When genetic engineering of plants and animals began in the mid-1970s, scientists were secure in the belief that the characteristics of organisms are simply hardwired in their genome. But geneticists soon discovered that the genome is actually remarkably dynamic and fluid.

Genetic engineering in the laboratory is crude, imprecise and invasive. The rogue genes inserted into a genome to make a GMO can land anywhere, scrambling and mutating the host genome. Ultimately, genetic modification doesn’t work and is also dangerous.

After 30 years of GMO’s, the case against them grows ever stronger according to this excellent article by Dr. Mae-Wan Ho of the Institute of Science in Society (ISIS):
  • No increase in yields: GM soy decreased yields by up to 20 percent compared with non-GM soy, and up to 100 percent failures of GM cotton have been recorded in India.
  • No reduction in pesticide use: USDA data showed that GM crops increased pesticide use by 50 million pounds from 1996 to 2003 in the United States.
  • Roundup herbicide: This product is lethal to frogs and toxic to human placental and embryonic cells. It is used on more than 80 percent of all GM crops planted in the world
  • GM crops harm wildlife: Wastes from GM corn impairs the growth of aquatic insects.
  • GM food and feed have been linked to deaths and sicknesses: Both in the fields of India, and in lab tests around the world.
Growing GM crops will not counteract the soaring rates of hunger, poverty, food prices and environmental disasters that are occurring, the author concludes. What’s needed is a fundamental change in farming practice that eliminates GM crops and supports small-scale organic farms instead.

Sources:

Institute for Science in Society April 6, 2008

Dr. Mercola's Comments:

Dr. Ho has written one of the best explanations I’ve heard of exactly why GM crops are threatening the world’s food supply.

“The genome is remarkably dynamic and ‘fluid’, and constantly in conversation with the environment,” Dr. Ho writes. “This determines which genes are turned on, when, where, by how much and for how long. Moreover, the genetic material itself could also be marked or changed according to experience, and the influence passed on to the next generation.”

But when genetically modified “rogue genes” are inserted into a genome, it cannot possibly mimic the complex processes -- the “dance of life” -- that’s necessary for survival in nature.

“The rogue genes inserted into a genome to make a GMO could land anywhere; typically in a rearranged or defective form, scrambling and mutating the host genome, and have the tendency to move or rearrange further once inserted, basically because they do not know the dance of life,” Ho says. “That’s ultimately why genetic modification doesn’t work and is also dangerous.”

Follow Your Instincts: GM Foods are NOT Safe

There is something inherently unsettling about messing around with the very makeup of living organisms. Not surprisingly, this unsettling feeling is spot on. Although the evil GM giants like Monsanto will carry on with their claim that GM foods are no different from conventionally grown varieties, the research begs to differ.

Here is just a sampling of the unsavory findings associated with GM foods:

  • GM peas caused lung damage in mice
  • GM potatoes may cause cancer in rats
  • Bacteria in your gut can take up DNA from GM food
  • They may be spurring the creation of weed-killer-resistant superweeds

And perhaps you have also heard of Morgellon’s Disease?

People with Morgellon’s disease describe it as a feeling of bugs or parasites scuttling around beneath their skin, accompanied by open lesions that heal slowly and ooze out blue, black or white fibers that can be several millimeters long. These fibers appear like pliable plastic. They can be as fine as spider silk, yet they are strong enough to distend the skin when pulled and elicit shooting pains when you try to remove them.

This bizarre disease has been popping up in 15 nations across the world. Even the CDC has described it as an outbreak.

The potential cause?

Genetically modified foods.

Demanding More from Your Food

It’s time the people of the world united against the greed-driven corporations pushing GM foods and demanded something better. Food that is still food, grown the way nature intended and not tinkered with behind closed doors in a laboratory.

Let your elected officials know how you feel about it; ask your local supermarket to stock their shelves with more natural organic foods; vote with your pocketbook –- avoid everything that contains GMO products. That means abstaining from virtually all processed food products and sticking to fresh, locally grown, organic foods -- and going back to basic food preparation in your own home.

There are special roles that people in certain professions can play to advance this cause as well:

  • Chefs, restaurants and food companies can switch to non-GM sources
  • Retailers can remove or label GM products or offer in-store Non-GMO Shopping Guides
  • Religious leaders can help to educate their organization and membership
  • Health practitioners can provide patient education materials
  • Those in the education world can help make school cafeterias GM-free
  • Reporters can expose the health risks

Keep in mind if you do buy any processed foods that there’s a 75 percent chance it contains a genetically modified ingredient. That’s how widespread these frankenfoods have become.

The True Food Shopping Guide is a great tool for helping you determine which brands and products contain GMO ingredients. It lists 20 different food categories that include everything from baby food to chocolate -- and I highly recommend printing it out and taking it with you every time you go to the grocery store.

© Copyright 2008 Dr. Joseph Mercola. All Rights Reserved.