I have not written much about GMOs [genetically modified organisms] because… because I did not want to come across as some conspiracy theorist who has an axe to grind against ‘Frankenfoods’.
The truth is, I do not believe genetic engineering is inherently ‘wrong’ or ‘evil’. Like any branch of science, genetic research has the potential to save lives. But…
But the sneaky introduction of genetically modified organisms into our food chain was not the solution to some dire ‘need’. There is nothing wrong with the food we currently have. So why ‘fix’ it? The answer is to make money.
Again, making money is not inherently ‘wrong’ or ‘evil’. But… when the imperative to make money results in :
1. Buying legislators to ensure GM food does NOT have to go through the same rigorous, and expensive testing as drugs, and
2. Denies consumers both knowledge and choice
then that is morally wrong, and an abuse of the technology.
But don’t take my word for it. Please follow the link below to a post with truly shocking facts and figures.
Once you have read this post you can make up your own minds about whether this situation is dangerous or not.
Meeks
Meeka's Mind 
May 11th, 2013 at 2:02 am
Reblogged this on By the Mighty Mumford and commented:
IT’S ALL ABOUT THE MONEY!!
LikeLike
May 10th, 2013 at 2:46 am
The more we learn about food, the more we realize we don’t know. It’s scary, and getting worse.
Good post.
LikeLike
May 10th, 2013 at 10:21 am
Thanks Marylin. Food is such a fundamental need, and it scares me too when I learn what is being done to food just to make a profit. 😦
LikeLike
May 9th, 2013 at 11:04 pm
Thanks for sharing that. Sadly, I think every major U.S. food manufacturer (and many minor ones) are on that list of those that contributed to stopping Prop 37.
And yes, the political process in the US is simply FUBAR. Not only can corporations and their lobbying groups write legislation and essentially pay to get it passed, but it’s also possible for provisions to be anonymously added to bills, leaving no accountability at all.
Just look at how a provision which polls show 90% of Americans wanted (universal background checks for guns) was defeated in the Senate, thanks in large part to the NRA. We the People have no power.
LikeLike
May 10th, 2013 at 10:24 am
-nods- I think the thing that makes me most angry is the erosion of democracy that goes with all that corporate power. Maybe I was horribly naive, but I used to believe the role of a democratically elected government was to look after the /people/. I just hope there is some kind of backlash soon before Corporatism kills off democracy completely.
LikeLike
May 7th, 2013 at 8:59 pm
Monsanto and the seed bank? I had to look into that, it is too horrible to be true.sadly it is. 😦
http://www.abc.net.au/environment/articles/2011/03/02/3152230.htm
GM foods aren’t all bad. If it wasn’t for genetic tinkering we wouldn’t have the corn, wheat, rice etc etc etc that we do now. The problem is the over the top tinkering and forced supply we are being subjected to.
Remember when I said that Monsanto’s control sounded like an apocalyptic movie script? Times that by 100 now.
LikeLike
May 8th, 2013 at 8:08 am
We tend to think of genetic engineering as a precise science but it’s not. I read once that they coat tiny particles of gold with the genetic material they want to insert. Then they fire the gold pellets at the cells like shotgun pellets.
Or they use a de-natured virus to ‘carry’ the genetic material in.
The biggest problem however is our lack of knowledge about the genes themselves. For years scientists though whole segments were just ‘junk DNA’. Now they’re realising that junk ain’t necessarily junk.
Plus there is the issue of which genes get turned on and which get turned off. It isn’t anywhere near as straight forward as people think.
When there is that much guess work going on I don’t want to eat it.
LikeLike
May 13th, 2013 at 4:56 pm
I’ve just had a read of that article, and it raises some really important points. I am sure many people were like me and considered seed banks to on the side of what’s best for the future of humanity as a whole. It seems like that is not the case. Very murky, indeed. Thanks to everyone in the discussion, but it is so scary that sometimes I just want to put my head in the sand…..but the sand has probably been contaminated with toxic chemicals!!
LikeLike
May 13th, 2013 at 10:50 pm
I know what you mean. There’s still a part of me that can’t believe governments and corporations don’t have our best interests at heart. I’m not being cynical. I really did believe. Once upon a time. Now I just feel betrayed.
LikeLike
May 14th, 2013 at 2:09 pm
Unfortunately such betrayal has huge consequences for the whole planet.
LikeLike
May 14th, 2013 at 6:07 pm
Yes. How did we let this happen? And how on earth are we going to stop it? I’d really like to think my daughter and any kids she may have will live in a world as good as this one was.
LikeLike
May 7th, 2013 at 4:08 pm
I think Yvonne says it all very eloquently. Your question about the fox and hen house is spot on. This situation is one that gives Conspiracy Theorists credibility. There may be a place for GMO foods but it MUST be tested as rigorously as drugs since so much of the population is forced to eat it unknowingly. I hope other countries has it’s own Kew Gardens with seed stores of plants we might one day need to get growing again if Monsanto are proved to be poisoning us. They have to be brought to heel and not allowed to ride roughshod over whole countries. Courts must apply swingeing fines if they ever use Roundup on someone else’s crops.
LikeLike
May 7th, 2013 at 7:08 pm
I hope your Kew Gardens get to keep their seed banks safe after than sneaky EU law goes through. Monsanto really are trying to plug up every single loop hole to their monopoly and so far they’re winning.
LikeLike
May 7th, 2013 at 12:00 pm
This GMO issue has been going on for way too long. I think Monsanto has so many lobbyist and money invested in congress that unless the public continues to demand it, nothing will happen.
In my case, I also want to choose whether i buy GMO or not.
Great post!
LikeLike
May 7th, 2013 at 7:18 pm
Thanks Patricia. Here in Australia we have mandatory labelling but the labels don’t have to show trace amounts of GMOs that are part of one of the ingredients etc. Supposedly these ‘bits’ don’t matter. Still, a lot of food manufacturers have taken the step of specifically labelling their products as GMO /free/. It’s not ideal but at least we have something. Damned if I know what they are going to do when GMO wheat goes into commercial production. 😦
LikeLike
May 7th, 2013 at 10:03 am
I agree. The issue goes way beyond GMOs and food. It’s about government and corporates and how much control we let slide to them by lack of awareness or omission. I’m suddenly seeing the possibility for a very frightening vision of the future. I don’t like it at all.
LikeLike
May 7th, 2013 at 7:31 pm
It’s not a pretty picture. The trouble is that by the time that future is obvious, it’ll be too late to do anything about it. A bit like climate change.
Sometimes I feel as if the whole human race is like those lemmings running flat out to jump off a cliff. And I”m normally an optimist.
LikeLike
May 7th, 2013 at 9:21 am
The issue is less about the food itself than about the power of a few corporations to hold the entire world hostage with the one thing none can live without. You are right ,it is about choice. The food is also important, as you say, but it is the absolute power that poses the threat. Did you know that Monsanto is trustee (I believe sole trustee) of the World Seed Bank? What does THAT tell you in light of the EU issue and the lobby before Congress?
LikeLike
May 7th, 2013 at 9:47 am
WHAT????? Monsanto is sole trustee of the World Seed Bank?????
-bangs head on keyboard-
That’s like giving the fox the key to the hen house. How in god’s name did that happen? How did we let it happen?
Last night I did some googling on the Monsanto Protection Bill. A lot of high profile people are screaming their heads off about it. If that happened here our politicians would be back-peddling so fast you wouldn’t see them for dust.
Is there any chance the weight of so much public opinion will force Congress to amend the bill?
LikeLike
May 7th, 2013 at 4:08 pm
It has happened before. But that was about the internet act. I hope people feel just as warm about this one as well.
Your thoughts on how bad or not though are right on the money i think.
LikeLike
May 7th, 2013 at 7:11 pm
Reading all the comments on this issue gives me hope that there are far more people out there who see what’s going on than I had believed. We really are under siege though. 😦
LikeLike
May 7th, 2013 at 9:06 am
There is much in the food industry that should make us step up and take notice. Sometimes I want to know about it; other times, I’m too scared to…
LikeLike
May 7th, 2013 at 9:49 am
I used to keep an eye on what Monsanto was up to but the last couple of years I’ve been too busy with my own crap. Now suddenly I’m terrified of what they’ll do next. 😦
LikeLike