Nothing spells D-R-A-M-A like a mother going up against academics and former scientists in a public blogging forum. That’s just what happened this month to Michelle Maisto, a food-blogging mother writing at Forbes.com after she wrote a post calling for the labeling of GMO foods. Granted, Michelle is not a biochemical engineer, nor is she a trained physician. However, she wasn’t writing about the health or safety of GMO foods. She was just asking a logical question.
USDA Potentially Deregulates ALL GMO Crops
At the end of last week, the USDA deregulated a new genetically modified, RoundUp resistant grass created by Scotts Miracle Gro. Over the past 6 months, it has deregulated several genetically modified crops, so this isn’t really shocking or surprising. However, the real alarm comes when you read the USDA’s reasoning behind deregulation. Turns out, the same logic can be used to deregulate just about every new genetically modified crop out there.
Blackwater the ‘Intel Arm’ of Monsanto
I don’t know why I was shocked. Both Blackwater (now re-branded “Xe Services”) and Monsanto are corporations that have, as my grandmother used to say, “grown too big for their britches.” And that’s putting it mildly. Why should I be surprised that Monsanto hired Blackwater’s intelligence agency arm, Total Intelligence Solutions, to infiltrate anti-GMO activist groups and monitor the blogs of those organizing against the company?
Supreme Court Rules In Monsanto vs. Geerston Seed Farms
Remember how the Supreme Court heard it’s first case involving genetically-engineered crops in April? Today they announced their decision. It is a mixed victory for us Real Foodies.
The high court left the ban on the planting of Roundup Ready alfalfa in place, so for all practical purposes the “good guys” are celebrating today. The court did say, however, that the lower-court judge had overstepped his authority.
Roundup Resistant Weeds Not A Surprise
Monsanto, the developer of the herbicide Roundup, should have seen it coming. All across the country, weeds are quickly mutating to become resistant to Roundup. Many scientists did see it coming, including Jane Rissler and Margaret Mellon of the Union for Concerned Scientists. They even wrote a book on The Ecological Risks of Engineered Crops in 1996 in which they warned of just such a thing.
But now the New York Times has posted a nearly hysterical article about the End of Roundup. Think: Oh NO, America! Without Roundup and the benefit of genetically-engineered monocultures, agriculture will totally fall apart, get even more expensive, require us to use even more toxic chemicals just to keep our plants alive, and contribute to extensive erosion!! The impact on the environment will be terrible.
It would be laughable if it weren’t all such a bunch of marketing spin. It reminds me of the marketing campaign Monsanto launched last year. You know the one. The one where they declared their total dedication to “sustainable agriculture.”
PLU Codes Don’t Indicate GMO Produce
A while back, I stumbled onto a little known fact. The PLU codes on produce at your supermarket actually mean things (besides what kind of fruit or veggie it is)! For example, organic produce has a 5-digit PLU code beginning with the number 9. Conventionally raised produce has a 4-digit PLU code, and (wonder of wonders!) genetically modified produce has a 5-digit PLU code beginning with the number 8.
When getting fresh vegetables from local farmers, PLU codes don’t seem all that important. After all, I can just ask the farmer about his growing practices and where he gets his seed from. So, I tucked away this handy bit of knowledge about supermarket produce, thinking I might use it some day.
Then this week, I read an eye-opening article by Jeffrey Smith (the founder of the Institute for Responsible Technology). He says PLU codes don’t reveal the GMO origins of produce. Why? Because they’re optional.
Genetically Modified Corn Farmers Breaking The Rules
Tsk. Tsk. As if genetetically-engineered crops weren’t scary enough, a recent study revealed that as many as 37% of farmers planting genetically-modified BT corn crops aren’t complying with federal rules designed to maintain the crop’s resistance to damage from insects.
BT corn, you’ll remember, is genetically modified to be insecticidal. In other words, certain insects eating BT corn in fields should die. In order to help ensure that insects don’t grow resistant to the toxins in the plant, federal regulations written by the EPA require farmers to plant 20% of the fields with non-BT corn in order to serve as a refuge for insects. The hope is that if an insect becomes immune to the BT toxin, it will mate with a non-resistant insect from a nearby field, and their offspring will not be resistant to the toxin. As of 2008, 57% of the corn grown in the U.S. is BT corn.
GMOs A Thing Of The Past, Artisan Butchers, Laughs, & More
Ah, another Thursday, another post full of delectable links you’ll want to enjoy!
This week’s line up features some of the most interesting articles I’ve ever read touching on politically incorrect nutrition, disappearing real food traditions, and the coming shift in biotechnology agriculture research. Considering how thought-provoking and heavy those posts were, I decided to throw in a laugh (thanks to The Onion) and a tasty recipe to balance it all out.
Hope you enjoy!
Are GMOs Safe?
Five years ago, I didn’t know what GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms) were. I certainly didn’t know how pervasive they were in our food supply. And I would never have asked if they were safe or not.
After all, wasn’t that the government’s job? Someone at the FDA or USDA would surely have tested any new food technologies to make sure it was safe for me to consume.
Needless to say, I’ve since learned just how wrong I was.
GMOs and Pharmaceuticals
They call it “pharming.” It’s the use of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) to manufacture pharmaceutical compounds.
Most scientists cheer the effort on, particularly when pharming animals. After all, you can get as much antithrombin (a protein found in human blood plasma and now manufactured into the milk of GMO goats) from a single GMO goat in a year as can be derived from 90,000 blood donations.
When you’re talking about a single, well-protected herd of 200 goats producing the equivalent amounts of pharmaceutical proteins as 18 MILLION blood donations, the risks seem minimal.