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by Raluca Schachter
27 April 2016
from
Wakeup-World Website
Spanish version
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Throughout our existence as humans, our genes have shown they are
highly adaptable to the available food supply and a wide variety of
diets.
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Over time, our genes gradually adapted
to new ways of eating and we continued to thrive. But all these
"new" foods were whole foods, unprocessed, unaltered, and found in
nature.
So, how does this adaptation relate to the new era of genetically
modified foods, made in the laboratory?
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Genetically
Modified Organisms (GMO) - What Are They?
A GMO (genetically modified organism) is the result of a laboratory
process where genes from the DNA of one species are extracted and
artificially forced into the genetic sequence (the inherited
blueprint for life) of an unrelated plant or animal.
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The foreign genes may come from
bacteria, viruses, insects, animals or even humans.
The genetic modification process brings about alterations in genetic
makeup and in the properties of the organism developed.
"Genetic engineering is based on the
naive understanding of the genome based on the 'One Gene - One
Protein' hypothesis of 70 years ago, that each gene codes for a
single protein.
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The Human Genome project completed
in 2002 showed that this hypothesis is wrong� Every scientist
now learns that any gene can give more than one protein and that
inserting a gene anywhere in a plant eventually creates rogue
proteins.
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Some of these proteins are obviously
allergenic or toxic. The whole paradigm of the genetic
engineering technology is based on a misunderstanding."
Dr. Thierry Vrain
research
scientist for Agriculture Canada and former-GMO advocate.
"The truth is� every time (corporate scientists) insert a novel
gene into a plant cell, the gene ends up in a random location in
the plant's genome.
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As a result, each new gene amounts to a game
of food safety roulette, leaving companies hoping that the new
gene will not destabilize a safe food and make it toxic."
Andrew Kimbrell
executive director
of Center for Food Safety.
GM plants and their derivatives now
found in high numbers throughout the United States are,
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soy
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corn
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cottonseed
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sugar beets
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canola
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potatoes
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tomatoes
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squash
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papaya
They all have had foreign genes forced
into their DNA, the long-term results of which are still largely
unknown.
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To make matters worse, there are many
more GM derivatives of these foods which have flooded the processed
food industry: like corn fructose syrup, starch, soy sauce,
lecithin, vegetable oils, etc.
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The Impact of
GMOs on Your Health
Traditional genetics used selective breeding, tissue cultures,
hybridization and other natural methods, which didn't pose the
negative health effects we see in the GMO era.
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Genetic Engineering is highly mutagenic
and leads to unpredictable changes in the DNA and the proteins
produced by the modified/inserted genes.
What remains to be proven is that the biotech industry's claim that
the proteins introduced, which can lead to toxic or allergic
reaction, pose no greater risk to human health than non-GE crops.
It's not hard to observe how worrying the health statistics have
become since GMO were introduced. Within nine years of widespread
introduction of GMOs into the U.S. food supply, the number of people
with three or more chronic diseases nearly doubled.
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Overall food
related illnesses doubled as well from 1994 to 2001, according to
Centers for Disease Control.
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Although�human GMO feeding studies are
rare (non existent), several animal studies reveal a long list of
resulting disorders�including:
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infertility
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immune dysregulation
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dysfunction in cholesterol
synthesis
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negative changes in the liver
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kidney and gastrointestinal
system,
...and more.�
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According to the Institute for Responsible Technology:
"When
mice were exposed to Bt-toxin, they not only mounted an immune
response to it directly, but they subsequently reacted to foods
that had not formally triggered a response.
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There
was something about the Bt-toxin that primed the immune system
to become reactive to other, once benign, foods.
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If
humans exposed to Bt-toxin react in a similar manner, eating GM
corn could directly lead to the development of [immune issues
and] gluten or other food sensitivities."
Monsanto, the leading GMO producer
developed the Bt corn (Mon 810) containing an allergenic protein
that is not produced in natural corn.
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This type of corn is designed to produce
Bt-toxin in every cell, which kills insects by destroying the
integrity of their gut. Studies on mice fed this GMO corn showed
serious health problems like immune dysregulation, allergies, and
tissue damage in their small intestine.
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Further studies have shown the Bt-toxin
punctures the digestive tract of�humans too. Not broken down by
the�digestion process, the Bt toxin was detected in as many as
93% of pregnant women who were tested, as well in the fetal cord
of 80% of their unborn children.
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GMO soy contains as much as seven times
the level of a natural soy allergen, trypsin inhibitor, compared to
non-GMO soy.
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The genes inserted into the GMO crops
produce new proteins into the human diet, which may be allergenic
and toxic.
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In a study published in the Journal of
Applied Toxicology in 2012, researchers proved that Bt toxins can
exert toxicity on human cells.
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The Bt gene might transfer from GM corn
and convert our intestinal flora into living pesticide factories.
Bt-toxin disrupts the membrane in 24 hours, causing certain fluids
to leak through the cell walls. This is a serious consequence which
leads to the modern "leaky gut syndrome", that many health
practitioners are seeing these days in their patients.�
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Additionally, the Bt transgene has
also�been linked to blood disorders, such as
hemolysis and
leukemia.
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In numerous other studies performed on
animals, rats fed GM potatoes had smaller, partially atrophied
livers, more than half the babies of mother rats fed GM soy died
within three weeks, male rats fed soy had changed testicles,
including altered young sperm, female rats fed GM soy showed changes
in their ovaries and uterus.
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By the third generation, most hamsters
fed GM soy were unable to have babies.
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Farmers in Europe and Asia say that
animals died after eating Bt corn varieties and grazed on Bt cotton
plants.
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Herbicides
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Another serious danger stems from the
excessive use of toxic herbicides on GMO crops, which are herbicide
tolerant.
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Herbicide tolerant crops have led to an
increase in herbicide use of 527 million pounds in the US over the
first 16 years and much higher levels of toxic residues in GM food.
"Roundup's main ingredient
glyphosate is now a ubiquitous poison, found in virtually all
water,
air,�soil
and rainfall samples tested. It contaminates the groundwater,
the source of most of our natural drinking water, and the soil
to the point where it has suppressed and destroyed the microbial
biodiversity in certain regions of the world, including
probiotic organisms of major food importance.�
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Moreover, it has been found to
exhibit toxicity and
carcinogenicity in cell studies at concentrations several
orders of magnitude lower than found in agricultural
applications (within the
parts per trillion range)�"
source
Multiple studies done in the the past
several years have shown that glyphosate (the active ingredient in
the RoundUp Ready herbicide) to be strongly connected to the rise
of,
...as well in increases in�antibiotic-resistant
gonorrhea�and
the overgrowth of deadly bacteria.
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Glyphosate�is also a
known neurotoxin, which�destroys
natural soil biology.
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One of the only published studies on
humans eating GMO revealed that a part of the transgenes from GM soy
transferred into bacteria living inside our intestines, where these
soy transgenes continue to produce Roundup Ready proteins. These
might continuously trigger immune reactions.
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Research led by a team from New Zealand
at the University of Canterbury, has found that commonly used
herbicides, including Roundup can cause bacteria to become resistant
to antibiotics.�GM papaya, zucchini and yellow squash have viral
transgenes that may produce viral proteins.
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More than one hundred studies show that
viral proteins can suppress an organism's defenses against viral
infections�or have toxic effects.
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Moreover, the rising use of agricultural
herbicides has been shown�to be responsible for the collapse of bee
colonies in the United States and Europe.
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In a�study published in the Journal of
Experimental Biology:
"�researchers found that
concentrations of glyphosate (GLY) consistent with the type of
exposures associated with standard spraying practices in GM
agriculture and neighboring eco-systems reduced the honeybees'
sensitivity to nectar reward and impaired their learning
abilities - two behavioral consequences likely to adversely
affect their survival abilities� "
source
Ironically, it seems the agricultural
system that GMO advocates�claims will solve the problem of world
hunger depends on a chemical (glyposate) that�actually�kills the
pollinator on�which around�70% of world's food supply depends.
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The Current
Situation
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Governments have not been too responsive
to the mounting evidence of harm from GMOs and genetically
engineering companies continue to forcefully push their agenda.
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Those who demand more science are
ironically labeled by the biotech industry as "anti-science"! The
scientists who do discover safety problems or even express concerns
are typically attacked and dismissed.
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Yet consumers and farmers are
reacting in great numbers.
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Norway
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Denmark
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Sweden
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Sri Lanka
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El Salvador
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Brazil
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India,
...all banned the use of
Roundup herbicide
and 38 countries worldwide have banned GM crops.
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Furthermore, it is clear that the
efforts to educate people about the dangers of GMO and the clear
clinical evidence has driven consumer concern and a higher demand
for non-GMO products.
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According to 2012 Nielsen Health and
Wellness Claims Performance Report, 2012 sales of products labeled
as non-GMO in the US increased more than any other health and
wellness category.
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In fact, an interesting aspect mentioned
by an executive at the national food store chain Whole Foods is that
when a product becomes verified as non-GMO, sales increase by 15-30
percent.
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"Non-GM advanced methods of plant breeding are already
delivering the sorts of traits promised by GM crops,
including resistance to diseases, flood and drought
tolerance.
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GM crops are not only an ineffective type of innovation, but
they also restrict innovation due to intellectual property
rights owned by a handful of multinational corporations."
Organic Consumers Association, "Twenty
Years of Failure: Why GM Crops Have Failed to Deliver on
Their Promises".
But, while there is still money to
be made, corporate science will no doubt continue to falsely�claim
"substantial equivalence"�between GMO and non-GMO foods, and
push the belief�that GMOs can help us "feed the world", despite
the fact that�there are no GMO food crops designed to deliver
high yields.
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The reality we all need to face is
that GMOs are promoting the rise of numerous diseases in humans
and animals, and creating widespread chemical and genetic
pollution in the environment.
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This will have untold long-term
negative effects not only on our generations, but on those to
come as well.
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Putting a stop now will give us all a chance for a
better health - the way nature intended!
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References
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Smith, Jeffrey.
Genetic Roulette - The Documented Health Risks of
Genetically Engineered Foods.
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Smith, Jeffrey.
Seeds of Deception - Exposing Industry and Government
Lies About the Safety of the Genetically Engineered
Foods.
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Robin, Marie-Monique -
The World According to Monsanto.
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http://www.reusethisbag.com/reusable-bag-infographics/food-labeling.php
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http://mbio.asm.org/content/6/2/e00009-15
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https://www.organicconsumers.org/scientific/twenty-years-failure-why-gm-crops-have-failed-deliver-their-promises
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http://responsibletechnology.org/gmo-education/health-risks
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http://www.greenmedinfo.com/article/adverse-effects-field-realistic-doses-glyphosate-honeybee-appetitive-behavior
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A.Pusztai and S.
Bardocz, "GMO in animal nutrition: potential benefits
and risks," Chapter 17,�Biology
of Nutrition in Growing Animals�(Elsevier, 2005).
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L Zolla, et al., "Proteomics
as a complementary tool for identifying unintended side
effects occurring in transgenic maize seeds as a result
of genetic modifications,"�J
Proteome Res. 2008 May;7(5):1850-61
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Vazquez et al, "Intragastric
and intraperitoneal administration of Cry1Ac protoxin
from Bacillus thuringiensis induces systemic and mucosal
antibody responses in mice," Life Sciences, 64, no. 21
(1999): 1897�1912;
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Vazquez et al,
"Characterization of the mucosal and systemic immune
response induced by Cry1Ac protein from Bacillus thuringiensis HD 73 in mice,"�Brazilian
Journal of Medical and Biological Research�33
(2000): 147�155
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Nagui H. Fares, Adel
K. El-Sayed, "Fine Structural Changes in the Ileum of
Mice Fed on Endotoxin Treated Potatoes and Transgenic
Potatoes,"�Natural Toxins�6,
no. 6 (1998): 219�233.
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de Vend�mois JS, Roullier F,
Cellier D, S�ralini GE. A Comparison of the Effects of
Three GM Corn Varieties on Mammalian Health.�Int
J Biol Sci�2009; 5:706-726.
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Netherwood et al, "Assessing the survival of transgenic plant DNA in the
human gastrointestinal tract,"�Nature
Biotechnology�22 (2004): 2.
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Seralini, et
al., "Long term toxicity of a Roundup herbicide and a
Roundup-tolerant genetically modified maize,"�Food
and Chemical Toxicology, Volume 50, Issue 11,
November 2012, Pages 4221�4231
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0278691512005637
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