Tag: GMO

Big Pharma: Bayer confirms $66bn Monsanto Takeover

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Genetically modified crops, such as this corn, are big business in the US

“German chemicals giant Bayer has confirmed its record-breaking $66bn takeover of GM seeds business Monsanto – a deal that would create the world’s biggest seeds and pesticides company.” This doesn’t surprise me at all.  By the way, genetically modified seeds are killing us, if you didn’t know. Bayer purchased of Monsanto might propell them in the number one spot for the biggest and most profitable pharmaceutical company.  That just means more people will die from drugs and GMO products. Support the organic movement and buy organic and NonGMO foods. 

If you’re interested read more about it here. 

Del Monte Gets Approval to Import GMO Pineapple

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Article by Dave on April 16, 2013

An international fruit company has won approval from the USDA to ship genetically engineered pineapple into the U.S.

The Del Monte Fresh Produce Co., based in the Cayman Islands, has developed a transgenic pineapple that has tissue of a “novel rose color.”

The company has altered the fruit to “overexpress” a gene derived from the tangerine and to suppress other genes, increasing accumulation of lycopene, a natural chemical, according to its submission to the USDA.

The plant’s flowering cycle has also been changed to provide for more uniform growth and quality.

USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has found that the “Rosé” cultivar is a regulated transgenic crop but does not require a biotechnology permit to export the crop to the U.S.

The transgenic fruit “does not have the ability to propagate and persist in the environment once they have been harvested,” according to USDA APHIS.

To read the full article click here: STOP GM FOODS NOW

Sources:
Originally published: Capital Press.

A Healthier SNACK: Organic Popcorn

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Organic popcorn is healthier for you but, only if it’s air-popped. You can use a regular pot which, I’ve used many times over, or you can buy an air popper. They’re sold at Macy’s, Sear’s and Amazon for under fifty dollars. To jazz up your popcorn drizzle extra virgin olive oil over it and sprinkle a ittle sea salt for more taste.

How many calories you end up with depends on how much olive oil you use.

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One cup of air popped popcorn, for example, contains only 30 calories or so. Olive oil contains about 250 calories per ounce (2 tablespoons).

Many American’s buy the microvable brands and it’s actually not healthy for you. Remember the corn is a grain however, it’s the type of corn you buy (Organic or GM Corn) and how you prepare it can really affect your health. A new study at the University of Minnesota showed diacetyl has several concerning properties for brain health and may trigger Alzheimer’s disease.

Diacetyle is an artificial butter flavoring added to microwave popcorn and other snack foods; many microwave popcorn factories have already stopped using the synthetic diacetyl because it’s been linked to lung damage in people who work in the factories. Now imagine popping your microvable pocorn and this chemical goes into your blood stream which the study shows.

Removing Diacetyl from Microwave Popcorn Doesn’t Make it Safe…
As mentioned, diacetyl is known to cause serious, sometimes life-threating respiratory illness in microwave popcorn-plant and flavoring plant workers. Many companies therefore began to stop using the chemical in their products, replacing it with another ingredient called 2,3-pentanedione (PD), which is also used to impart a buttery flavor and aroma.

Now researchers have revealed that PD, too, can lead to respiratory toxicity similar to that caused by diacetyl. The chemical was also capable of pathologically altering the gene expression in rat brains, leading to neurotoxicity. The study’s lead researcher noted:

    “Our study is a reminder that a chemical with a long history of being eaten without any evidence of toxicity can still be an agent with respiratory toxicity when appropriate studies are conducted.”

Not to mention, perfluoroalkyls (PFCs), which are chemicals used to keep grease from leaking through food wrappers, are widely used in microwave-popcorn packaging. These chemicals migrate into your food and are processed by your body, where they can disrupt your endocrine system and affect your sex hormones. PFCs have been linked to infertility, thyroid disease, cancer, immune system problems, and more.

It’s obviouse we’re living in a world where we want things bigger and faster. That doesn’t always mean it’s healthier and better for us.

Source:
WHOLEfoods! Popcorn
University of Minnesota Study
Dr. Mercola – Buttered Popcorn Linked to Alzheimer’s
Study – Respiratory and olfactory cytotoxicity of inhaled 2,3-pentanedione

Human Genes Engineered Into Expererimental GMO Rice Being Grown in Kansas

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Unless the rice you buy is certified organic, or comes specifically from a farm that tests its rice crops for genetically modified (GM) traits, you could be eating rice tainted with actual human genes. The only known GMO with inbred human traits in cultivation today, a GM rice product made by biotechnology company Ventria Bioscience is currently being grown on 3,200 acres in Junction City, Kansas — and possibly elsewhere — and most people have no idea about it.

Since about 2006, Ventria has been quietly cultivating rice that has been genetically modified (GM) with genes from the human liver for the purpose of taking the artificial proteins produced by this “Frankenrice” and using them in pharmaceuticals. With approval from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Ventria has taken one of the most widely cultivated grain crops in the world today, and essentially turned it into a catalyst for producing new drugs.

Originally, the cultivation of this GM rice, which comes in three approved varieties (http://www.aphis.usda.gov/brs/biotech_ea_permits.html), was limited to the laboratory setting. But in 2007, Ventria decided to bring the rice outdoors. The company initially tried to plant the crops in Missouri, but met resistance from Anheuser-Busch and others, which threatened to boycott all rice from the state in the event that Ventria began planting its rice within state borders (http://todayyesterdayandtomorrow.wordpress.com).

So Ventria‘s GM rice eventually ended up in Kansas, where it is presumably still being grown for the purpose of manufacturing drugs on 3,200 acres in Junction City. And while this GM rice with added human traits has never been approved for human consumption, it is now being cultivated in open fields where the potential for unrestrained contamination and spread of its unwanted, dangerous GM traits is virtually a given.

“This is not a product that everyone would want to consume,” said Jane Rissler from the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) to the Washington Post back in 2007. “It is unwise to produce drugs in plants outdoors.”

Though receiving tens of thousands of public comments of opposition, many rightly concerned about the spread of GM traits, the USDA approved open cultivation of Ventria‘s GM rice anyway. This, of course, occurred after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had refused approval for Ventria‘s GM rice back in 2003 (http://www.kansasruralcenter.org/publications/PharmaRice.pdf).

GM ‘pharmaceutical’ rice could cause more disease, suggests report

Besides the threat of contamination and wild spread, Ventria‘s GM rice, which is purportedly being grown to help third-world children overcome chronic diarrhea, may conversely cause other chronic diseases.

“These genetically engineered drugs could exacerbate certain infections, or cause dangerous allergic or immune system reactions,” said Bill Freese, Science Policy Analyst at the Center for Food Safety (CFS), who published a report back in 2007 about the dangers of Ventria‘s GM rice.

You can view that report here:
http://www.centerforfoodsafety.org

My Farmers Market

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Prospect Park Greenmarket is my first stop on Saturday mornings. We make it a family outing to the park. All I have to pack is a blanket, some toys, a diaper bag, and everything else (food wise) we buy at the market. There’s such a variety at this farmers market. I’m so amazed at the quality and the options available. You can buy organic breads, pastries, organic fruits and vegetable, cage free eggs, turkey, fresh fish, juices, flowers, honey, and there’s even a composting section. Sometimes they have wine tasting! After we’re done shopping we take a nice stroll into the park and have a picnic. Here’s a few pictures from our last visit.

It’s important that we support local farmers and organic foods. Please educate yourself and learn more about Genetically Modified Organisms and support the right to know what goes into our foods. click here

To find your local Farmers Market click here

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Growing Fatter on a GM Diet

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Growing Fatter on a GM Diet

Rats being fed genetically modified food eat more and grow fatter than those on a non-GM diet.