back in the bottle. Thankfully, we have a Creator who has promised that the Earth will remain forever, in spite of man's attempted destruction of it. Psalms 37:9,11,29. Revelation 21:1 . Mark as Spam | 0 Points Heather Marsh Joined On 5/2008 Apprentice User Add as Friend Send Message   Posted On Aug 31, 2010 hi Annie, Why should we change? I think it was Albert Einstein who said that insanity is doing the same thing over and over - and expecting a different result. We have been on this particular circuit for quite long enough! Anyone else seen the similarity in the graphs for refined vegetable oil use per ,000,000 and deaths from heart attack per ,000,000 ? They are almost identical apart from the timing. And yet margarine manufacturers persist in advertising their product as good for the heart because it started as seeds! And our governments and medical personnel do not see a connection - and so this false belief  is perpetuated!  We need factual information, presented in such a way that the truth is inescapable. And even then, there will be those that refuse to accept that what the 'experts' in their life say may not be true. Mark as Spam | 0 Points

Posted On Aug 30, 2010 Why is it that Monsanto & others can sue farmers for growing GM plants that they did not want in the first place but had their fields contaminated by the spread of poisonous crap, but the farmers who are the victims of the uncontrolled spread of contaminated seeds cannot sue the perpetrators of these crimes against humanity. Wake up people, these bastards are destroying our food supply, and suing farmers who are victims of their carelessness into oblivion. When the opportunity arises, boot the bastards out of office that are being payed off by big agribusiness to allow the spread of these Frankenstein foods. Reply | Mark as Spam 15 Points arromeck Joined On 1/2010 Novice User Add as Friend Send Message gabika3 Joined On 6/2010 Novice User Add as Friend Send Message   Posted On Aug 30, 2010 You can sue Monsanto - as long as your money lasts! Mark as Spam | 5 Points Suzeaa Joined On 4/2009 Novice User Add as Friend Send Message   Posted On Aug 30, 2010 Monsanto to me is pure evil.  I'd back any Presidential candidate that had the balls to take them down. Mark as Spam | 9 Points LinnieMae Joined On 6/2010 Novice User Add as Friend Send Message   Posted On Aug 30, 2010 Sounds like a job for a class-action lawsuit against Monsanto. Mark as Spam | 10 Points Heather Marsh Joined On 5/2008 Apprentice User Add as Friend Send Message   Posted On Aug 30, 2010 There needs to be a big class action. It should cover not just farmers, but also those others who have lost livelihood or health due to GM foods. In what other circumstance is someone who doesn't want a foreign plant on their soil sued for its 'theft' when it contaminates their crops? Justice is no longer blind, and someone tampered with her scales. Mark as Spam | 2 Points tonygallo Joined On 7/2010 Apprentice User Add as Friend Send Message   Posted On Aug 30, 2010 First we need a BOYCOTT then a class action lawsuit ala Ralph Nader who took on GM. Mark as Spam | 6 Points Dr. Dancer Joined On 6/2006 Novice User Add as Friend Send Message   Posted On Aug 30, 2010 On July 7 Obama appointed Michael Taylor ( Monsanto's top lawyer and vice president) to the FDA to "supervise" the nations food supply.  You can only imagine who he will appoint to oversee our Frankenstein health care plan! Mark as Spam | 0 Points MdinaBoysSchool Joined On 1/2010 Novice User Add as Friend Send Message   Posted On Aug 30, 2010 You are absolutely right gabika 3. But....just think . If a few good lawyers got together and , thinking about their own health, decide to represent these poor farmers, who by the way, tried to sue Big, Bad Monsato, and lost, or gave in due to lack of money. What a beautiful battle that would be. (It worked for OJ) Mark as Spam | 4 Points

Posted On Aug 30, 2010 From the article: 1 " The livers of rats fed Roundup Ready canola were 12–16 percent heavier, possibly due to liver disease or inflammation" 2" Rats fed GNA lecithin potatoes had smaller and partially atrophied livers " Haven't you learned anything from pharmaceutical medicine? The solution is obvious. The rats need to put GM canola on their GM potatoes. Duh! Reply | Mark as Spam 14 Points aarwdc Joined On 9/2006 Novice User Add as Friend Send Message Islander Joined On 3/2007 Savvy User Add as Friend Send Message   Posted On Aug 30, 2010 Thanks for bringing us the lighter side! Mark as Spam | 6 Points

Posted On Aug 30, 2010 Why don`t you show photos of what GMO plants look like so that we will be able to do what the French are doing...they all look for these toxic plants and pull them up and burn them. Reply | Mark as Spam 11 Points gtrebingtampabay.rr Joined On 1/2008 Novice User Add as Friend Send Message LinnieMae Joined On 6/2010 Novice User Add as Friend Send Message   Posted On Aug 30, 2010 I LIKE that!! Mark as Spam | 2 Points vikingstork Joined On 6/2009 Novice User Add as Friend Send Message   Posted On Aug 30, 2010 they do that in Haiti as well, they burn the GM corn Monsanto sent them, being "oh so generous". Their powerful farmers union instructed them to refuse to accept any of it, and to refuse to plant what they already got, and burn it. Mark as Spam | 4 Points Heather Marsh Joined On 5/2008 Apprentice User Add as Friend Send Message   Posted On Aug 30, 2010 the problem is that the plants may not be visibly different from their natural counterparts. Mark as Spam | 3 Points Islander Joined On 3/2007 Savvy User Add as Friend Send Message   Posted On Aug 30, 2010 Exactly, Heather. There is no visible difference between a GM cornstalk and a conventional one. Those vigilantes who destroy fields are acting on inside information. Mark as Spam | 6 Points Jmanson1982 Joined On 7/2010 Apprentice User Add as Friend Send Message   Posted On Aug 30, 2010 Heather and Islander, that is not true, the GM corn plants grow weird! They grow differently enough that people in a village can be instructed how to recognize them and destroy them. I have seen pictures of GM Corn growing wild along the road way, it may have a third ear growing out the top or some other deformity, but some of them at least can be identified on looks alone. Mark as Spam | 1 Points Islander Joined On 3/2007 Savvy User Add as Friend Send Message   Posted On Aug 30, 2010 Jmanson, I'm skeptical. I suspect someone has pulled the cornsilk over your eyes. Do you have a source? Mark as Spam | 6 Points

Posted On Aug 30, 2010 Go to www.celdf.org.  Learn about Democracy School and organize to bring it to your town.  Forty-three states have home rule and you can fight these corporations from the ground up.  Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Maine, Oregon, and others are using celdf techniques of creating ordinances to declare corporations non-people.  They are creating ordinances to stop the spreading of "bio-solids (toxic sludge), water extraction, underground horizontal coal mining, etc.   When an attorney general says they have to accept corporate incursion, the people stand up and say no.  You are violating our right to maintain the health and welfare of our local people, and we do not accept your legal authority.   Read "Be the Change" by Thomas Linzey and start this action in your town.  Support boycotts and shop farmers' markets and CSA's when possible.  We can have an impact. Reply | Mark as Spam 10 Points eiggod8 Joined On 9/2009 Novice User Add as Friend Send Message comefromtheheart Joined On 1/2010 Novice User Add as Friend Send Message   Posted On Aug 30, 2010 What a great website, eiggod8. Lots of good stuff there. Thanks much for posting it. Mark as Spam | 0 Points Islander Joined On 3/2007 Savvy User Add as Friend Send Message   Posted On Aug 30, 2010 Agree! Check it out, folks — it's a springboard for action. Nothing will be gained by sitting on your duff and whining; get involved, take action, take back your country! Weaponize your computer! Mark as Spam | 6 Points

Posted On Aug 30, 2010 Again, the medical industry is in collusion with the food and drug industry to keep us all sick, stupid and sterile. Otherwise we wouldn't need roughly 500,000 physicians. Reply | Mark as Spam 8 Points Jon aspartamekills Joined On 6/2007 Novice User Add as Friend Send Message

Posted On Aug 17, 2010 It's a fool's game and the fools are in power. But, as they say; "the bigger they are the harder they fall" and their fall is coming, in spades! Reply | Mark as Spam 7 Points Catryna Joined On 7/2006 Apprentice User Add as Friend Send Message vikingstork Joined On 6/2009 Novice User Add as Friend Send Message   Posted On Aug 30, 2010 yes they are, but it takes time. Do we have time to wait, tho, when it's already spreading into wild??? Mark as Spam | 1 Points

Posted On Aug 30, 2010 The first step is to take back the government by electing non-establishment candidates who will actually obey the Constitution and remove the power of the corporations from the government.  Once the corporate cronies are out of agencies like the FDA and USDA they will then actually protect us and begin forcing companies to produce healthy natural food free of toxins and listing the health hazards of eating junk food.  Also no more toxic plastic. There should also be warnings about the health hazards of microwave usage thereby pushing industries to develop safe alternatives. Reply | Mark as Spam 7 Points larry04 Joined On 7/2010 Novice User Add as Friend Send Message bheesbhees Joined On 4/2010 Novice User Add as Friend Send Message   Posted On Aug 30, 2010 Nice sentiment, but incomplete.  We've got to get rid of the regulatory agencies, not just temporarily clean them up. Even if cleaning them up were possible, it would only work for a short time.  Regulatory agencies eventually serve the corporate interests they're supposed to protect us against.  First the new agency concentrates the power over an industry. Then the corporate interests have to hire lobbyists, etc., to protect themselves from the new agency.  Soon they get good at influencing the agency, and eventually they succeed in not only protecting themselves but using the centralized, legal force of the agency to their own advantage -- to exercise power over competitors, upstarts and recalcitrant consumers, and in the case of the FDA to twist the power to outlaw unsafe foods into the power to declare GM foods safe (in addition to outlawing some foods you like).  It's worse than having no regulatory agency at all. The phenomenon is called "regulatory capture".  Read all about it: en.wikipedia.org/.../Regulatory_capture Mark as Spam | 2 Points jeannieb2 Joined On 5/2010 Novice User Add as Friend Send Message   Posted On Aug 30, 2010 You had better be sure that who you are voting for understands the situation. Remember many people think we are eccentric when we mention these things.   Mark as Spam | 2 Points eaglsong Joined On 10/2008 Novice User Add as Friend Send Message   Posted On Aug 30, 2010 Back in Nebuchadnezzar's time, four young men from conquered Israel got it right. Yesterday we had a good discussion based on their example, written in the first chapter of Daniel's book. They were tapped to serve the king, after indoctrination training. However, they wanted to have their biblical dietary plan tested for effectiveness. They got permission from their "supervisor", and ate grains, lentils, vegetables, and drank water - instead of the "goodies" from the king's table. After the appointed time, they were found to be healthier, better-looking, smarter and wiser than others. In fact, the record states that they excelled by 10 TIMES over others. With this testimony we can safely follow their example and excel also. Have a blessed day and get your youth renewed by filling your mouth with "good things"! Then you can cheerfully let your family, friends and neighbors in on the good news too... www.endureinstrength.org Mark as Spam | 2 Points Garlicbabe Joined On 1/2010 Novice User Add as Friend Send Message   Posted On Aug 30, 2010 We must reverse the crazy notion that corporations are people and that they have equal rights with REAL people.  Change this one thing and most of the problems in this country would begin to resolve.  Our founding fathers knew the stranglehold of corporate power and fought against it.  Now we have let the genie out of the bottle and must try to put it back in. Mark as Spam | 9 Points Islander Joined On 3/2007 Savvy User Add as Friend Send Message   Posted On Aug 30, 2010 It's a pleasant fantasy to dream that there are political candidates for public office who are uncorrupted and incorruptible. Ethical people soon learn that to continue to remain in office, they have to accept the contributions and the obligations that accompany them. No, changing the system will have to come from you and me, acting individually and in concert. Weaponize your computer! Hey, I like that. WEAPONIZE YOUR COMPUTER! Mark as Spam | 6 Points

Posted On Aug 30, 2010 Please don't fall for the PR campaign to call this process Genetic Engineering.  Engineering implies that known values are used in calculations to project a result. The GMO process is not using known values and is therefor an experiment.  To refer to this pseudo-science as engineering is to give credibility where non is due. Sunshine is the only income we've got. Reply | Mark as Spam 7 Points solarincome Joined On 6/2006 Novice User Add as Friend Send Message meganfla Joined On 6/2007 Savvy User Add as Friend Send Message   Posted On Aug 30, 2010 Good point, solarincome! Socrates is credited by some with this thought: "The misuse of language induces evil in the soul." Some people certainly misuse language purposely for malicious, greedy ends. Mark as Spam | 0 Points

Posted On Aug 30, 2010 It is truly DISGUSTING what this country will do for MONEY!   THE US IS THE BIGGEST WHORE ON EARTH, our government is corrupt and will sell its SOUL TO THE HIGHEST BIDDER!  This is WHY we allow GMO's in this country (and in others) -- there's simply too much money at stake and too much greed!  And yet this country is ALWAYS the first to point out how bad other countries are and how badly they're governed! WHAT can be done about this?  ALL of our food supply is poisoned to one extent or another! Reply | Mark as Spam 7 Points bellamora Joined On 7/2010 Novice User Add as Friend Send Message Islander Joined On 3/2007 Savvy User Add as Friend Send Message   Posted On Aug 30, 2010 Yes, it's all reprehensible, but whining and ranting get us nowhere. Scan this page for suggestions about what you can do to GET ACTIVE and put an end to  this. Weaponize your computer! Mark as Spam | 9 Points stoic Joined On 3/2007 Apprentice User Add as Friend Send Message   Posted On Aug 30, 2010 It does have a ring to it, Islander, "weaponize your computer"...but the truth is "sticks & stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me"...or, "never bring a knife to a gunfight", for another variation. the constitution, for example, is a fine sounding assemblage of words...... Mark as Spam | 0 Points Islander Joined On 3/2007 Savvy User Add as Friend Send Message   Posted On Aug 30, 2010 Stoic, somewhere else on this page I encouraged people to use their computer to contact food corps, who tend to take these comments seriously because so few are actually motivated to do it. I also use my computer to spread information, because as people are educated and consciousness raised, change occurs. I use my computer to contact local groups and participate in food sustainability actions. And yes, I even contact my congressional reps. It's the only non-violent weapon I have! (I can't count my tongue; it's rather sharp). Mark as Spam | 6 Points stoic Joined On 3/2007 Apprentice User Add as Friend Send Message   Posted On Aug 30, 2010 understood, Islander...and i was just putting words and power into perspective...and could also put it, words, and how power uses them to beguile..... Mark as Spam | 2 Points

Posted On Aug 30, 2010 The patenting of any food source is unconscionable. We need to take our government and our lives back by ridding ourselves of those who are perpetuating Big Food/Big Pharma/Big Government. Monsanto needs to be disassembled, along with any other octopus-like corporations that thrive on oppression, monopoly and corruption in our government to profit, especially where food and health care are involved. The FDA and USDA are cruel jokes on the American people, run by insiders and leeches. As "Deep Throat" remarked, "Follow the money.." - it would seem that everyone in government is on the take; the only difference is the venue, and they're all compromised to one degree or another. I, for one, am sick and tired of bad food scares and going through supermarkets reading labels. Trying to keep track of the "rules" for healthy eating is becoming a full-time proposition. Enough! We have the right and the responsibility to demand that our government prevent the criminal behavior of major corporations, aided and abetted by government agencies, lobbies, and special interests. Reply | Mark as Spam 6 Points vates1 Joined On 11/2009 Novice User Add as Friend Send Message gabika3 Joined On 6/2010 Novice User Add as Friend Send Message   Posted On Aug 30, 2010 Do as the French did! Rip the Gm crap out of the soil and destroy it! just don't get caught. :) Once I have asked my French friends - "What's this French thing? You are always on strike or protesting against something". They reply was: "Because we love our freedom." Once the US was a country of freedom and real democracy. That time has long gone! Nowadays, even Oprah can't say publicly that she would never buy GM! Mark as Spam | 6 Points vikingstork Joined On 6/2009 Novice User Add as Friend Send Message   Posted On Aug 30, 2010 why can't Oprah say she wouldn't buy GM, that's the weirdest thing i even heard. ANYBODY can say they won't buy it, and unless they do, and make sure they are heard, it will be made and sold. Mark as Spam | 0 Points jbell Joined On 6/2007 Novice User Add as Friend Send Message   Posted On Aug 30, 2010 I agree.  What is being done to all is as far from Democracy as one can get.  Policies are put in place, executed and enforced that threaten our health.  Without health we have nothing.  So here is the big question:  How can we stop this?  How do we band together to turn things around?  It feels great to let a rant rip loose.  And it is a good start to try and turn up the awareness, especially if we can wake up a significant percentage of the general populace.  Remember that Henry ford, (who certaily knew how big finance worked), famously remarked: "If the American people knew what bankers really did there would be revolution before morning".  I think the same applies to the food and safety issues.  So how do we do it?  What are the practical steps we can take?  These are not rhetorical questions.  I hope we all think about them and start coming up with ideas.  Maybe some of us can band together and create a web site dedicated to taking back our rights and beginning to offset the massive PR and legal ppower of the global multinationals that now control most of the world food supply. Mark as Spam | 4 Points Heather Marsh Joined On 5/2008 Apprentice User Add as Friend Send Message   Posted On Aug 30, 2010 If I but had the ability........I would 'round up' all those who have been involved in the promotion and development of GM plants and animals, (including the spin doctors and purchased politicians) and send them and the products of their endeavours  - ALL of the GM product including the pollen! - to live under an atmospheric dome on another planet. I would like them to be able to contact us on Earth as I would really like to find out how well THAT experiment went.  Nothing but GM produce to eat and wear......... Mark as Spam | 3 Points

Posted On Aug 30, 2010 I am one of the most rabid anti-Monsanto people on the planet. I've met Jeffrey Smith and own his books. I am well aware of the unintended consequences of GM plants going wild, and of cross-contamination. I realize that Monsanto may be creating a variety of herbicide-resistant weeds. That said, I think the story of GM canola on the roadsides is a trifle overdone. It reminds me of the days when Maine was home to a huge chicken industry. When chicken-loaded trucks went to market, the roadsides used to be covered with feathers — what we called "summer snow." In other words, when crops are brought to market, routine spillage occurs. The roadside phenomenon is not unique to North Dakota. There is a strong evolutionary pressure for herbicide resistant plants to grow in disturbed locations such as roadsides. When GM varieties are not selected for, they are sooner or later replaced by native plants in the natural order of things. Cross-pollination and escape of rogue plants in the wild are certainly a concern, but routine scatters along the roadside are not. Reply | Mark as Spam 6 Points Islander Joined On 3/2007 Savvy User Add as Friend Send Message

Posted On Aug 30, 2010 If I grow my own vegetables, Corn, zucchini, are the seeds affected? How do I know if the seed do not come from GM plants? Reply | Mark as Spam 5 Points russellhco Joined On 3/2010 Novice User Add as Friend Send Message bebig10 Joined On 4/2008 Novice User Add as Friend Send Message   Posted On Aug 30, 2010 Buy heirloom seeds from good organic supply houses and grow your own.  They taste better and are far more nutritious. Mark as Spam | 13 Points Reverend Alan Joined On 12/2007 Savvy User Add as Friend Send Message   Posted On Aug 30, 2010 The immediate problem may be if you grow broccoli, cauliflower or any of the hundreds of Asian variations of this plant because most all of them can cross pollinate, then the seeds you save at home for next year have GMO's in them. "Canola (Brassica napus, also known as rapeseed)." "Brassica (pronounced /ˈbræsɨkə/ brás-si-ca) is a genus of plants in the mustard family (Brassicaceae). The members of the genus may be collectively known either as cabbages, or as mustards. Crops from this genus are sometimes called cole crops, which is derived from the Latin caulis, meaning stem or cabbage This genus is remarkable for containing more important agricultural and horticultural crops than any other genus. It also includes a number of weeds, both wild taxa and escapees from cultivation. It includes over 30 wild species and hybrids, and numerous additional cultivars and hybrids of cultivated origin. Most are annuals or biennials, but some are small shrubs. The genus is native in the wild in western Europe, the Mediterranean and temperate regions of Asia. In addition to the cultivated species, which are grown worldwide, many of the wild species grow as weeds, especially in North America, South America, and Australia." Mark as Spam | 2 Points Islander Joined On 3/2007 Savvy User Add as Friend Send Message   Posted On Aug 30, 2010 GM seeds are not sold at the consumer level. Most seed packets are hybrid seeds, which are not the same. For old-fashioned flavor and seeds you can save to replant next year, follow Bebig's suggestion and look for heirloom or open-pollinated varieties (they mean the same thing: seeds that have never been hybridized). Mark as Spam | 11 Points bellison Joined On 8/2010 Novice User Add as Friend Send Message   Posted On Aug 30, 2010 Any food containing seeds, or propagated from seeds, is a potential risk. To avoid this, one could eat only foods that propagate asexually and contain no seeds.  The successive generations of such a plant would be immune from genetic contamination.  An example would be potatoes. More complex is eliminating of GMOs from other foods.  How would you get a GMO free tomato? Buy your seeds from strains older than the introduction of GMO tomatoes.  These would be hand pollinated from carefully preserved genetic stock.  Otherwise, you must propagate them asexually, from cuttings perhaps.  If you live where it freezes, this would require at least a small greenhouse, or an area indoors with heat and light. By limiting your diet to things you grow yourself, or by trusted others, you just might be able to avoid contamination yourself, but what of the future for those who don't?  Not the prettiest picture. The ultimate solution may be buying GMO stocks and use the profits to pay what it costs to survive. Tom Mark as Spam | 2 Points Jmanson1982 Joined On 7/2010 Apprentice User Add as Friend Send Message   Posted On Aug 30, 2010 "In news that will surely fan the flames of the heated debate over genetically modified crops, scientists have found evidence that genes from GM plants can spread far and wide to native ones. According to a report published today in the journal Nature, wild corn from the remote mountains of Oaxaca, Mexico contains transgenic DNA. This, the researchers note, bolsters concerns that such unintentional contamination can threaten the genetic diversity of natural crops." It may be that we need to find ways of starting seed banks where seeds that we know are free of GMO can be stored for decades, just in case. Mark as Spam | 0 Points Jmanson1982 Joined On 7/2010 Apprentice User Add as Friend Send Message   Posted On Aug 30, 2010 Dr. Mercola writes: "In the US, over 90 percent of all canola grown is genetically modified, compared to just over 20 percent in the rest of the world. According to Nature News, the research team discovered two varieties of transgenic canola in the wild, plus a third GM variety that is a cross of the two GM breeds." GM Canola, [rape seed] growing in the wild can cross pollinate with all the other members of the brocolli family of plants. That means if you save your cauliflower seeds and a wild patch of GM Canola is growing nearby the seeds you save for next year may have GM in them. Mark as Spam | 0 Points Islander Joined On 3/2007 Savvy User Add as Friend Send Message   Posted On Aug 30, 2010 Jmanson, there are such seed banks, all over the world. Possibly the most notorious is the one at Svalbard off the coast of Norway, funded in part by Monsanto and Bill Gates (that's the part that scares me). But there are plenty of them in the U.S. Seeds of Change and Seed Savers Exchange come to mind. Some of these sell seeds to consumers. Google "heirloom seed sources" for more info. My favorite source is FEDCO, a seed co-op here in Maine. They carry organic and open-pollinated seed, many sourced from local growers; their catalog descriptions are honest, no hype; their prices are very low; and best of all, you can buy seed packets in a variety of sizes. They are on line but I love their printed catalog for the artwork and the helpful gardening advice. Mark as Spam | 6 Points

EIGHT [GENETICALLY MODIFIED] FOODS THAT COULD BE DISASTROUS TO YOUR HEALTH Posted By Dr. Mercola | August 30 2010 | 153,540 views (in less than one day)