Frankenbug is loose on the farm, and no one knows what will happen next.
A brand-new microscopic bug that never existed before in nature is now in animal feed that comes from genetically engineered crops. And this Frankenbug has been clearly linked to infertility and miscarriage in cattle, horses, pigs, sheep, and poultry.1
A letter by a respected professor at Purdue University, written to agriculture secretary Tom Vilsack, warned of a “microscopic pathogen that appears to significantly impact the health of plants, animals, and probably human beings.”
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A dangerous new microscopic organism has been created by GMO farming practices. This Frankenbug hurts plants and the animals that eat them.Prof. Don M. Huber, a member of the government’s own USDA National Plant Disease Recovery System said the pathogen has evolved because of GMO crops.
Fortunately, some courageous members of Congress introduced a proposed law that would make Big-Agra companies – that are forcing their genetically modified food on you – label their products as “GMO” (genetically modified organism) or “GE” (genetically engineered).
I’m glad we have a few elected officials who will stand up to the giant Agribusiness companies that control our food supply. And I hope more will join them.
The House bill, called “The GE Food Right to Know Act,” is a good first step.
In the meantime there are plenty of states that are looking to pass their own laws to force manufacturers to tell you when GMOs are in your food. Vermont, Connecticut, and California all have bills or ballot initiatives going.
There’s even a coalition of about 450 groups, including health, agriculture, faith, parenting, and environmental organizations, that have a campaign and website called “Just Label It.”
Because, as it stands right now, the crops and animals that are genetically tampered with are not regulated.
That’s bad enough, but what troubles me even more is that if the food you’re eating has been tampered with genetically, no one has to tell you.
Not only that, they don’t have to release the studies on the effects of these foods, because the companies are private. Private companies don’t have to release any information to you or anyone.
Let me give you an example.
Do you drink milk?
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Monsanto, one of the worst GMO offenders in the world, genetically engineered a growth hormone to give to milking cows.
The FDA was shown Monsanto’s own study on the hormone’s safety. In other words, they saw exactly one study, and it was done by Monsanto itself. Monsanto tested this stuff, called rBGH, for only 90 days on only 30 rats.
The study was never published anywhere, nor was it peer-reviewed like most scientific studies. Yet the FDA stated the results showed no significant problems and gave its okay for the hormone to be used on commercial milking cows.
But wait, it gets worse. In Canada, where Monsanto originally tried to strong arm the Canadian government into approving rBGH, scientists did their own rBGH study. They found some of the male rats developed cysts on their thyroids and abnormalities in their prostates.2
And rBGH can also cause mastitis in the cows. This is an infection brought on by inflammation that can cause pus and blood to be secreted into the milk.
Canadian government scientists testified that they were being pressured by higher-ups to approve rBGH against their better scientific judgment. And after eight years of study, Canada rejected Monsanto’s application for approval of rBGH, joining the European Union, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand, which have all banned rBGH because of health concerns.
The U.S. government, on the other hand, continues to approve genetically modified milk. And crops, too. The government considers these crops safe and doesn’t even regulate them.
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Monsanto and other companies that make genetically modified crops want your food labels to have information about everything else, but not about GMOs (genetically modified organisms).What makes this an even bigger problem is that glyphosate, the weed-killer Monsanto markets as Roundup and has modified the crops to resist, actually promotes these kinds of pathogens, or Frankenbugs.
Frankenbugs Transmitted to People
These new microscopic bugs that didn’t exist until GMO crops were created can hurt plants, remove the plants’ nutrients, and hurt the animals that eat the crops, too.3
Professor Huber says the new pathogen increases in soil treated with glyphosate, is then taken up by plants, transmitted to animals via their feed, and onward to people by the plants and meat we consume.
Monsanto has tried hard to discredit Prof. Huber.4 But researchers have already proven that you can’t trust what they say about what their weed-killer does. Glyphosate has been found to kill human placental cells at concentrations below what’s been approved by regulators. Roundup is lethal at even lower concentrations.5
And their GMO crops? Evidence of the dangers is leaking out from Europe, Russia, and many other countries around the world.
Here are just some of their findings:6,7,8,9,10,11
- Allergies increased. When GMO soy was introduced, allergies jumped by 50%. Allergen proteins were 7 times higher. Some were unique only to GMO soy.
- It wreaked havoc on digestion and the absorption of nutrients. Digestive enzymes plummeted, and GMOs caused lesions in the digestive tract.
- Proteins that control stress response and energy creation in cells changed. This resulted in faster aging of cells.
- It caused reproductive problems. Sperm cells had trouble developing, and embryos showed altered genes. Offspring were smaller, and many more died.
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So why do we need a Congressional act to force manufacturers to label their food as GMO when it should be the law that they do it?
The FDA ruled that GMO foods were not “materially” different from other foods, so they didn’t need labels. You see, the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act requires the FDA to stop misleading food labels that leave out “material” information.
But, the FDA has limited that to what you or I can taste, smell, or otherwise sense.
And, because GMOs can’t be detected by your senses, the food with GMOs is “substantially equivalent” to regular food according to the FDA. Companies, therefore, don’t have to label foods as containing GMOs.
But until the “Right to Know” act is passed, I want to help you avoid foods with genetically modified organisms. Here’s what I recommend:
For starters, beware of any food that has canola oil or corn in it. 75 percent of canola and 73 percent of corn crops grown in the U.S. are GMO, according to the USDA. It’s gotten so bad that even bees can’t find nectar to make honey without getting it from GMO canola.
Even if the label says organic, most foods you buy with these in it will have been genetically changed. The good news is canola oil is not a healthy oil anyway, so you’re not missing anything. Stick with healthier oils like olive, sunflower, or safflower.
Next, eliminate as much commercial beef and poultry from your food as you can. They are raised on GMO corn, soy, and grains. Instead, choose meat from another farm with pasture-raised animals.
As far as soy goes, most people would tell you to stay away from all soy because so much of it has been genetically modified. But I don’t want you to deprive yourself. And the Japanese have enjoyed soy for hundreds of years. They simply use non-GMO soy, and instead of processing it, they ferment it naturally so you can eat it.
Natto, tempeh, and tofu are made from soy, but in Japan they use non-GMO organic soy. In fact, the soy that’s gown here and sold to Japan by companies like Sow True Seed has to be GMO-free or the Japanese won’t allow it into their country. The Non-GMO Sourcebook at nongmosourcebook.com tells you how and where to get non-GMO seeds and who sells non-GMO soy products.
Here is another good source – the Non-GMO Report site at non-gmoreport.com. Just click on “resources” on the left-hand menu. You’ll see links to resources, companies, and even test kits.
And for news, there’s the European Union’s GM Watch at gmwatch.eu.
1. Wetzel, D. "Don Huber’s Warning to Vilsack and his Cover Letter." Green Pasture, Mar. 30, 2011. greenpasture.org. Retrieved Dec. 14, 2011.
2. Susan Gilbert. “More Bad News for Monsanto.” New York Times, 1999. nytimes.com. Retrieved Dec. 22, 2011.
3. "Emergency! Pathogen New to Science Found in Roundup Ready GM Crops?" Institute of Science In Society. i-sis.org.uk. Retrieved Feb 27, 2012.
4. Paul Tukey, “Monsanto begins smear campaign on Huber.” Safe Lawns Blog, February, 2011. safelawns.org. Retrieved Feb 27, 2012.
5. Ho M, Cummins J. “Glyphosate toxic & Roundup worse.” Institute of Science In Society. Dec 2005. i-sis.org.uk. Retrieved Feb 27, 2012.
6. Smith, J. “Genetic Roulette: The Documented Health Risks of Genetically Engineered Foods.” Yes! Books, Fairfield, IA USA 2007 .
7. Malatesta M. et al. “Ultrastructural analysis of pancreatic acinar cells from mice fed on genetically modified soybean.” J Anat. 2002;201(5):409-415.
8. Tudisco, R. et al. “Genetically modified soya bean in rabbit feeding: detection of DNA fragments and evaluation of metabolic effects by enzymatic analysis.” Animal Science. 2006;82:193-199.
9. Vecchio, L. et al. “Ultrastructural analysis of testes from mice fed on genetically modified soybean.” European Journal of Histochemistry. 2004;48(4):449-454.
10. “Genetically modified soy affects posterity: results of Russian scientists’ studies.” REGNUM. 2005; regnum.ru. Retrieved Feb 27, 2012.
11. Ermakova I. “Genetically modified soy leads to the decrease of weight and high mortality of rat pups of the first generation. Preliminary studies.” Ecosinform 1. 2006;4-9.