– 10 Reasons Why We Don’t Need GM Foods (Waking Times, Sep 12, 2012):
Genetically modified (GM) foods are often promoted as a way to feed the world. But this is little short of a confidence trick. Far from needing more GM foods, there are urgent reasons why we need to ban them altogether.
1. GM foods won’t solve the food crisis
A 2008 World Bank report concluded that increased biofuel production is the major cause of the increase in food prices.[1] Biofuels are crops grown for fuel rather than food. GM giant Monsanto has been at the heart of the lobbying for biofuels — while profiting enormously from the resulting food crisis and using it as a PR opportunity to promote GM foods!
“The climate crisis was used to boost biofuels, helping to create the food crisis; and now the food crisis is being used to revive the fortunes of the GM industry.” — Daniel Howden, Africa correspondent, The Independent (UK)[2]
“The cynic in me thinks that they’re just using the current food crisis and the fuel crisis as a springboard to push GM crops back on to the public agenda. I understand why they’re doing it, but the danger is that if they’re making these claims about GM crops solving the problem of drought or feeding the world, that’s bullshit.” – Prof Denis Murphy, head of biotechnology, University of Glamorgan, Wales[3]
2. GM crops do not increase yield potential
Despite the promises, GM has not increased the yield potential of any commercialised crops.[4] In fact, studies show that the most widely grown GM crop, GM soya, has suffered reduced yields.[5]
A report that analyzed nearly two decades worth of peer reviewed research on the yield of the primary GM food/feed crops, soybeans and corn (maize), reveals that despite 20 years of research and 13 years of commercialization, genetic engineering has failed to significantly increase US crop yields. The author, former US EPA and US FDA biotech specialist Dr Gurian-Sherman, concludes that when it comes to yield, “Traditional breeding outperforms genetic engineering hands down.”[6]
“Let’s be clear. As of this year [2008], there are no commercialized GM crops that inherently increase yield. Similarly, there are no GM crops on the market that were engineered to resist drought, reduce fertilizer pollution or save soil. Not one.” – Dr Doug Gurian-Sherman[7]
3. GM crops increase pesticide use
US government data shows that in the US, GM crops have produced an overall increase, not decrease, in pesticide use compared to conventional crops.[8]
“The promise was that you could use less chemicals and produce a greater yield. But let me tell you none of this is true.” – Bill Christison, President of the US National Family Farm Coalition[9]
4. There are better ways to feed the world
A major UN/World Bank-sponsored report compiled by 400 scientists and endorsed by 58 countries concluded that GM crops have little to offer global agriculture and the challenges of poverty, hunger, and climate change, because better alternatives are available. In particular, the report championed “agroecological” farming as the sustainable way forward for developing countries.[10]
5. Other farm technologies are more successful
Integrated Pest Management and other innovative low-input or organic methods of controlling pests and boosting yields have proven highly effective, particularly in the developing world.[11] Other plant breeding technologies, such as Marker Assisted Selection (non-GM genetic mapping), are widely expected to boost global agricultural productivity more effectively and safely than GM.[12] [13]
“The quiet revolution is happening in gene mapping, helping us understand crops better. That is up and running and could have a far greater impact on agriculture [than GM].” – Prof John Snape, head of the department of crop genetics, John Innes Centre[14]
6. GM foods have not been shown to be safe to eat
Genetic modification is a crude and imprecise way of incorporating foreign genetic material (e.g. from viruses, bacteria) into crops, with unpredictable consequences. The resulting GM foods have undergone little rigorous and no long-term safety testing. However, animal feeding tests have shown that GM foods have toxic effects, including abnormal changes in organs, immune system disturbances, accelerated ageing, and changes in gene expression.[15] Very few studies have been published on the direct effects on humans of eating a GM food. One such study found unexpected effects on gut bacteria, but was never followed up.[16]
It is claimed that Americans have eaten GM foods for years with no ill effects. But these foods are unlabeled in the US and no one has monitored the consequences. With other novel foods like trans fats, it has taken decades to realize that they have caused millions of premature deaths.[17]
“We are confronted with the most powerful technology the world has ever known, and it is being rapidly deployed with almost no thought whatsoever to its consequences.” — Dr Suzanne Wuerthele, US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) toxicologist
7. People don’t want GM foods – so they’re hidden in animal feed
As a spokesperson for Asgrow, a subsidiary of Monsanto, said, “If you put a label on genetically engineered food, you might as well put a skull and crossbones on it.”[18] The GM industry has got around the problem of consumer rejection of GM foods by hiding them in animal feed. Meat, eggs and dairy products from animals raised on the millions of tons of GM feed imported into Europe do not have to be labelled. Some studies show that contrary to GM and food industry claims, animals raised on GM feed ARE different from those raised on non-GM feed.[19] Other studies show that if GM crops are fed to animals, GM material can appear in the resulting products[20] and affect the animals’ health.[21] So eating these “stealth GMOs” may affect the health of consumers.
8. GM crops are a long-term economic disaster for farmers
A 2009 report showed that GM seed prices in America have increased dramatically, compared to non-GM and organic seeds, cutting average farm incomes for US farmers growing GM crops. The report concluded, “At the present time there is a massive disconnect between the sometimes lofty rhetoric from those championing biotechnology as the proven path toward global food security and what is actually happening on farms in the US that have grown dependent on GM seeds and are now dealing with the consequences.”[22]
9. GM and non-GM cannot co-exist
GM contamination of conventional and organic food is increasing. An unapproved GM rice that was grown for only one year in field trials was found to have extensively contaminated the US rice supply and seed stocks.[23] In Canada, the organic oilseed rape industry has been destroyed by contamination from GM rape.[24] In Spain, a study found that GM maize “has caused a drastic reduction in organic cultivations of this grain and is making their coexistence practically impossible”.[25]
The time has come to choose between a GM-based, or a non-GM-based, world food supply.
“If some people are allowed to choose to grow, sell and consume GM foods, soon nobody will be able to choose food, or a biosphere, free of GM. It’s a one way choice, like the introduction of rabbits or cane toads to Australia; once it’s made, it can’t be reversed.” – Roger Levett, specialist in sustainable development[26]
10. We can’t trust GM companies
The big biotech firms pushing their GM foods have a terrible history of toxic contamination and public deception.[27] GM is attractive to them because it gives them patents that allow monopoly control over the world’s food supply. They have taken to harassing and intimidating farmers for the “crime” of saving patented seed or “stealing” patented genes — even if those genes got into the farmer’s fields through accidental contamination by wind or insects.[28]
“Farmers are being sued for having GMOs on their property that they did not buy, do not ?want, will not use and cannot sell.” – Tom Wiley, North Dakota farmer[29]
More information on GMOs:
GM food alters your DNA, changes your brain waves, destroys your immune system, your organs and makes you infertile.
– ????????Report: Whole Foods Has 20-30% GMOs In Products, Has Sold Unlabeled GMOs For Over A Decade (Video)
– Russian Authorities Suspend Imports Of Monsanto GM Corn
– Meet Monsanto’s Number One Lobbyist: Barack Obama
– Cattle Now Being Fed Cookies and Candies Instead of Real Food
– Monsanto, Pesticide Companies Have Now Spent More Than $19 MILLION To Kill Proposition 37
– France Orders Probe After Rat Study Found Monsanto GM Corn To Cause Cancer (AFP)
– Dennis Kucinich Calls Out Monsanto: Americans Demand GMO Labeling (Video)
– Jeffrey Smith’s Full Presentation On Deadly GMO’s (Video)
– FIRST LONG-TERM GMO STUDY: Monsanto GMO Corn & Roundup Cause Massive Tumors In Lab Animals (Video)
– French Scientists: Monsanto GM Corn Causes Tumors And Severe Liver & Kidney Damage In Rats
– Shocking GMO Study: Rats Fed Lifetime Of GM Corn Grow Horrifying Tumors, 70% Of Females Die Early
– GMO Alert: Eating GM Wheat May Destroy Your Liver, Warn Scientists
– Former Managing Director Of Monsanto India: ‘Introducing Genetically Modified Seeds Is Murder!’ (Video)
– Monsanto Shells Out $4.2 Million To Sabotage California GMO Labeling Initiative
– Why Is Our Food Being Made And Modified By The World’s Largest Pesticide Manufacturer?
– Study: Roundup Herbicide 450-Fold Diluted Is Still Genotoxic
– New GMO ‘Agent Orange Soy’ Silently Backed By USDA
– Former Monsanto Scientist Exposes The Genetic Engineering Fraud:
I saw what was really the fraud associated with genetic engineering: My impression, and I think most people’s impression with genetically engineered foods and crops and other things is that it’s just like putting one gene in there and that one gene is expressed. If that was the case, well then that’s not so bad. But in reality, the process of genetic engineering changes the cell in such a way that it’s unknown what the effects are going to be.
– Monsanto, U.S. Gov., WTO Attack Europe – Industrial Food Giants Bully European Lawmakers
– ‘Monsanto Protection Act’ To Grant Biotech Industry Total Immunity Over GM Crops?
– Monsanto Rider: New Bill Could Make Biotech Companies Immune To Courts
– US Researchers Create 30 Genetically Modified HUMAN BABIES
– Chinese GMO Cows Churn Out ‘Human Breast Milk’
– Busted: Biotech Leader ‘Syngenta’ Charged Over Covering Up Animal Deaths From GM Corn
– GMO Labeling Victory! Measure Accepted Onto California Ballot … Now The Real Battle Begins
– U2, Bono? Celeb Partners With Monsanto, G8, To Biowreck African Farms With GMOs
– Letter Shows Monsanto Planted GMOs Before USDA Approval (Video)
– Human Genes Engineered Into Experimental GMO Rice Being Grown In Kansas
– GMO Alert: Top 10 Genetically Modified Foods To Avoid Eating
– Monsanto Threatens To Sue The Entire State Of Vermont … If It Requires To Label GMO Food Products!
– Obama Regime Blocks FOIA Request Attempting To Release Monsanto-Linked Lobbyist Email
– Now Deadly Glyphosate Found In People’s Urine
– New Research: GMO Food Far More Deadly Than We Think
– French Court Finds Monsanto Guilty Of Chemical Poisoning In France
– Genetically Modified Mosquitoes May Soon Be Released In Florida
– Farmer Feeds GMO Corn To His Pigs – All Become Sterile (Video)
– Washington State Senator Maralyn Chase Pushes For GMO Labeling
– The Billion-Dollar Pest: Rootworm Beetle Develops Resistance To Monsanto GM Corn
– The Beautiful Truth (Video – Full Documentary – The Many Reasons For Chronic Diseases And The Cure)
– DHA Used In Organic Infant Formula Products Comes From Genetically Modified Algae
– EU High Court Confirms France’s GM Crop Ban Is Illegal
– Monsanto Partners With USAID To Push GM Corn In Nepal
– AND NOW: Genetically Modified Rice Created To Produce Human Blood
– The Gates Foundation Uses Genetic Modification For Good!
– GMO Gardasil DNA Contamination: EMA Steps Up To The Plate, FDA Drops The Ball
– Outrage: 100% Human Papillomavirus (HPV) DNA Contamination In GMO Gardasil Vaccine Reported To FDA
– Monsanto Corn Creating New Super Bugs – Corn Crops In Iowa Attacked By Destructive Pests: Researcher
– The Attack Of The Monsanto Superinsects And Superweeds
– Monsanto And The Mortal Danger To Traditional Agriculture
– Monsanto To Sell GM Sweet Corn In The U.S.
– GE Alfalfa Planting Brought To You By Incompetence
– Food, Inc. (Full Documentary)
– Farmer To Farmer: The Truth About GMO Crops (Documentary)
– The Worlds Largest Human Experiment: GMOs, Roundup And The Monsanto Monstrosity (Part 1)
– BASF Considers Genetically Modified Crop Exit in Germany And Possible Move To The US
– Bayer Pays $750 Million To Settle GM Rice Lawsuit
– ROUNDUP: Birth Defects Caused By World’s Top-Selling Weedkiller, Scientists Say
– Australia: Secret GM Wheat Experiment Begins
– Peru Approves 10 Year BAN on GM Crops
– A Scary Side Effect of Eating GMO Foods
– Study: GMO Bt Toxin Found In Human Blood (= A Threat To Human Health)
– Genetically Modified Cows Produce ‘Human’ Milk
– Farmers and Seed Producers Launch Preemptive Strike against Monsanto
– Next Stop Monsanto Zone: Agribusiness Fascism You Can Take A Bath In!
– MSNBC Poll: 96% Want GMOs Labeled
– Hidden Dangers: Genetically Engineered Foods
– USDA National Organics Program: Testing for GMOs NOT Required!!!
– GMO Nightmare: There Is No Escape From GM Foods
– GMOs: No Seeds, No Independent Research!
– Roundup, GMOs linked to emergence of deadly new pathogen causing spontaneous abortions among animals
– Despite a Court Ban USDA Allows Commercial Planting of Monsanto’s Genetically Modified Sugar Beets
– US: Organic Consumers Association Funded by Big Pharma and Rockefeller! Food Freedom Betrayal!
– Change: USDA Recommends ‘Coexistence’ with Monsanto
– Monsanto’s Roundup Triggers Over 40 Plant Diseases and Endangers Human and Animal Health
– Max Keiser: Monsanto And The Seeds Of Evil
– WikiLeaks Cables: US Targets EU Over GM Crops
– Australia: Monsanto GM Strain Blows Organic Status Away
– US Conspired to Retaliate Against European Nations If They Resisted GMOs: Wikileaks Cable Reveals
– US House of Representatives Passes Unconstitutional S.510/HR 2751, The Food Safety Modernization Act (TREASON!!!)
– And Now: GMO Oranges As Solution To Insect-Borne Bacterial Disease
– Judge Orders Destruction Of Monsanto GMO sugarbeets
– Monsanto, Syngenta, BASF And Others Working On GM Wheat
– Scientists working to create genetically modified chocolate – to make you healthy (Sure!)
– MIT Scientists Develop GMO Plant That Produces Pharmaceutical Drugs
– USDA Plans To Allow GM Sugar Beet Planting During Lawsuit
– 10 Freakiest Things About Frankenfish
– GM Flax Contamination Detected in 35 Countries
– Study: GM Corn ‘Has Polluted Rivers Across The United States’
– FDA Refuses to Require Labeling of GM Salmon
– US: GM Salmon May Go On Sale
– GMO Sugar Beets – Monsanto Wins Again
– US: Rice Farmer Awarded $500,000 In GM Rice Trial
– Scientist Leading Taxpayer-Funded GM Crop Test Defends Links To US Biotech Giant Monsanto
– US Supreme Court Lifts Ban On Monsanto’s GM Alfalfa
– UK Academics Quit Rigged FSA Frankenfood Propaganda
– Study: Monsanto’s Roundup Kills Human Cells (Flashback)
– GMO Alert: US Attempting Global Censorship of GMO Food Labeling
– California Files Legal Brief Opposing Monsanto in US Supreme Court
– Russian Scientists Prove Genetically Modified Foods are Harmful, Suggest Ban on GM Foods
– Bayer AG admits GMO contamination out of control
– Monsanto: GM-Corn Harvest of 82,000 Hectares in South Africa Fails (!)
– Multiple Ways Monsanto is Putting Normal Seeds Out of Reach
– Monsanto’s Genetically Modified Seed Patents May Trump Antitrust Claims
– Former Managing Director of Monsanto India: Monsanto ‘Faked’ Data for Approvals
– Monsanto GM Corn Causing Organ Failure In Rats: Study (Everything You Need To Know)
– Scientist: Monsanto’s herbicide could cause brain, intestinal and heart defects in foetuses
– Hawaii: GMO taro ban proposal goes to full council
– Monsanto to Charge as Much as 42 % More for New Seeds!
– US Association of Physicians calls for Moratorium on GMO Foods
– Monsanto sues Germany over GM corn ban
– Germany bans Monsanto’s GM maize
– Greenpeace: No need for condoms – GE corn can do the job
– BIODIVERSITY: Privatisation Making Seeds Themselves Infertile
– At stake is no less than control of the world’s food supply.
– Exposed: the great GM crops myth:
“Genetic modification actually cuts the productivity of crops, an authoritative new study shows, undermining repeated claims that a switch to the controversial technology is needed to solve the growing world food crisis.”
Highly recommended videos:
– Life running out of control – Genetically Modified Organisms (!)
– The World According to Monsanto – A documentary that Americans won’t ever see. (!)
Obama and Monsanto:
– Obama Gives ‘Pesticide Lobbyist’ Post as Chief Agricultural Negotiator
– Monsanto lobbyists to be placed in charge of food safety by Obama
– Obama appoints Monsanto shill Tom Vilsack to USDA chief
On CODEX and the agenda of the elite:
– Dr. Rima E. Laibow: The Globalist Depopulation Agenda
– Dr. Rima E. Laibow on Codex Alimentarius and Food Nazification (!)
– Dr. Rima E. Laibow on the Contamination of the Food Supply & Deadly Antibiotics
– Codex Alimentarius: Population Control Under the Guise of Consumer Protection
– One Nation Under Siege – Full Theatrical Release
– Nutricide – Criminalizing Natural Health, Vitamins, and Herbs