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Thu, 15 Jun 2006

Jeffrey M. Smith says, "Be Very Very Afraid of GE Corn!"

In his latest Institute for Responsible Technology newsletter, Jeffrey Smith documents reports and studies which indicate that genetically engineered crops may produce herbicide inside our intestines.

It's that word 'may' that gets me, because it implies 'or may not'. Here are a few paragraphs from this long article that 'may' indicate that we should be very very afraid of GE corn.

"Pioneer Hi-Bred’s website boasts that their genetically modified (GM) Liberty Link[1] corn survives doses of Liberty herbicide, which would normally kill corn.The reason, they say, is that the herbicide becomes 'inactive in the corn plant.'[2] They fail to reveal, however, that after you eat the GM corn, some inactive herbicide may become reactivated inside your gut and cause a toxic reaction. In addition, a gene that was inserted into the corn might transfer into the DNA of your gut bacteria, producing long-term effects. These are just a couple of the many potential side-effects of GM crops that critics say put the public at risk."

"Herbicide tolerance (HT) is one of two basic traits common to nearly all GM crops. About 71% of the crops are engineered to resist herbicide, including Liberty (glufosinate ammonium) and Roundup[3] (glyphosate). About 18% produce their own pesticide. And 11% do both. The four major GM crops are soy, corn, cotton and canola, all of which have approved Liberty- and Roundup-tolerant varieties. Herbicide tolerant (HT) crops are a particularly big money-maker for biotech companies, because when farmers buy HT seeds, they are required to purchase the companies’ brand of herbicide as well. In addition, HT crops dramatically increase the use of herbicide,[4] which further contributes to the companies' bottom line."

Jeffrey Smith goes on in his usual thorough and relentless style, laying out facts and results of studies and reports about herbicides taking up residence in the human digestive system, and wreaking all kinds of havoc. His article pushes the 'may' into 'probably'. He knocks hard on the door of 'highly likely' until it falls in and reveals a complete nightmare.

Personally, I'm not waiting for the long term independent studies which prove beyond a doubt that genetically modified foods are harmful. I went completely organic years ago. And I avoid corn, as it's very difficult now to grow organic corn with no GE contamination. One, five, ten, twenty years from now - who knows how long it'll take - governments will be forced to enact a world wide ban on products that never should have seen the light of day in the first place. After irrevocable harm has been done.

Why bother to pay for a scary movie, when you can read Jeffrey Smith's free article, Genetically Engineered Crops May Produce Herbicide Inside Our Intestines? Instead of eating popcorn, you can give your brain a good work-out, and pick up new words to show off, like 'glufosinate ammonium', and 'endocrine disrupters.'

Jeffrey M. Smith is the author of the international bestseller, Seeds of Deception, and the recently released GMO Trilogy.