AT a panel discussion on April 4th at NYU entitled “GMO Labeling: Do We Need It?, sponsored by GMFree-NY, Dr. Walter S. De Jong from Cornell University, Department of Plant Breeding and Genetics, was introduced as a molecular geneticist.  His role on the panel was to take the position that GMOs did not need to be labeled and he stated that he didn’t see the need for labeling.  He was a congenial, soft-spoken fellow.  He said “all we are doing is slightly altering the genetic code of a plant in order to create one new protein.  There are hundreds and hundreds of proteins being scripted by DNA in every cell of that plant, all the time”.  Dr. De Jong then rhetorically asked, “What is one more protein?”

Unfortunately the other panel members ignored his rhetoric, which for a “molecular geneticist” was profoundly and shockingly ignorant.  As anybody who is familiar with the human immune system knows, “one more protein” can be a match that lights a fire that burns an entire house down.  This happens through the process of inflammation.

“One more protein”, especially an unusual and different protein, created in the lab by genetic engineers, will alert the immune system to inspect it.  If this strange protein is deemed threatening in any way then the immune system will call out the cavalry (antigen presenting cells, macrophages, T-helper cells, histamines and cytokines) for it’s immediate removal from the body.  Our immune systems do this all the time, all day long.  It is how we stay healthy in a world of potentially pathogenic microbes and proteins.

A strange protein constantly introduced to the body will crate a state of chronic inflammation in the body.  Chronic inflammation can result in any degenerative disease. Inflammation of the digestive tract will be especially harmful, and even low level inflammation that may have no immediate symptoms will eventually lead to serious problems.

A few examples:

A prion is a protein, an infectious disease-causing agent that is believed to be the smallest infectious particle. A prion is neither bacterial nor fungal nor viral and contains no genetic material. Prions have been held responsible for a number of degenerative brain diseases, including mad cow disease, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, fatal familial insomnia, kuru, and an unusual form of hereditary dementia known as Gertsmann-Straeussler-Scheinker disease.

A prion is just one more protein.

If a glass of milk or a slice of pizza causes swollen lips, hives, or other significant symptoms, you may have an allergy to casein, a protein in milk.  Just one more protein.

Another milk protein associated with food allergies is whey.   Some people are allergic to both casein and whey. If you are allergic to whey, as many people are, and you continue to drink milk, your health will suffer severely.

Whey is “just one more protein”.  You would be a fool to continue to consume milk.  You would avoid it.  Milk would be easy to avoid.  You would know when it was in something  because it would be labeled.

Inflammation is the process that the body undergoes to protect itself from foreign agents like viruses, pathogenic bacteria and strange proteins.  It now appears from all the evidence that GMOs trigger an immune response, because of the strange proteins being created by altering a plant’s DNA in a laboratory.  In fact the FDA’s own scientists warned that GMOs have the potential to trigger an allergic response (inflammation), and they recommended that GMOs should not be approved until long term tests were done as the precautionary principle, that used to govern science, would dictate.  Yet they were over-ruled by the head of the FDA, a man who had formerly worked for Monsanto, and the tests were never done.

Farmers report that their animals fed GMOs often have diarrhea, which is one of the body’s responses to a strange protein- get it out fast! The animal’s intestines become inflamed and the strange protein is quickly expelled.  These animals are sick, and are then given antibiotics and steroids to stop the inflammatory process.  But many farmers have reported that if they simply discontinued GMO feed, their animals recovered.

This inflammatory response is also occurring in humans who ingest GMOs.  Especially in children with new and untested immune systems, and the sick and the elderly.  Inflammation of the intestinal tract will lead to poor digestion.  Poor digestions will lead to deficiencies of vital nutrients.  Deficiencies of vital nutrients will lead to chronic life threatening degenerative disease, like cancer, Chrohn’s, arthritis, allergies to peanuts and pollen, and even to emotional and mental instability.

That is what “one more protein” can do.

Hard to avoid them if they are not labeled.

The great PAN has released a new report with all the recent hard science on pesticides and the damage they are doing to our children.  Pesticides disrupt our hormonal system, and can thereby adversely effect multiple areas of our body.  Increases in early puberty, diabetes, obesity, asthma and ADHD are now conclusively tied to pesticides found in our food.

It is extremely important that this report be read and responded to forcefully.  More than one billion pounds of unnecessary chemical pesticides and herbicides were sprayed on our food last year.  Modern pesticides are a very recent addition to the number one human concern- Food.  There is a good reason that food comes first in the triumvirate “food, clothing, shelter”.  It is the single most important part of our lives.  Food connects everything.  Without food there is nothing. With bad food there is illness.  They are poisoning our children.

“The more than 1 billion pounds of pesticides used annually nationwide have contributed to an array of health problems in youth, including autism, cancer, birth defects, early puberty, obesity, diabetes and asthma, the Pesticide Action Network North America, an environmental group in Oakland, said in a report released Tuesday, based on dozens of recent scientific studies that have tied chemicals to children’s health, and their report sought to bring collective meaning to those findings.

“One of the things that is also really clear from science is that children are just much more vulnerable to pesticide exposure,” said co-author Kristin Schafer, senior policy strategist at Pesticide Action Network North America.

“In terms of how their bodies work and defense mechanisms work, how much (pesticides) they’re taking in pound for pound, they’re eating more, drinking more, breathing more than an adult, and are much more susceptible to harms that pesticides can pose.”

If we band together as parents and demand that NYC stop feeding pesticide-laden food to our children we can greatly help to alter this terrible course of agriculture. Organic or near-organic agriculture can feed a world population of 9 billion people.  Go to schoolfood.info, download the pdf of a letter to Mayor Bloomberg demanding that he begin studying how to phase out poisonous food from NYC public schools.  Look for notification from meetup.com for our upcoming strategy meeting at Jefferson Market Library.

Please forward this message to someone else.  Please get the report for yourself from Pesticide Action Network (PAN).  Give them a donation.  And remember that we were told that GMOs would lessen pesticide use- they have increased it.  Some form of GMOs have a bug-killing ingredient inserted into every cell  of the plant.  It is called Sweet Corn, it is made by Monsanto, and it will not be labelled.  Support proposition 37 in California.  Watch this video with Dave Mathews and Bill MAher and Danny Devito about proposition 37.  Why isn’t Whole Foods contributing to the campaign?  PLEASE WATCH Genetic Roulette- it is free again for this week, thanks to a donation from Nutiva.  Critical information on GMOs- their history, the junk science supporting them, their toxicity, and the corruption in government that keeps them subsidized and unlabeled.  Watch here now!

From the PAN report:

Children today are sicker than they were a generation ago. From childhood cancers to autism, birth defects and asthma, a wide range of childhood diseases and disorders are on the rise. Our assessment of the latest science leaves little room for doubt: pesticides are one key driver of this sobering trend.

As the recent President’s Cancer Panel reports, we have been “grossly underestimating” the contribution of envi- ronmental contamination to disease, and the policies meant to protect us have fallen far short. Nearly 20 years ago, scientists at the National Research Council called for swift action to protect young and growing bodies from pesticides.1 Yet today, U.S. children continue to be exposed to pesticides that are known to be harmful in places they live, learn and play.

This report reviews dozens of recent studies that exam- ine the impact of pesticides on children’s health. Our analysis reveals the following:

• Compelling evidence now links pesticide exposures with harms to the structure and functioning of the brain and nervous system. Neurotoxic pesticides are clearly implicated as contributors to the rising rates of attention deficit/ hyperactivity disorder, autism, widespread declines in IQ and other measures of cognitive function.

• Pesticide exposure contributes to a number of increasingly common health outcomes for children, including cancer, birth defects and early puberty. Evidence of links to certain childhood cancers is particularly strong.

• Emerging science suggests that pesticides may be important contributors to the current epidemic of childhood asthma, obesity and diabetes.

• Extremely low levels of pesticide exposure can cause significant health harms, particularly during pregnancy and early childhood.

PAGE 20 of the report:

Food consumed by school-age children can also contain pesticide residues. Researchers examining the diets of urban children found that 14 percent of the foods sampled con- tained at least one organophosphate pesticide. In total, 11 dif- ferent organophosphates and three pyrethroids were found.143 USDA residue sampling of produce commonly eaten by children—such as carrots, apples and peaches—found metabolites of dozens of different pesticides in each of these foods over the course of their testing (26 found in carrots, 42 in apples and 62 in peaches).*

Pesticides directly measured in children’s bodies also tell a story about the importance of dietary exposure. Researchers compared levels of organophosphate metabolites in the urine of children who were eating organic fruit, vegetables and juice with children eating conventionally farmed produce. They found that those with more organic diets had metabolite levels six times lower than those with conventional diets.144 Other studies show that when families switched to organic fruits and vegetables, metabolites of the insecticides chlorpyri- fos and malathion fell quickly to undetectable levels.

The Continuing Catastrophe Of Genetically Modified Foods

image source: Organic and Non-gmo Report

The evidence is just overwhelming that genetically modified food is a dangerous, poisonous system of agriculture that produces laboratory-created foods that are unnecessary, and unhealthy.  They are placing you and your children at risk.  The food in NYC school cafeterias is laden with them.  Most processed, packaged food contains them.  And all livestock, unless raised as free range, are fed GMOs, so you are eating GMOs when you eat meat.  Monsanto’s new GM sweet corn has been approved for human consumption.  Despite intense consumer pressure to not sell it, Wal-Mart has decided to sell it.  Will the NYC school food program be buying it?

Maybe someone will tell the real story about GMOs to our “Health Mayor” Mike Bloomberg, and he will immediately begin the study to phase out GMO’s from NYC school cafeterias (similar to what he did for trans-fats in restaurants) because he cares about children’s health as community board 2 asked him to do.

But that wouldn’t be good for fellow billionaire Bill Gates, who is travelling the world telling anyone who will listen that we need GMOs.  (Note: Bill Gates is also a huge proponent of charter schools).  He also just bought 500,000 shares of Monsanto! In a particular note of hypocrisy, he is pushing GMOs on Africa, where most farming is small scale.  As discussed in this article by Mark Bittman, the real science says that agro-ecological methods are the most efficient AND the most healthy approach.  It is an established undisputed fact that GMOs are not needed.  They do not increase yields.  So why is Bill Gates insisting otherwise?  Does it have something to do with patenting and control and getting even richer and more powerful?  Why isn’t his foundation dispensing information on all the advances in agriculture being made without manipulating the plants final DNA makeup in a laboratory, with the end result being a patented, toxic product?  Good only for cheap food and big profits if you are a gigantic agribusiness?  Why is Bill Gates telling us anything at all about agriculture?

Discover the truth.  Spend some time, investigate the issue and see for yourself.  Genetically modified crops and their attendant pesticides require some time and energy to understand.  The ramifications are enormous, and represent the most important environmental, health and legal issues of our time.

Beautiful must-see 28 minute movie called “Seeds Of Freedom” narrated by Jeremy Irons.  You can start at the 7 minute mark where he describes how after the second world war chemical warfare agents and bomb materials were turned into pesticides.  Genetic modification was foisted on us by chemical companies (with help from the government) in order to sell more chemicals.  The idea was to get farmers dependent on their patented products.  And they actually called it “The Green Revolution”!!  Chemical pesticide use has gone way up since GMO’s were first commercially produced in 1996.  Pesticides are implicated in ADHD, autism and cancer, (among other things) all of which are increasing in incidence and severity in the American public.  The USA is the world’s largest consumer of GMOs.

Hear it from farmers in this video.

Hear if from genetic engineers involved in creating GMO’s

“GMO Myths and Truths,” presents a large body of peer-reviewed scientific and other authoritative evidence of the hazards to health and the environment posed by genetically engineered crops and organisms.

…the report came from two genetic engineers who believe there are good scientific reasons to be wary of GM foods and crops.

Dr. Michael Antoniou of King’s College London School of Medicine in the UK, uses genetic engineering for medical applications but warns against its use in developing crops for human food and animal feed.

Dr. Antoniou said: “GM crops are promoted on the basis of ambitious claims—that they are safe to eat, environmentally beneficial, increase yields, reduce reliance on pesticides, and can help solve world hunger.

“Research studies show that genetically modified crops have harmful effects on laboratory animals in feeding trials and on the environment during cultivation. They have increased the use of pesticides and have failed to increase yields. Our report concludes that there are safer and more effective alternatives to meeting the world’s food needs.”  source

Hear it from Michael Pollan who says “The discussion about GM will be dead within ten years… Pollan said anticipated GM breakthroughs “hadn’t borne fruit and conventional breeding is more effective”.

Meanwhile, back at the farm, eating genetically modified feed makes animals sick. (Most GMO’s are fed to livestock).

Jerry Rosman, a pig farmer in Iowa, was cultivating GM corn (Roundup Ready and Bt), which he fed to his pigs. Result: his sows became infertile, and then after one year he went bankrupt.

This confirms the “No Need For Condoms” study by the Austrian government showing that feeding mice exclusively on GM corn caused infertility:

Eating animals that were raised on GMOs will make you and your kids sick.

Maybe someone will send this to our “Health Mayor” Mike Bloomberg, and he will immediately begin the study to phase out GMO’s from NYC school cafeterias (like he did for trans-fats in restaurants, smoking and big sodas) because he cares about children’s health.

But that wouldn’t be good for fellow billionaire Bill Gates, who is travelling the world telling anyone who will listen that we need GMOs.  (Note: Bill Gates is also a huge proponent of charter schools).  He also just bought 500,000 shares of Monsanto! In a particular note of hypocrisy, he is pushing GMOs on Africa, where most farming is small scale.  As discussed in this article by Mark Bittman, the real science says that agro-ecological methods are the most efficient AND the most healthy approach.  It is an established undisputed fact that GMOs are not needed.  They do not increase yields.  So why is Bill Gates insisting otherwise?  Does it have something to do with patenting and control and getting even richer and more powerful?  Why isn’t his foundation dispensing information on all the advances in agriculture being made without manipulating the plants DNA in a laboratory, with the ed result being a patented, toxic product, that makes cheap food if you are a gigantic agribusiness?  Why is Bill Gates telling us anything at all about agriculture?

Using the pesticides and herbicides associated with GMOs makes the soil sick, and makes people sick.  Yes, glyphosate is conclusively linked to birth defects and soil sickness and new plant diseases.

GMOs and their primary pesticide glyphosate, which is also used by homeowners under the name trade name Round-Up, has been implicated in the ongoing death of the honeybees, called Colony Collapse Disorder (CDC).  In one German study, when bees were released in a GM rapeseed crop, then fed the pollen to younger bees, scientists discovered the bacteria in the guts of the young ones mirrored the same genetic traits as ones found in the GM crop, indicating that horizontal gene transfer had occurred.  source study

Wait…we can’t even get these substances labeled in the USA?  Even Bill Maher wants them labeled, and gives GMOs a whole minute on his show.  Nine out of ten Americans want them labeled, but when state legislatures pass laws requiring them to be labeled, governor’s refuse to sign for fear of of lawsuits from Monsanto!

GMOs and their relative farming methods are destroying the honeybees.  So Monsanto buys the honeybee research company to shut them up!  GE corn & neonicotinoid seed treatments go hand-in-hand.  “Monsanto bought the company, called Beeologics, in September 2011, just months before Poland announced it would ban growing of Monsanto’s genetically modified MON810 maize, noting, poignantly, that “pollen of this strain could have a harmful effect on bees.”  Watch this clip from “Vanishing Of The Bees”

GMOs have created “superweeds” and “superbugs”.

Use of GMOs do NOT create higher yields and they increase pesticide use!

In case you were told otherwise GMOs do NOT create more nutritious food.

The Federal government has not tested GMOs for safety, yet claims they are safe.  The Federal government, in a proposal written by a former Monsanto lawyer, Michael Taylor, has adopted the position that genetically engineered crops are “substantially equivalent” to regular crops, and therefore do not need any special review.  How does Monsanto influence Washington?

It has also decided, “substantially equivalent” or not, that these crops are unique enough to be patented! That’s right.  We now license our food from Monsanto.  Monsanto and other bio-tech firms own entire forms of life that they have managed to alter in a laboratory.  This is the only real advantage of GMOs, and it certainly isn’t an advantage for anyone except the corporation.  Oh yeah- the other advantage is that these crops reduce the need for the human labor of pulling weeds or rorating crops.  Just douse the entire field, crop and all, with poison!  The weeds will die (or they used to, and the corn or soy or canola will stay alive).  Saves time and money for the farmer, and makes a lot of money for Monsanto, as they are really a chemical company.  Oh yeah, it makes you and your kids sick.

Leading agri-business corporations, associated primarily with poisonous chemicals like Agent Orange, have been allowed to do their own safety testing on these foods.  Surprise!  These leading corporations -Monsanto (agent orange), Bayer (zyklon-b), Dow (agent orange and dioxin) then claim the food is safe.  They then also limit access to their products so outside scientists cannot do independent safety tests.  These same corporations then claim the Federal Government should be responsible for insuring the safety of their food.

Genetically modified foods create allergies, infertility and gastro-intestinal disorders.

Genetically modified crops are banned from being grown in Ireland, Peru, Bulgaria, Japan.  In over 50 countries they are required to be labeled.  In the USA, we produce the most GMOs and require no labeling at all.

Children are at a particularly high risk from GMO foods.

Regulation of GMO crops to be lessened even further by new 2013 Farm Bill.

The Farm Bill contains a provision known as Section 733 that would allow biotech crops to be planted even if courts rule they were approved illegally.

The best way to avoid GMOs is to stay away from factory farmed meat!  Eat free range, or grass fed only, even at restaurants.  Why can’t school food serve organic meat?  They do in Italy!  Organic meat restaurants are popping up all over New York.  Look for Dirty Bird, Or Bare Burger or Gustorganics.

Avoid packaged food unless it is labeled organic.  GMOs are used for food additives in packaged food- like high fructose corn syrup, soy lecithin, canola or soy or cottonseed oil, and food colorings to just name a few.

We must get GMOs out of school food!

Meanwhile “Like it or not, Monsanto’s genetically modified sweet corn will soon be arriving on grocery store shelves of the world’s largest retailer, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., and will not be labeled as such. Despite an onslaught of consumer pressure, the company confirmed late last week with the Chicago Tribune that it has no objection to selling the new crop of Monsanto’s genetically modified (GE) sweet corn. Other retailers, including the grocery chains Safeway and Kroger, have not responded on the issue, however Whole Foods, Trader Joes and General Mills have all vowed to not carry or use the GE sweet corn. As the country’s largest grocery retailer, Wal-Mart sells $129 billion worth of food a year, giving it unmatched power in shaping the food supply chain.

The GE sweet corn is the first consumer product developed by Monsanto that will go straight from the farm to the consumer’s plate, rather than first being processed into animal feed, sugars, oils, fibers and other ingredients found in a wide variety of conventional food. It is engineered to be resistant to Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide, the active ingredient of which is glyphosate. The product is also designed to produce a Bt toxin that will kill insects that feed on the plant. Monsanto’s new sweet corn is being harvested in the Midwest, Northwest, Southeast, and Texas.

“After closely looking at both sides of the debate and collaborating with a number of respected food safety experts, we see no scientifically validated safety reasons to implement restrictions on this product,” Wal-Mart officials told the Tribune.”  source

Study Proves Three Monsanto Corn Varieties’ Noxiousness to the Organism

Hear it in this song from EVeryman

Genetically modified food has become a caricature of corporate madness.   It is a dangerous, poisonous system of agriculture producing food not fit for man nor beast.

We can stop it.  Don’t pay them to do it!  Don’t buy it!  And make NYC Dept. Of Education remove it from school food.