GMO studies???

[moolie]

My family personally stays away from GMOs as much as possible for lots of reasons, it's nice to see some real depth coming into the discussion.

Beekissed, that second link (dated 2008) is super old info and not correct as regards GMO wheat in Canada, I personally know two farmers (father and son with adjacent land) in Rockyford AB who grow GMO wheat. They thought it would be great to get into, and have since learned that the promises of higher yields and less weeds are just not true. But once you start, you can't stop. The son (we know him because his wife works with my hubs) who farms wheat and canola in alternating years can't get out of his contract for several years and then would have to let his fields lay fallow for several years, allowing company reps to inspect the land whenever they want, before ever growing conventional crops again. He absolutely can't afford that, but he is also almost at a point where he can't continue on the way he is going. It's a huge mess. So they keep on with what they are doing, there is another son who farms further south down past Okotoks who I believe also grows GMO crops but we don't know him.

GMOs are not only in food, they are also in everyday items like clothing made from cotton. Cotton is a huge industry in India, as well as in the US, and GMO cotton has completely destroyed that industry in India and is responsible for farmers committing suicide over the huge debts that growing a patented crop ensure. http://www.france24.com/en/20130705...tton-fields-monsanto-farmers-maharastra-state

Then there are concerns like how GMO corn is somehow crossing with corn grown in parts of Mexico where GMO corn has never been grown--it's spreading by itself at this point. I can't point to any hard facts on this, I saw a documentary on tv a couple of years ago (I believe it was on CBC but a google search isn't helping me track it down) about it. It seemed from the documentary that there are groups of farmers in Mexico actively fighting the importation of GMO corn and I believe it is illegal to grow it there--something about Mexico being the world cradle of corn and how vital corn is to the traditional Mexican diet. But like I said, I can't back any of this up, it's just down to my memory of something I saw on tv a couple of years ago.

If anyone is concerned at all about GMOs and their affects on health, on farmers livelihoods, on communities around the world, and on commerce in general--do your own due diligence, learn what you can, talk to real farmers about the issues, and vote with your dollars. Grow your own, buy local and organic--know your producers of the things you don't/can't grow yourself.

 

[so lucky]

Moolie, I remember seeing something about both those crops you spoke of: the GMO cotton in India and being the cause of so many bankruptcies and suicides, and GMO corn creeping into Mexico where they are trying so hard to keep it out. This may have been a program on the RT channel in the US, which has a lot of controversial subjects on it.

We seem to be on a threshold now, when many more people are becoming aware, if not becoming ill, of the insidious nature of the GMO issue. Hopefully we can convince our leaders to put the brakes on, as it seems to be the US FDA and congress that has allowed this to happen unchecked, for the sake of $$$.

 

[Britesea]

The only way our leaders will change their mind about GMO's is if they find they are being affected negatively themselves. They really don't give a d**n about us "ordinary people".

 

[~gd]

Moolie, I remember seeing something about both those crops you spoke of: the GMO cotton in India and being the cause of so many bankruptcies and suicides, and GMO corn creeping into Mexico where they are trying so hard to keep it out. This may have been a program on the RT channel in the US, which has a lot of controversial subjects on it. Did you ever consider that the bankruptcies might to be due to the changes in the India Ag system. The same thing happened here in the US in the 1950s {long before GMOs} where the corporate farms did a number on the family farm.
As for Mexico, the fix was in. In 2001 Nature published the report pnly to find that some of the data was false [yep you can't trust scientists some will fake data to make their point] A subsequent large-scale study, in 2005, failed to find any evidence of contamination in Oaxaca

We seem to be on a threshold now, when many more people are becoming aware, if not becoming ill, of the insidious nature of the GMO issue. Hopefully we can convince our leaders to put the brakes on, as it seems to be the US FDA and congress that has allowed this to happen unchecked, for the sake of $$$.

The USDA is in charge of corn on the farm and in markets The FDA when it is food and packaged as such~gd

 

[moolie]

Been doing some (well, lots of) reading on this subject since the topic came up, and current news articles I've found include:

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/11/12/us-mexico-corn-idUSBRE9AB11Q20131112

http://www.businessweek.com/article...genetically-modified-foods-dot-mexico-says-no

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ocean-robbins/huge-gmo-news_b_4129311.html

2001 and 2005 are so incredibly long ago that stats from back then really don't apply to today's reality.

 

[Corn Woman]

www.reuters.com/article/2013/11/19/china-corn-gmo-idUSL2N0J31QG20131119 I find this very interesting. Personally I choose to not purchase GMO products and don't be fooled by the organic label. It's far too easy to have GMO pollen drift in crops that are grown organically. Every harvest would have to be tested to verify that it's non GMO. Makes shopping harder for sure. I have a free app on my phone to help with my purchases, which are few thanks to my ss nature.

 

[hqueen13]

The sad part is that the effects on health are far enough removed that linking gmo to health problems isn't easy.
I try to stay away as much as possible. Recognizing that gmos are everywhere, including in you r dog food, horse feed (beet pulp, anyone? I won't even get into how beet pulp is made...), and definitely chicken feed. It's getting more and more difficult to stay away from it.

 

[Sweetened]

I am very passionate about this subject, but always pose a particular argument on the subject.

Most, if not all, independent research has been 'debunked', however I feel every single one of those 'debunked' pieces of research is the correct, honest and unbiased look at the product. The debunked articles have been refuted based on technicalities and frivolities.

The most prominent case is that of the BT corn fed mice, which was actually removed (first time in history) from the Journal of Medicine after the induction of a former Monsanto CEO to the board. The claim was put forth that the experiment was not valid due to two points: the rats were allowed to wither and die with tumors instead of being humanely culled (in order to research the tumors after allowing them to grow until the animal was dead), and the corn was obtained illegally, as it was patented product they didn't have a right to have. Normally, when an article is refuted or debunked in the Journal of Medicine, the reviewing science is published in a later edition and a notation is made for future readers where to find the refuting science.

The only science that hasn't been 'debunked' or 'disproved' is proprietary research performed by the developing company themselves. This is unmediated, unregulated, biased science, and thus should be taken with an absolute grain of salt. They need only be able to prove their claims in a research paper, without any actual trials being conducted, documented and released. I don't trust any company to tell me the truth about their product, whether it's pharmaceuticals, big ag, or Sham-wow.

ANY industry, company or product not open to independent testing should throw up an instant red flag. Patent laws protect these companies, even with independent review. The laws would not allow infringement on the re-creation or re-distribution of their product outside of the testing they'd be authorized for, allowing for independent and unbiased review while maintaining their precious patent on life.

Refuting papers and articles released by crony media and people deluded to believe GMO's will solve world hunger (not wasting 50% of food in North America, surely, wouldn't help *eyeroll*) are often carefully worded in order to manipulate onlookers who trust the information that is dealt to them without further research and opinions. Most recently, I read an article by the New York Times concerning the Big Island of Hawaii becoming GMO free. The subject who voted against the GMO-Free bill puts forth 'evidence' that GMO's are harmless by twisting words. A supporter of the ban, in their speech, said they were worried about cross pollination and super weeds. The subject refutes that their information is entirely incorrect, as GMO Corn can't cross pollinate with the weeds to create a new super weed. The facts remain: GMO Corn CAN cross pollinate with other corn varieties, making them both illegal to grow for the seed saver AND potentially destroying local and endangered varieties. Canola can cross pollinate with plants like kale, cabbage and broccoli, potentially contaminating dozens of different seed bases. Persistent use of Round-up and other pesticides and herbicides have created plants, weeds, that are resistant to multiple applications of the chemicals (thus, super weeds).

Another arguement for those for the bill was that GMO's kill off honey bees. The subject stated, after speaking with a botonist trained in genetic modification research, that the plants are specifically designed to kill the bugs that eat them, not those that pollinate them, thus refuting the GMO produce kills bees. By proxy, the growth of GMO's means the application of pesticide and herbicide, and it is THAT which kills the bees. Without the mass application of these chemicals, the majority of which are used on lawns and GMO crops designed to handle them, bees may not be dying off in the amounts that they are, and research has directly linked the chemicals to bee loss.

People who are pro-GMO, especially politicians, carefully word their way around the questions and opposition, because they're able to be honest about a DIFFERENT question. GMO's, like the flu shot and birth control, need to be a choice, one that works for the individual. If these companies and developers have nothing to fear about their product, they need only throw the doors wide open to independent testing, however they won't, in fact, they adamantly fight against it claiming it would 'only confuse consumers'.

I try to avoid them as often as possible, and grow my own food as much as I can. I understand if I buy a pre-made meal, I will be ingesting it, but try as hard as I can to make my own stuff from scratch.

Bit of a controversial subject to break into the forum on, but I just had to say what I had to say.

 

[hqueen13]

Well said, @Sweetened
Thank and welcome!