We’ll explore the Pro and Cons of GMO taste unlimited which are genetically modified by introducing organisms DNA from other species. There are a multitude of opinions from PhDs, Environmentalists, and farmers now up in arms and the producers like Monsanto and their close alliance with the government and the Food and Drug Administration who tell us that GMO foods are so safe, there is no reason to even disclose GMO foods on the packaging of the foods we buy and consume on a daily basis.
Estimates are that 60% to 70% of processed foods on U.S. grocery shelves have genetically modified ingredients. The most common GMO foods are soybeans, maize, cotton and rapeseed oil which includes most of the packaged foods containing corn and/or high-fructose corn syrup found in almost all of the breakfast cereals, most snacks, and even the sodas we drink. It also includes foods from GMO soybeans which include some baby foods and many foods made from cottonseed and canola oils are likely to have genetically modified ingredients.
The real question is why is America is the only country in the world that doesn’t require the labeling of GMO foods or better, why it is even necessary for the chemical company Monsanto to genetically modify foods that are the very life blood of our existence, and most importantly will they then be safe to consume?
Genetic Engineering starts with some thought to take a cold water flounder gene and insert it into a tomato crop so the crop could withstand colder temperatures. If this sounds like Frankenstein it is, but even worse because Frankenstein was all one species, but what the heck, if it works, what could the problem be?
The next step is even scarier because of the only way to get the DNA of the flounder gene into the tomato gene is what? What is good at invading cells? Bacteria and Viruses are masters at it. It took Monsanto 12 years, but they finally found a soil bacterium that was naturally resistant to Monsanto’s pesticide Roundup, a chemical poison which is a slight variation of their WW ll lethal nerve gas and Vietnam’s Agent Orange.
Once they recombine the bacterial DNAs, this recombined bacterial DNA is able to penetrate the cell walls. The other two options of inserting this recombined DNA into the plant’s genes uses electric shock to crack open up cell walls with tiny holes to pass through and then there’s the Gene Gun which blasts the recombined DNA into the cells on minute particles of gold.
This creation of the Frankenstein crop with their cells implanted with recombined DNA leads us to the component that is so terrifying that its approval by the government of Washington DC could be nothing more than irresponsibly self-serving.
Bit, it gets even more threatening because in order to activate the recombined DNA, a separate promoter gene is also implanted to use like an ignition switch for the target gene. This promoter gene which is typically a Cauliflower Mosaic Virus may not always limit itself to just affecting the intended recombined gene. Because of the Mosaic Virus’ strong promoting influence, there could be unintended genes switched on with unintended disastrous consequences, like cancer cells or other disfiguring life threatening growths or illnesses.
There is a real possibility that the introduction of foreign virus’ and bacteria DNA in plants and animals could turn against us because this GMO foods technology is at such a nanoscopic size that most of the technology relies on a wait and see approach. Absolutely no one yet knows the long range effects of using bacteria and virus DNA to genetically engineer plants so that they could tolerate the deadly poison Roundup. There is also a wait and see approach to the effects of this poison falling to the ground entering the groundwater and environment as runoff, especially now that farmers are realizing that the more they use Roundup, the more they have to use it in ever increasing amounts.
Are you thinking how could anything you’ve just read get any more terrifying? It’s because these Frankenstein staple GMO foods crop seeds are patented and owned by the Monsanto Corporation, therefore each planting season, the farmers must buy these “patented” seeds from Monsanto, and the mega gallons of Roundup they need to spray the Monsanto crops as they grow. The Monsanto Corporation strictly forbids the saving of seeds as farmers have always done and tracks down and sues the farmers who attempt to. In fact, Monsanto sets an annual budget of $10 million and a staffs 75 farm detectives devoted solely to investigating and prosecuting farmers. There are many cases each year of harassment against farmers over alleged unauthorized use of their GMO seed products even if they blew in on the wind from another farm.