Monsanto Report Sheds Light on Damaging Foods
The public may finally be getting an idea of just how damaging genetically
modified (GM) foods can be.
That's because, thanks to a German court ruling, the biotech company
Monsanto was ordered to publicly expose a controversial report about
its Mon 863 variety of corn. (Mon 863 was genetically engineered to produce
a form of a pesticide called bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), designed to
attack a corn pest called the root worm.)
The data verified claims made by prominent scientists who found animals
that ate the GM corn developed severe side effects in the blood, kidney
and liver and that humans eating the corn might also be at risk.
Moreover, the nearly 1,200-page report on the corn exposed that European
regulators accepted Monsanto's promises that their corn was safe, despite
the unscientific and contradictory rationale that was used to dismiss
significant problems. Among the problems discovered in rats that ate
the corn:
Kidney inflammation
Liver and kidney lesions
Increased blood sugar levels
Reactions that mimic cancer, allergies, anemia and poor blood pressure
Scientists Speak Out
Two prominent scientists -- both uniquely qualified to assess the study
-- spoke out about the findings regarding Mon 863. What did they have
to say? Both scientists expressed alarm about the unsupported arguments
that Monsanto and some European regulators used to force product approvals.
However, their prominent concern was the ways in which Monsanto "wrote-off" statistically
significant effects.
Ditching Accepted Methods of Science
In the study, test rats ate Mon 863, while the control group ate non-GM
corn from the same parent line. Considering the results were not entirely
in Monsanto's favor, the company and their supporters in the European
Food Safety Authority appeared to ditch the accepted methods of science
to rationalize the findings and instead:
Relied on just two observation times, which will not give data about
the intervening periods; moreover, the short 90-day time period will
miss chronic and reproductive problems, as well as problems in the next
generation.
Depended on analytical methods that are half a century old, and ignored
powerful new methods including profiling techniques, DNA chips and proteomics.
Reported bizarre weight measurements, suggesting possible problems with
animal management or faulty data.
Defended changes in kidney weights by comparing the values with a separate
study, which used different corn genetics and a different lab.
All in all, Monsanto's research paper was confusing, conflicting and
inadequately reported. It also neglected to disclose the nutritional
composition of the feed (backed up by chemical analysis) and the methods
used to measure changes in the animals.
Yet despite all of this, the European Food Standards Agency still recommended
that Mon 863 be approved.
U.S. Support
And the United States government's support for biotech is no secret either;
in fact, it is the official policy in several U.S. agencies to sponsor
the industry, and some of them have attempted to push acceptance of GM
crops in Europe.
Health Lies Exposed.com July 5, 2022 (Free Full-Text Article)
Dr. Mercola's Comment:
Deception is rampant when it comes to corporations that have something
to do with your health. They seem to believe that lives are dispensable
and it is OK to harm people so they can profit.
Everyone, even the CEOs of these corporations, know this is not right,
yet this evil behavior persists. We are regularly exposed to this abrogation
of ethics.
It is important for you to understand how these powerful corporations
have morphed into organizations that don't give one squat about you,
except for how much income they can extract from you.
This is true for nearly all of the drug companies, and it is certainly
true for one of the most evil companies I can think of, Monsanto. Let's
not forget, folks, these are the liars and deceivers that brought you
NutraSweet (aspartame) and genetically engineered plants.
Most of you probably don't understand how ubiquitous GM foods are in
the food chain.
The fact is that genetically modified foods are so prevalent in the United
States that if you randomly pick an item off your grocery store's shelves,
you have a 75 percent chance of picking a food with GM ingredients. This
is because at least seven out of every 10 items have been genetically
modified.
If you aren't convinced this is an issue, then do yourself a favor and
find some free time to review the evidence (related links below).
If you are already convinced, then take some positive actions by following
the list of four simple steps to decrease your consumption of GM foods
as much as possible:
Buy organic produce. By definition, food that is certified organic must
be free from all GM organisms, produced without artificial pesticides
and fertilizers and from an animal reared without the routine use of
antibiotics, growth promoters or other drugs.
Look at produce stickers. The PLU code on stickers for conventionally
grown fruit consists of four numbers, organically grown fruit has five
numbers prefaced by the number nine, and GM fruit has five numbers prefaced
by the number eight.
To further guide you in understanding the problems associated with GM
foods, I strongly recommend reading the incredible series Seeds of Doubt,
written by staffers at the Sacramento Bee.
Related Articles:
Why Genetically Modified Crops Can Devastate Health
Genetically Modified Foods, Inc.
Genetically Modified (GM) Foods Prepare a Takeover