Image: PANGAIAN WILDS by Daniel Mirante. Thanks Daniel!

Saturday, December 6, 2008

Major Threat to Fertility ... GMO "Foods"

From Dr. Mercola's website:
Austrian researchers have now confirmed a direct link between a decrease in fertility and a genetically modified diet. In order to protect the health of humankind and the fertility of women around the world, GM opponents are calling for an immediate ban of all GM foods and GM crops.

The highly reputable study, which was commissioned by the Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety, managed by the Austrian Federal Ministry of Health, Family and Youth, and carried out by Veterinary University Vienna, found significant litter size and pup weight decreases in the third and fourth litters in the GM-fed mice, compared to the control group.

The GM product in question is corn genetically modified with genes that produce a pesticidal toxin, as well as genes that allow it to survive applications of Monsanto’s herbicide Roundup. Yet, this is far from the only GM crop you need to avoid.

Jeffrey Smith, author of Seeds of Deception and Genetic Roulette, has documented 65 serious health risks from GM products of all kinds. Among them:

• Offspring of rats fed GM soy showed a five-fold increase in mortality, lower birth weights, and the inability to reproduce
• Male mice fed GM soy had damaged young sperm cells
• The embryo offspring of GM soy-fed mice had altered DNA functioning
• Several US farmers reported sterility or fertility problems among pigs and cows fed on GM corn varieties
• Investigators in India have documented fertility problems, abortions, premature births, and other serious health issues, including deaths, among buffaloes fed GM cottonseed products

Genetically modified foods are, from my perception, one of the largest threats that we have against the very sustainability of the human race.

Although Monsanto doesn’t believe (or admit) this is a possibility, their shortsighted focus on profits is blinding them to the very real threats that this technology is posing to the viability of the human race.

No One Knows What Devastation is Yet to Come

No one knows the full extent of what happens to the end product when you splice in new genes, and then eat that product for several generations. The only thing that is guaranteed is that it will create surprise side effects … However, according to Smith’s research, what we do know is that between 1994 and 2001 -- the same time that GMO’s flooded the market – food related illnesses DOUBLED.

GMO foods can be:

• Allergenic
• Toxic
• Carcinogenic
• Anti-nutritional

It may also create brand new diseases that we’ve never seen before, in addition to spurring on the disease rate of some we already have, such as cancer.

Dr. Mae-Wan Ho of the Institute of Science in Society (ISIS) explains the heart of why GM foods are so dangerous:

“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.”

Choosing to Avoid GM Foods

The major GM crops are:

• Soy
• Corn
• Cottonseed
• Canola

The offspring of these products include items such as maltodextrin, soy lecitin, and high fructose corn syrup. Other GMO products include:

• Some varieties of zucchini, crookneck squash, and papayas from Hawaii
• Milk containing rbGH
• Rennet (containing genetically modified enzymes) used to make hard cheeses
• Aspartame (NutraSweet)

Avoiding GM products in your diet means avoiding all of these ingredients, or choosing organic versions of them. This is not an easy task, especially if you eat processed food, so to get an idea of how widespread these ingredients are, I recommend taking a look at The GMO Food Guide I published a last year.

You can also further educate yourself, your friends and your family on the real threat GM foods pose to your health by watching, and sharing, The Future of Food. It is perhaps one of the most important videos on this subject, and one that everyone in America should watch and pass on to others.

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