Opinion / Columnist
Silent killer in our Homes: The unintended consequences of GMOs
25 Nov 2013 at 06:29hrs | Views
Within North America, if you purchase milk at your local supermarket and leave it out in the open for 1-4 days it will not curdle (turn into lacto). Women in North America are uncomfortable with breast feeding preferring baby products for that, especially in public. Injecting animals with hormones and antibiotics is now considered a norm. Having high levels of mercury or heavy metals in our bodies also seems to be, becoming normal. Children with autism are now a growing problem within North America. Why?
"You are what you eat" is a cliché that has slowly disappeared from our day to day wordplay. Today a growing number of consumers are willingly ignorant of how much the food industry is out to addict them. We now live in a world where our supermarkets have no seasons and can supply all kinds of produce, 365 days of the year. Very few people are left, asking the pertinent questions of, why countries such as Zimbabwe or Zambia hesitate to allow GMO foods? Part two of this article simply lays out in simple English, for the average Joe, another way to look at the GMO debate.
What disease will most likely kill you?
According to current World Health Organization data, you will most likely die from cancer related diseases, cardio-vascular diseases or diabetes related diseases. All these forms of disease have a lot to do with what we consume rather than what we will catch from someone else.
The high naivety within North America, where for example, few people as a population have ever seen a live chicken, let alone participated in slaughtering one, highlights the manner in which most of the population is out of touch with why issues such as obesity; or mental health are still only being drug prescribed and not connected to diets as well. Frankly speaking; within America, a healthy person makes no money for anyone, which mainly is why industries concentrate on curing diseases rather than preventing them, as a policy.
Is there scientific evidence about GMO?
In 1995 an experiment was carried out where samples of rodents were fed different types of potatoes in order to observe the effects. The rodents were divided into three groups; one group was fed GMO potatoes whilst another one was fed natural organic potatoes with the final group being fed potatoes with pesticides. The results from the experiment showed that the rodents that had been fed GMO potatoes had signs of pre-cancerous growth, smaller brains, smaller livers and testicles, partial atrophy of the liver and a damaged immune system. The other two groups showed little differences between them compared to the GMO group. In other words it seemed safer according to the study, to consume foods with pesticide rather than GM food.
This research done by the Rowett Institute in Scotland, headed by Dr Arpad Pusztai, has been blacklisted as wacky science by corporate lobbyists and certain political views. I will let you the reader do your own research and be the judge of the study. Private researches in India have also shown how GM foods if not properly manipulated, can also cause allergies in humans as well. According to Dr Mercola, or the Institute for Responsible Technology, GM crops may be ideally suited to bypass the natural barriers; setup for stopping DNA genetic information easily passing between species. Also cited is the theory that GM genes can transfer into the bacteria found in our intestines and affect the manner in which our body digests food. Actually our bodies may right now have genes that are pesticide tolerant but the science on that is still out.
Can I avoid GMO foods?
No, it is now very difficult to avoid GMO; politicians may lie to you, however sooner or later based on our current food system; consuming GMO is almost guaranteed. Currently many corporations are trying as much as possible not to be forced into revealing GMO ingredients on their labels. In this globalized world we live in, fast food corporations are the largest purchasers of potatoes, poultry, beef, pork, onions and tomatoes therefore making them chief negotiators on food policies globally.
Due to their large economies of scale and sheer political weight they inadvertently dictate agricultural farming processes as policy. From a corporate perspective, buying GMO food just makes a whole lot of sense to the bottom line of a corporation, actually for a CEO to not demand GM, could be seen as grounds for removal by the board of directors. It is cheaper to spend billions on an advertising budget for GMO deficiencies rather than invest on more R&D to fix the chinks in the biology. Thus, whether or not you dine at fast food restaurants, you are now officially living in a world whose agriculture is dictated by fast food and big chain supermarkets who love GMO.
Are GMO foods really that bad?
Normal and biological things within agriculture are slowly being phased out if they do not help make a profit. Natural things like cows grazing on grass and chewing cud no longer make sense, instead; being fed GM corn or soybean feed, whilst being simultaneously pumped with antibiotics and hormones in order to quickly fatten them up, and then package them for us to eat, should scare any grocery shopper because that is now how industry practices.
In the 1950's it usually took 70 days for a chicken to fully grow and be slaughtered before going to market. Currently 2013, it only takes 48 days for the same process, and the chickens are now not only larger but juicier. This is the same as informing expectant mothers that, science has found a way to cut pregnancy from 9 months to 5 months with a bigger, smarter baby who in the long run may or may not kill her.
Preferring white meat has resulted in chicken breasts being biologically redesigned to be bigger and less tough. Antibiotics and steroids are being pumped into livestock in order to make them larger whilst living in a smaller confined space. All this tinkering with our food is digested by our bodies and genes whenever we buy food ignorantly.
Will this affect you in the long run?
The food we cook is now often triggering, in our immune systems the production of white blood cells whenever we eat cooked food. This reaction known as digestive leukocytosis, is a manner in which our body, fights against us on the cooked food we decide to eat; mainly because it lacks balance and poses a threat to us. Next time you take Pepto Bismol think about this nugget.
The probable high levels of toxicity; likely to be found in our blood streams is no wonder so many of us are developing cancer. After having left Zimbabwe; within 6 years I developed asthma, a declining eye vision, possible lactose intolerance and numerous allergies all of which happened before I turned 30, a nutritionist later explained to me how my diet had mainly caused this.
Developing countries are soon going to face this blitz of "lifestyle diseases"; South Africa is a very good example where already we see a high rate of obesity and cardio-vascular diseases on the rise. The food industry which has its fiduciary interests to its shareholders has no other choice but to continue finding ingenious ways of making a profit.
How does this affect my children?
The problem with GMO is the chance we take, that our own genetic makeup may be changed due to the unintended consequences of growing more drought and pesticide resistant crops. More governments should be troubled and hesitant, when corporations who own the genetic makeup of food crops or livestock come knocking on their doorstep. Throughout history we have had examples of food being used as a weapon against the disenfranchised, what makes 2013 any different?
Companies such as Monsanto who brought to the world deadly, devastating toxins such as DDT, Agent Orange or Aspartame should be handled with caution when they try peddling to governments on GMO solutions. Yes, GMO is here to stay; nevertheless just like the warnings found on cigarettes and alcohol, consumers have the right to know what they are consuming, ushering in trans-humanism through the back door, should be actively condemned, people need to know the facts and make their own decisions.
Tsungai Chipato: is a Journalist and blogger within Toronto Canada
Contact @: mugaradzakasungwa@gmail.com
"You are what you eat" is a cliché that has slowly disappeared from our day to day wordplay. Today a growing number of consumers are willingly ignorant of how much the food industry is out to addict them. We now live in a world where our supermarkets have no seasons and can supply all kinds of produce, 365 days of the year. Very few people are left, asking the pertinent questions of, why countries such as Zimbabwe or Zambia hesitate to allow GMO foods? Part two of this article simply lays out in simple English, for the average Joe, another way to look at the GMO debate.
What disease will most likely kill you?
According to current World Health Organization data, you will most likely die from cancer related diseases, cardio-vascular diseases or diabetes related diseases. All these forms of disease have a lot to do with what we consume rather than what we will catch from someone else.
The high naivety within North America, where for example, few people as a population have ever seen a live chicken, let alone participated in slaughtering one, highlights the manner in which most of the population is out of touch with why issues such as obesity; or mental health are still only being drug prescribed and not connected to diets as well. Frankly speaking; within America, a healthy person makes no money for anyone, which mainly is why industries concentrate on curing diseases rather than preventing them, as a policy.
Is there scientific evidence about GMO?
In 1995 an experiment was carried out where samples of rodents were fed different types of potatoes in order to observe the effects. The rodents were divided into three groups; one group was fed GMO potatoes whilst another one was fed natural organic potatoes with the final group being fed potatoes with pesticides. The results from the experiment showed that the rodents that had been fed GMO potatoes had signs of pre-cancerous growth, smaller brains, smaller livers and testicles, partial atrophy of the liver and a damaged immune system. The other two groups showed little differences between them compared to the GMO group. In other words it seemed safer according to the study, to consume foods with pesticide rather than GM food.
This research done by the Rowett Institute in Scotland, headed by Dr Arpad Pusztai, has been blacklisted as wacky science by corporate lobbyists and certain political views. I will let you the reader do your own research and be the judge of the study. Private researches in India have also shown how GM foods if not properly manipulated, can also cause allergies in humans as well. According to Dr Mercola, or the Institute for Responsible Technology, GM crops may be ideally suited to bypass the natural barriers; setup for stopping DNA genetic information easily passing between species. Also cited is the theory that GM genes can transfer into the bacteria found in our intestines and affect the manner in which our body digests food. Actually our bodies may right now have genes that are pesticide tolerant but the science on that is still out.
Can I avoid GMO foods?
No, it is now very difficult to avoid GMO; politicians may lie to you, however sooner or later based on our current food system; consuming GMO is almost guaranteed. Currently many corporations are trying as much as possible not to be forced into revealing GMO ingredients on their labels. In this globalized world we live in, fast food corporations are the largest purchasers of potatoes, poultry, beef, pork, onions and tomatoes therefore making them chief negotiators on food policies globally.
Due to their large economies of scale and sheer political weight they inadvertently dictate agricultural farming processes as policy. From a corporate perspective, buying GMO food just makes a whole lot of sense to the bottom line of a corporation, actually for a CEO to not demand GM, could be seen as grounds for removal by the board of directors. It is cheaper to spend billions on an advertising budget for GMO deficiencies rather than invest on more R&D to fix the chinks in the biology. Thus, whether or not you dine at fast food restaurants, you are now officially living in a world whose agriculture is dictated by fast food and big chain supermarkets who love GMO.
Are GMO foods really that bad?
Normal and biological things within agriculture are slowly being phased out if they do not help make a profit. Natural things like cows grazing on grass and chewing cud no longer make sense, instead; being fed GM corn or soybean feed, whilst being simultaneously pumped with antibiotics and hormones in order to quickly fatten them up, and then package them for us to eat, should scare any grocery shopper because that is now how industry practices.
Preferring white meat has resulted in chicken breasts being biologically redesigned to be bigger and less tough. Antibiotics and steroids are being pumped into livestock in order to make them larger whilst living in a smaller confined space. All this tinkering with our food is digested by our bodies and genes whenever we buy food ignorantly.
Will this affect you in the long run?
The food we cook is now often triggering, in our immune systems the production of white blood cells whenever we eat cooked food. This reaction known as digestive leukocytosis, is a manner in which our body, fights against us on the cooked food we decide to eat; mainly because it lacks balance and poses a threat to us. Next time you take Pepto Bismol think about this nugget.
The probable high levels of toxicity; likely to be found in our blood streams is no wonder so many of us are developing cancer. After having left Zimbabwe; within 6 years I developed asthma, a declining eye vision, possible lactose intolerance and numerous allergies all of which happened before I turned 30, a nutritionist later explained to me how my diet had mainly caused this.
Developing countries are soon going to face this blitz of "lifestyle diseases"; South Africa is a very good example where already we see a high rate of obesity and cardio-vascular diseases on the rise. The food industry which has its fiduciary interests to its shareholders has no other choice but to continue finding ingenious ways of making a profit.
How does this affect my children?
The problem with GMO is the chance we take, that our own genetic makeup may be changed due to the unintended consequences of growing more drought and pesticide resistant crops. More governments should be troubled and hesitant, when corporations who own the genetic makeup of food crops or livestock come knocking on their doorstep. Throughout history we have had examples of food being used as a weapon against the disenfranchised, what makes 2013 any different?
Companies such as Monsanto who brought to the world deadly, devastating toxins such as DDT, Agent Orange or Aspartame should be handled with caution when they try peddling to governments on GMO solutions. Yes, GMO is here to stay; nevertheless just like the warnings found on cigarettes and alcohol, consumers have the right to know what they are consuming, ushering in trans-humanism through the back door, should be actively condemned, people need to know the facts and make their own decisions.
Tsungai Chipato: is a Journalist and blogger within Toronto Canada
Contact @: mugaradzakasungwa@gmail.com
Source - Tsungai Chipato
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