GMO

Will Saletan writes about politics, science, technology, and other topics of general interest for Slate Magazine.  This is a link to his GMO article that he spent one year researching.  It is comprehensive and is his answer to the question: “Is genetically engineered food dangerous?”

Slate Magazine is noted for its contrarian stances.  Slate’s editor-in-chief Julia Turner says: "We are not looking to argue that up is down and black is white for the sake of being contrarian against all logic or intellectual rigor. But journalism is more interesting when it surprises you either with the conclusions that it reaches or the ways that it reaches them."

Will Saletan writes, “If you’re like me, you don’t really want to wade into this issue. It’s too big, technical, and confusing. But come with me, just this once. I want to take you backstage, behind those blanket assurances about the safety of genetic engineering. I want to take you down into the details of four GMO fights, because that’s where you’ll find truth. You’ll come to the last curtain, the one that hides the reality of the anti-GMO movement. And you’ll see what’s behind it.”  His article.

A couple days ago I got an urgent email message from a respected nutrition site.  Below the "alert" is my analysis of their message. ACTION ALERT: The Monsanto rider is back – tell Congress to reject it!

Congress is considering a continuing resolution spending bill that includes the controversial Monsanto rider.

This rider effectively destroys judicial review and gives the biotech industry the power to decide which genetically modified (GMO) crops should be planted even when a court has found that there could be environmental damage or economic damage to farmers.

This article was making the Internet rounds in the spring of 2011. Is this something we should be worrying about? Yes, Bt Toxins are toxic to certain insects.  They are 100% natural (organic?) and have always (for all of time) been a part of the soil environment.  But some folks like to sell alkaline water so they terrorize the public with mythological dangers. What the article doesn't say is that eating/feeding grain (including corn) is one of the most destructive things a mother can do for herself and/or her child.  It's not that grain is potentially GMO that makes it bad for our health, it's because the very chemical composition of grain is foreign to animal life.  That's why the eating/feeding of grain destroys the immune system and leads to nearly all of the chronic diseases known to man. Why not focus on the very real danger, which is more like the atomic bomb going off, versus the one they are emphasizing which is like a lady finger firecracker in comparison? Read Bt toxins to learn more in greater detail. Then to learn more about the dangers of grain read The Atomic Bomb of the American Food System.

Ted Slanker

Friday, May 27, 2011