Most Americans remain blissfully unaware (or don’t care) they are eating genetically-modified (GM) organisms every day. Passivity and blind faith in the USDA, FDA and EPA have largely contributed to this attitude. Perhaps that will change now that a new study reveals an insecticide produced in GM corn actually gets absorbed into the human body.
If you haven’t been paying attention to your food lately, biotechnology giants such as Monsanto thank you for that. Because behind your back, they’ve succeeded in replacing 86% of US corn with their patented insecticide-producing “frankencorn”.
The industry name for this is “Bt corn” and the insecticide is actually produced inside the plant, so it is impossible to wash it off. This is accomplished by inserting genes from the bacteria Bacillus Thuringiensis into the corn.
Up until now, scientists and multinational corporations such as Monsanto and DuPont have spent billions in lobbying, campaign donations and “testing” in an attempt to convince world governments that GMOs are safe. In the case of Bt corn, they stated the insecticide produced within the corn posed no danger to human health because it was broken down in the digestive system.
Despite corporate assurances, many have been skeptical. Non-GMO advocates such as Jeffrey Smith from The Institute For Responsible Technology and the Organic Consumers Association have long been concerned about the potential impact this Bt toxin could have on human health.
Scientists from the University of Sherbrooke, Canada, proved the validity of these concerns when they detected the insecticidal protein, Cry1Ab, circulating in the blood of both pregnant and non-pregnant women. They also detected the toxin in fetal blood, suggesting that the toxin can be passed on to the fetus. The research paper has been peer-reviewed and accepted for publication in the journal Reproductive Toxicology.
Neither the women studied or their spouses worked in agriculture. All reported to be consuming a typical Canadian diet that is virtually identical to the American diet.
“Generated data will help regulatory agencies responsible for the protection of human health to make better decisions”, said researchers Aziz Aris and Samuel Leblanc.
Unfortunately, I don’t feel that our pro-GMO Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack will pay attention to this research. I also doubt that our Deputy Commissioner of Foods Michael Taylor, who also happens to be Monsanto’s former vice-president, will pay this study much attention either. It doesn’t stop there. The revolving door is growing exponentially and the foxes have taken up residence in the hen house.
Are you pissed? You should be. We’ve let corporate interests turn us into poison-fed lab rats. It doesn’t end at corn either. 93% of both soy and canola are also genetically-modified. On top of that, Monsanto has acres of laboratories containing new mutant species awaiting to slip into your pantry. You’re probably wearing some of their Bt cotton right now. It comprises 93% of US cotton and 68% of Chinese cotton.
Perhaps you’ve heard of the uproar around Bt brinjal, a GM variety of eggplant, in India. When it was approved in 2009, a country-wide protest began and the Indian government applied a moratorium on its release.
Meanwhile, here in the US, GMO crops are getting approved left and right and most Americans still don’t even know what “GMO” even means.
Want to do something about it? We can’t rely on our regulatory agencies to do it for us and we possess more power than we think. It won’t take much to reach the tipping point of consumer rejection and get these “frankenfoods” out of our lives. Information spreads like wildfire these days with Facebook, Twitter and email. Tell your family and friends and vote with your dollar, the world’s food supply depends on it! Now that you know, it’s your responsibility to pass it on.
I have suspected this for quite some time and haven’t eaten any corn products for several months!! I’m so glad there are groups out there watching out for those of us who want to live healthier lives. Thank You, thank you, thank you.
Thank you for your support and kind words Roberta! I haven’t been eating any corn except organic either. There are lots of other negative health of effects of other GMOs too. More articles forthcoming…
Great to see others spreading the word Matt. Thank you. I’m doing the same with Facebook and educating my grandchildren who were gobsmacked when I explained “the other side of the story” to them. They in turn are telling their friends and so on and so on. They had no idea. Yet, when I speak to adults they ask me “what exactly is GMO? Oh, that stuff, wellllllll I don’t know anything about it because I can’t understand it!!!” Oh dear, I can’t believe that adults can be so blase and remain ignorant instead of stopping to listen. Only way to go is by spreading it and discussing it. So I will just keep on keeping on about it.
Thank you Sharon! That’s wonderful that you are educating your grandchildren about this crucial issue. It’s funny how our children can understand a topic that makes most adults glaze over. Keep up the passion!
-Matt
Great article! I am with Sharon; all we can do is keep telling everyone who is willing to listen. Eventually, we will break through and make positive changes for all – even for those in denial to what is going on around them.
Thank you Cassie! How wonderful that you are educating those who want to hear. Denial and apathy are ripe right now, but people are awakening.
I find your article incredibly inaccurate. You said,
“Because behind your back, they’ve succeeded in replacing 86% of US corn with their patented insecticide-producing “frankencorn”
The gm-corn doesn’t produce insecticides! The gm corn is bred with resistance to certain pests (cutworms, corn bore), therefore REDUCING or ELIMINATING the use of actual pesticides. I’m a farmer, and worked with REAL PESTICIDES. These things are poison-designed to kill all sorts of living pests. They are unhealthy for people, and the environment.
So, please realize that GM-products REDUCE the use of pesticides and insecticides!
Isaac,
Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) is a registered pesticide with the EPA. Bt corn contains the toxin producing genes from Bacillus thuringiensis. Thus, Bt corn produces pesticides.
Here is a link to the General Fact Sheet on Bacillus thuringiensis from the NPTN:
http://npic.orst.edu/factsheets/BTgen.pdf
-Matt
If the numbers on the fruit/vegetable have #4000′s, or 9000′s, then they are traditional or organic….8000′s are gmo’s (I think).
My chemistry teacher told us back in the 1970′s to ‘please. wash your vegetables’
An intelligent science author as well.
Judy,
You are correct, 5-digit PLU codes beginning with an ’8′ are for GMO produce, but labeling GMOs is optional so no food producers do it. The reason being that most Americans state they wouldn’t purchase GMOs if they were labelled.
The only way to be sure you are not eating GMO is to buy organic produce, which has a 5-digit PLU code beginning with a ’9′.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeffrey-smith/plu-codes-do-not-indicate_b_473088.html
-Matt
[...] ~Bt Corn (produced by Monsanto) is registered and patented as a pesticide. This would be the corn that you eat every day, in a million and one products: corn on the cob, corn syrup, corn starch… Go check out your pantry and see how much corn is really in there. You cannot wash off this pesticide, because it’s actually produced inside the corn. Over 86% of the corn in the US is grown using Monsanto products. Pleasant thought, huh? [...]