Sunday, October 23, 2005

In response to GMOs and clintdiggs post...

I felt that this response was important enough to turn into a post....

Sir,
I am sorry to hear about your 950 acres of Roundup Ready Soybeans...if the science bears out and history repeats itself, in a few short years your fields will be full of weeds that will take even heavier applications of pesticides and herbicides to eradicate. The scientists call them superweeds. By the way, evidence shows that once a field has GMO crops grown in it...it can take up to 15 years before it is GMO free again.

From what I have read, people have been harmed by eating GMO foods. The companies promoting GMO foods do not want them labeled because market surveys show that people will not buy them if they know. This causes health problems. What if I eat one of the tomatoes that have had their genes spliced with a certain North Atlantic flounder so that it will survive colder temperatures....and I just happen to be deathly allergic to flounder? I don't know I am eating fish...after all it is a red, juicy, ripe tomato. I become ill and am rushed to the E.R.....because I don't know I ate fish, then I don't know why I am having this reaction. I can't tell them what is wrong....can they figure it out in time?

In 1989 the Showa Denko company in Japan realized that they could speed up the production of a food supplement, tryptophan, by using genetic engineering. However, there was an unexpected toxin produced in the tryptophan, which killed at least 37 people and permanently disabled 1500 others when this product was marketed in North America before it was tested. Over two billion dollars of litigation was instituted and ended up being paid by Showa Denko.

In 1996, Brazil nut genes were spliced into soybeans by a company called Pioneer Hi-Bred. Some individuals, however, are so allergic to this nut, they go into apoplectic shock (similar to a severe bee sting reaction) which can cause death. A study by scientists at the University of Nebraska found that GMO soybeans modified to contain Brazil nut proteins caused reactions in people allergic to Brazil nuts and the product was removed from the market before any deaths occurred.

I suggest you do some reading at this site http://www.healthfreedomusa.org/codexblog/2005/09/15/now-you-buy-it-now-you-dont/

You might also do a Google search on "GMO Dangers". You will find people from all walks of life, respected scientists from genetics, medicine, epidemiology, bioethics, ecology, sociology, agronomy telling you why GMO foods are a very dangerous technology if you want to live a long and healthy life.

More importantly what does God say? Genesis 1:11 "Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth"; and it was so." Genesis 1:12 "And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good."

Notice the "according to its kind" and the "seed is in itself" parts? Man, in his wisdom, has gone beyond God's design by playing around with Genetic modification/manipulation. We are eating things the human race has NEVER eaten before - it has never been studied....we have no idea of the long term implications. All new drugs are supposed to undergo rigorous testing before being approved for human use....but this new GMO food has bypassed this. WE ARE THE STUDY! We have no idea what will happen 10, 20 or 30 years down the road. The government wants us to trust them but their pockets are being filled by the companies that produce this mess.

Again, the Word says: Pr 14:12 "There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death." Pr 16:25 "There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death." If God is repeating it, then it is usually very important. Our wisdom seems right but it can end in death.

GMO foods are on the shelves of grocery stores everywhere...at least in this country. If your product has soybeans or soybean oil in it....it is most likely contaminated with GMOs. Corn is following down the same path as soybeans....do you know how many products contain corn syrup? What you spray on your crops, whether in a garden or on a field does get into your food supply. That chemical is washed into the soil and is taken up with water into all areas of the plant. Try sticking a stalk of celery in a glass of water with one drop of red food coloring in it....tell me what color the leaves on that stalk of celery are in a few days...

By the way, one of the reasons that we raise our own food is to avoid all those instances you listed of GMO food products. We mix our animal feed with whole grains from reliable sources. We are doing our best to avoid GMO contamination and we heartily encourage others to do the same!I

I hope you will do some serious reading about this subject.....don't just listen to one side of the story....especially when that side is trying to sell you the product!

15 comments:

  1. I'd like to say that you are posting some excellent things these days TNFarmgirl. I'm learning a lot and am encouraged by what you are sharing.

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  2. First of all, let me say that I appreciate your blog and information on all kinds of "made from scratch at home" ideas.

    Also, I am in favor of organic gardening and farming. When given the choice, I will buy organic if it is price competitive. The main reason is that it encourages the agrarian, independant-from-corporate-chemicals, small-farm lifestyle, which I long for. I would be an organic farmer if it were suitable for me. It would allow me to hire farm laborers rather than to patronise factory-labor products, bringing Americans back to the land and country.

    My arguments:

    If you are afraid of GMO products because two specific modifications (out of thousands) have caused harm (and then been removed from market), then the logic follows that you shouldn’t eat plants at all because some plants are poisonous. Or if you are allergic to shrimp then you shouldn’t eat any seafood. Or if you are allergic to peanuts then you shouldn’t ever eat any nuts because some are hulled in the same factories as peanuts.

    Maybe a closer example to your problem is that you should consider not using any medicine because some medicines have been known to produce harmful side effects, even kill people. There are numerous scientific documentations on this subject, and some medicines have been taken off the market. Do we trust the FDA to test them?

    As you quote Pr 14:12, remember that this verse could possibly apply not only to my argument but to anyone’s. I don’t think quoting it helps your argument, unless you provide evidence that ALL GMO products are harmful. Actually, I would be quite concerned about using GMO products if there was evidence that all could cause harm. But I see no evidence that Roundup Ready soybeans can ever cause harm.

    Have you ever eaten Poke Salad? You know, you have to boil the leaves before you eat them, or it will kill you, yet generations of southerners have been eating this plant by following this rule of boiling. Be careful, the plant is naturally poisonous.

    Johnsongrass, which incidentally is a big weed problem for me, makes a good feed for cattle. But if one eats it after the frost, it can easily kill it. This is another example of how we eat even the very same plant that can kill or nourish.

    Having given these two examples, is there any part or preparation of the RR soybean than can cause harm?

    I prefer we condemn single harmful things rather than whole areas or scientific research and production.

    I searched out the tryptophan case and found two links in the first 10 searches on Google which provide helpful information. One is the Wikipedia definition. It seems the harm from the GMO or the amino acid supplement came from the neglecting of the company to use the standard filtration process, which allowed a bacterial infection. The bacteria, not the GMO amino acid, caused the harm.

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  3. In all your examples you had knowledge of the plant, one of my main concerns is that knowledge is being kept from us. Without that knowledge, we don't know how many people have been harmed or from which products. We don't know what is in that tomato, bean, broccoli, salmon etc. When I have knowledge then I can make informed decisions about everything from medicine to beans. Then it becomes my responsibility to decide what to put into my body.

    Another is the lack of research -there has been no long term studies of the dangers of GMOs. We truly are flying blind in this area.

    Another is cross pollination....what is this doing to the natural world? How does this affect God's design? What danger does this pose 20 years down the road?

    Personally, for my family, as much as I am able I wish to limit our diet to natural foods and medicines ...not foods that have been manipulated for corporate profit.

    I trust in God's design...He can't be bought....not horses or chariots or the FDA.

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  4. Every person has the option of buying organic or growing their own food, if they can afford it. GMOs have allowed farmers to make food cheaper. People have questions and concerns about their safety. But questions and concerns don't neceserily mean or imply danger.

    If a cure for cancer is found, should there be 20 years of testing before it is made available to those who want it?

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  5. Herrick,
    Thank you so much for the encouragment...coming from you it means a lot.

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  6. Clint,
    we will just have to agree to disagree. Everything I have read for the last 7 years leads me to believe that GMOs are dangerous. I don't want them in my food supply and I want to have the right to make that choice. To make that choice, I need knowledge - something that the GMO producing corporations are lobbying hard to prevent.

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  7. You might think better of genetically modified crops to know that they require less of a concoction of chemicals to keep weed-free.

    RR Soybeans are kept clean with only a glyphosate, which has been on the market for many years and is now produced in generic. Glyphosate is almost completely harmless. My friend says he's seen a guy who will drink it to show it's harmless. Of course, chemicals to spray on crops and chemicals to use in medicines are often just harvested from plants and minerals, then purified.

    Non GMO Soybeans require several sprayings of chemicals which are somewhat harmful if ingested by humans.

    What's the harmful difference in modifying a plant at a microscopic level and grafting at the root? Do you fear hybrids?

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  8. Clint,
    I understand that initially they use less chemicals but history shows that the cross pollination with weeds eventually breeds superweeds. Besides, why grow with chemicals at all? Many very successful farmers are growing completely chemical free. Better for the environment and better for the human body.
    We grow/raise almost all of our own food and we do it without any chemicals at all.

    I am not "fearful" of GMOs. From the study I have done, I believe that they are harmful therefor I choose not to consume them. Just as I know that chemicals are harmful to the human body therefor I choose to grow our own food so we don't have to consume them.

    I do not fear hybrids - they are plants that have been cross-bred instead of genetically altered. Breeding is a natural process - genetic modification is not.

    However, I choose not to grow hybrids because I can't save the seed and because I find that the old-fashioned heirloom varieties are much tastier.

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  9. The most exciting thing that my corn and soybeans are being used for is not a consumable product: fuel.

    I know a farmer making soydiesel from soybean oil. My winter plans are to build an ethanol still. I have talked to people who run 100% soydiesel and others who have run 85% ethanol without any modification to their engine. Both are more powerful than their petroleum counterpart.

    Now that's a good use for GMOs!

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  10. Clint,
    I still can't agree. I believe that GMO crops are bad for our environment and are a danger to open-pollinated crops because of contamination from cross-pollination.

    However, I do think the ethanol is a wonderful thing and it can be achieved without using GMO crops.

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  11. Ha HA Ha

    I told you people were drinking that frog killer. Might want to hold off on trying a glass, Clint. There is new research showing a link to human reproductive problems.

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  12. Scott,
    Can you believe that some idiot would drink a glass of
    glycophosphate? I wonder what his health will be like in 20 years...

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  13. Reminds me of a former co-worker who used to mock the dangers of PCB's by telling how he used to daily use it as a solvent for cleaning off oil and grease at the end of a day. "Dipped my arms in it up to my elbows!" he used to boast. Three years later, his body was riddled with cancer.

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  14. Jeff,
    I hope he understands the correlation now.

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  15. I think wisdom should be used in situations of possible but unproven danger.

    I half-jokingly always talk about getting cancer from eating microwaved food. It's possible. And oven cooked food is much better!

    My girlfriend, when thinking about getting married and having a kitchen of her own, wants us to have a wood burning range in our house someday. I tend to think we should have a conventional stove in the kitchen and a wood stove in another part of the house.

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