The shelves of our grocery stores are filled with genetically-modified (GM) vegetables, also known as Frankenfood. But what's scariest about Frankenfood is not simply that scientists are manipulating DNA, but that they are not testing it before the food is sold to the public to be consumed!
As Monsanto prepares to unleash it's latest GM corn supergroup, a recent study in the International Journal of Biological Sciences has shown that the crops caused kidney and liver damage, and some heart, adrenal, spleen and blood damage and rats. Yet the corn has been approved for human consumption in the U.S. Take GM foods off the shelves >>
Several countries in Europe, such as Germany and France, have already banned GM crops. But the U.S. FDA has done us a potential dangerous disservice by simply taking Monsanto's word that their GM crops are safe and not doing any testing!
It's all about growing bigger, faster, fater and cheaper. GM is a another money making project.
Consumers say, 'We don't want GM food'; EU says, 'What, not even in organic food?'
A bizarre decision has been made by the EU to increase the maximum limit of GM material allowed in organic food, and effectively legitimise widespread GM contamination.
You might be alarmed to think that any GM ingredients end up in organic food, and you're right to be so. The previous maximum limit of 0.1 per cent was set simply because that was the lowest level that food could accurately be tested for GM contamination.
The new limit is 0.9 per cent, the same that applies to non-organic food, and while this might not sound like much, it does now mean that organic food can be polluted with much greater quantities of GM material before it has to be labelled with a warning. If organic food is tested and found to contain 0.8% GM contamination, it will be labeled as ‘GM free'.
This makes absolutely no sense. The success of organic foods has come about precisely because we trust them not to contain toxic chemicals and GM produce. As our campaigner Ben Ayliffe pointed out in the Independent, the shelves are groaning with organic food because it's what shoppers want, while GM food is conspicuous by its absence for the opposite reason.
For the EU to say it supports organic farming while increasing the level of contamination it can contain smacks of double standards. Do we see the lobbying fingerprints of the monolithic biotech companies all over this? I'll leave you to make up your own mind.
Where has the GM Shoppers' Guide gone?
The Guide was produced in 2003 as part of our campaign to remove GM ingredients from our food, allowing shoppers to see which products were GM-free and which ones weren't.
It was an enormous success and proved extremely popular. Covering a wide range of foods, including top brands and own-brands, products were colour coded to show whether your shopping trolley was free of GM ingredients or not.
As part of a massive consumer backlash against GM food, most supermarkets and food manufacturers stopped using GM ingredients in their food. In addition, subsequent EU legislation means that all products containing GM material need to be clearly labelled, which has made our Guide pretty much defunct.
Last edited by Life_Is_Short; 02-12-2010 at 12:57 AM.
people are cattle to them.. I was just asking my sister why purchasing organic clothes is like purchasing a luxury item, the norm is now luxury and sub-par stuff is the norm..
I really think it is about time everyone grew their own tiny but organic gardens.. probably difficult for city dwellers but I refuse to partake in this charade..
Text without context is pretext If your opponent is of choleric temperament, seek to irritate him
How can we be 100% sure thats the vegetables are not GM?
I love to buy veges...and these really make me worry.
25:36 And the true servants of the Most Merciful are those who walk the earth with humility and when the ignorant address them, they respond with words of peace.
I'd think Malaysia would be fairly safe no?
I don't know the first thing about agriculture but I have faith that you at least have normal food there not modified...
people should really grow their own from now on, maybe that will send a message?
Text without context is pretext If your opponent is of choleric temperament, seek to irritate him
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