GM Foods and what they are doing to us...

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The problem seems to be in the combination with the surfactants (For those who havent watched the video or those that missed the roundup conection... the gm crops are modified to lessen weed problems (and in this way you get stronger plants and better yield)... you DO however need to apply ROUNDUP (another Monsanto product) and many are concerned about this massive use of this pesticide and suspect it is not such a benign product as is advertised > on many ag forums I have read farmers complaining now of resistance issues and having to use three times the amount of roundup they used to ):
http://www.ibiblio.org/london/pesticide-education/Roundup-Ready.risks-from-glyphosate
From [email protected] Fri May 19 14:54:24 2000
Date: Fri, 19 May 2000 11:20:06 -0400
From: Chris McCullum <[email protected]>
To: [email protected]
Subject: Roundup Ready

"Research is already suggesting that Roundup may not be as safe as we are being led to believe.
Roundup has now been linked to several types of cancer, including non-Hodgkins' Lymphoma."

>Yes, I've heard similar reports. Although I don't have all my references off hand, here are a few
that I do have:
>Research has shown that the application of glyphosate can increase the level of plant estrogens in the bean, Vicia faba (Sanderman and Wellman, 1988). More research is needed to understand the significance of these findings as well as to better understand the neurological, immunological,developmental, and reproductive effects of herbicides, including glyphosate.

>Although adverse effects of herbicide-resistant soybeans have not been observed on certain feeding animals, genotoxic effects have been
demonstrated in other non-target organisms (Cox, 1995 a,b)

>Earthworms have been shown to be severely damaged by the glyphosate herbicide at 2.5-10 1/ha (Rebanova et al., 1996). In addition, aquatic organisms, including fish, can sometimes be severely damaged as well (Henry et al., 1994; WHO, 1994).

>Cox, C. 1995a. Glyphosate, part 1: Toxicology. J Pest. Ref. 15(3):14-20
>Cox, C. 1995 b. Glyphosate, part 2: Toxicology. J. Pest. Ref. 15(4):14-20.
>Henry et al. 1994. Acute toxicity and hazard assessment of Rodeo,
>Spreader, and Chem-Trol to
>aquatic invertebrates Act. Environ.Contam. Toxicol. 27:3):392-399.
>Rebanova et al. 1996. Effect of the herbicide Roundup on earthworms of the
>family Lumbricidae in the
>mountainous meadow ecosystems. Zootechnicka Rada, Ceske Budejovice
>13(2):63-70.
>Sanderman, H. and Wellman, E. 1988 Biologische Sicherheit 1:285-292.
>WHO, 1994. Glyphosate. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization.

>Chris

http://pubs.acs.org/subscribe/journals/esthag-w/2005/sep/science/rr_inerts.html
(excerpt)

Scientists question the continued use of POEA in Roundup, citing data showing harmful effects to frogs.

ES&T
Glyphosate herbicides, such as Monsanto’s popular Roundup, have an environmentally friendly reputation because their active ingredients are relatively nontoxic and degrade rapidly in the environment. But University of Pittsburgh biologist Rick Relyea is challenging this view. He has found that Roundup at environmentally relevant concentrations kills or harms tadpoles because of the presence of the surfactant POEA , an ingredient that is defined as inert and doesn’t appear on the label (Ecol. Appl. 2005, 15, 618–6......).

Relyea’s work is one of several studies that shed light on the behavior of “inerts” in the environment, a topic largely ignored by the U.S. EPA, say many environmental toxicologists inside and outside the agency. ..."

http://academic.evergreen.edu/curricular/ecoag2005/EcoAg Winter/Handouts/...
"Case of Roundup
(glyphosate)surfactant POEA (polyethoxylatedtallow amine), similar to spermicide
•Caroline Cox publishes paper 1988 that surfactant in Roundup was poisonous to people/animals based on Japanese data
•No action
•2005-U of Pitt Biologist Relyea publishes that toxic to tadpoles
•In article in Science News EPA admits that it doesn’t spent much time testing inerts
Science News Sept 7, 2005

LD50 don’t take into account:
•Longtermeffects
•Endocrine disruption

•Immune system effects

•Effects of low concentrations

•Mixtures of pesticides and fertilizers

•Multiple routes of exposure

•Additions (surfactants and other "inert"ingredients)

•Physiological stressors (malnutrition)


http://www.wtvl.net/fen/herb.htm
(summaries of several studies addressing full formulation >>> surfacant factor )

http://www.safe2use.com/ca-ipm/02-05-29a.htm

http://www.positivehealth.com/article-view.php?articleid=1761
"....
Roundup's Toxic Effects
Take Roundup as an example. The active ingredient in Roundup is glyphosate and the 'inert' ingredient is a surfactant known as POEA. However, recommendations are based on tests using glyphosate alone. Although results indicate increased incidence of liver, thyroid, and testicular cancer in rats, the Environment Protection Agency in the US does not consider the 12% incidence of testicular cancer in treated animals of statistical significance to the 4.5% incidence in the non-treated group. Hence glyophosate is considered toxicologically benign.[3] However, further tests show that Roundup is three times more lethal than glyphosate. This suggests that it is the synergistic "mix" of chemicals that may cause the problems – not the single component. It should also be noted that epidemiological evidence supports a three-fold risk of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in farm workers using Roundup. This is not an isolated case.

Other studies show that minute doses of multiple chemicals tend to be more lethal than a single chemical dose alone.[4] Unfortunately, studies on single chemicals rather than the multi-chemicals in commercial products are accepted as sufficient evidence for assessing the toxicity of products – as in the case of Roundup, which has never been tested in its product form for licensing.

The saga continues. Glyphosate is persistent and can remain in the soil and contaminate it and everything grown in it for up to three years. Its use has more than doubled from 17-20 million kilograms in 1995 to 45 million kilograms in 2001. We have no method of assessing the total residue of Roundup on crops. No government agency has even considered the issue of glyphosate on GE/GM crops – thus nobody has included the effects of increasing the use of glyphosate in the risk/benefit analysis carried out on GE crops.[2]

So here is the rub: if GM crops are implicated in degenerative disease, will this be due to the genetic engineering of the crops, the vast toxic residue of herbicides that these crops carry, or Roundup's effect of inhibiting the protein synthesis of the plant, leading to a deficiency of two essential amino-acids and malnutrition? Will it be a deficiency disease, a toxic disease or a disease caused through genetic modification? We have no way of knowing, and nothing in place to determine the safety. In layperson's terms, this means there is no risk management...."
 
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The problem seems to be in the combination with the surfactants (For those who havent watched the video or those that missed the roundup conection... the gm crops are modified to lessen weed problems (and in this way you get stronger plants and better yield)... you DO however need to apply ROUNDUP (another Monsanto product) and many are concerned about this massive use of this pesticide and suspect it is not such a benign product as is advertised > on many ag forums I have read farmers complaining now of resistance issues and having to use three times the amount of roundup they used to ):

1) GMO's crops do NOT lessen weed problems. they have nothing to do with weeds. They are insect related or chem related.

2) You do not have to use Roundup. Farmers do because the cost per acre use to be $4/acre versus $35 with old chems.

3) See response above on resistance. Some farmers do not understand how chems work or about the size of the weed or growth stage affects what chem and how much you use. sad but true. Altho farmers today are much more educated on chems than they were 5 years ago.

4) Glysophate is a CHEMICAL and needs to be treated as one. Applying it directly to animals/humans will cause cancer, NO ONE disagrees with this, never have. That's why it is to be sprayed on the weed targeted to kill.
 
1) I would compare my way of life to anyone on here as far as being environmentally friendly.



3) interesting that you see worst out of an American company. I truly hope YOU use NO CHEMS at all. No soap, no deodorants, no hair sprays, colognes, etc.......can you walk the walk??????
 
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I don't believe that it is ALL about the chemicals. It's about the genetically engineered plants that have been shown in studies to cause cancer in lab mice. It's about the way they "jump" hurdles in order to get their stuff on the market with little concern as to the long term effects. It's about how they have helped a generation of people who seem to have no conscience when it comes to raping the land, taking advantage of others and crippling the agricultural livelyhoods of others...... oh yeah, and it's about the chemicals!

Granted, in modern society it is almost impossible for the average person to completely cut themselves off from all of the things that are contributing to the destruction of the Natural world...... but, every little bit helps, and all is a step in the right direction. I only buy approx. 4 sticks of deoderant a year, I NEVER use hairspray, gels, etc...... I rarely wear make-up, perfume or the like. I buy the essentials that the family needs... shampoo, soap etc. I find it difficult to completely eliminate all usage of things that contribute to the problem... but I do my best to keep it to a minimum.

It's like Wal-mart, I hate shopping there, and I do my best to buy local... but when it comes to the rest, I just can't afford to shop anywhere else. Big money has us where they want us. The rich keep getting richer while the poor get poorer. But, I believe that it has to "break" before we will fix it. I look forward to the day when all Americans (And the rest of the world) say "Enough is enough!" We want a new way of being. A new system. A responsible partnership with the planet and the ability for those who try to have a good life. It's certainly not made easy these days.
 
It's about the genetically engineered plants that have been shown in studies to cause cancer in lab mice

Name ONE GMO plant that has been released that has caused cancer in lab mice. State report or university that did report and I'll look it UP.

Having done college lab work w/rats, the rates they are fed are usually 10X more than would ever be expected to eat in a life time. They also use a special line of mice/rats that have a high (50%) cancer rate fed normal feed. The idea is to detect fast any cancer causing agents. But to state that lab mice have cancer that ate ______ is not news, it's the expected.
 
And, just to clarify, I'm not insisting that all agriculture is that way. Man has been growing crops since civilization. Certainly there are ways to do it that do not involve chemicals. It is because the profit is not as high if the yield is low. I don't blame the farmers..... they have been put in a position to supply the demand.
 
Where science meddles with the basics of the natural world, is where we will someday find our undoing. I am one of those people that believe that the more we engineer our lives, the worst off we become.... even if for the first few generations it appears to be a great advancement.

I will look this weekend to find the article and study I read...... it has been a few years and I will have to dig it out.
 
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