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.
After all, the goats are well guarded and sheltered from the outside world. They’re carefully bred under strict laboratory conditions. The chance of the mutated GMO goat milk making its way into our food supply is almost nil.
But what about other forms of pharming?
Pharming plants poses an altogether different set of risks. Unlike animals, where breeding can be closely monitored, plants tend to breed with the work of the wind, bees, or birds. Cross-contamination between non-GMO and GMO plants is notoriously hard to prevent, despite the best precautions.
Remember the infamous Prodigene crop contamination incident of 2002?
Since the wind alone can carry corn pollen for miles, it’s not hard to imagine a pharmaceutical-laced GMO corn plant spreading its genes to a nearby cornfield growing corn meant for human consumption. We’d be eating dangerous physician-prescribed pharmaceuticals in our corn flakes and might not even know it.
Drugs currently being manufactured in crops include (but are not limited to):
- vaccines for cholera, anthrax, plague, influenza, hepatitis C, lymphoma, and others
- interferon for liver diseases
- spermicidal antibodies
- insulin
The go-to report highlighting the advantages and disadvantages of pharming was published by the Union of Concerned Scientists and can be found online here.
 |
Hi Kristen,
I didn’t realize that GMO crops are being used to produce pharmaceuticals. Although I’m not surprised, it’s pretty scary! I just started reading Seeds of Deception by Jeffrey Smith and just got “The World According to Monsanto” which is supposed to be a really good (and depressing) documentary.
Too many people still don’t even know what GMO is. Thanks for spreading awareness!
We need a multi-pronged approach:
*Learn about GMOs and spread your knowledge. So many have no idea what’s going on with their food. Blog, twitter, stumble, do whatever you can to get the word out.
*Refuse to purchase and eat GMO-containing foods and substances (vote with your dollar.) Don’t let the “bigness” of the issue deter you from doing what you can to protect yourself and your family.
*Get political. Write a letter or make a phone call to your elected officials. They want to hear from you, they want to know you care about this. You don’t need to be an expert, just call to voice your opinion.
The banning of GMO crops in Europe is catching hold, we can do it here, too.
Maybe I’m behind, but like Vin said above, I had no idea GMO crops were being used to produce pharmaceuticals! Ack!
I just watched the documentary The World According To Monsanto over the weekend. It’s a must see! Boy did it paint a frightening picture.
I agree, in that a multi-pronged approach makes sense. Big corporations seem to listen most when things impact their bottom line.
All I can say is: Keep up the fight!
Alicia Ghio
That documentary is from a few years ago. Things have gotten much worse and they are not about to improve. I’ve had a number of tomatos that are coded as “conventionally” grown, when they are obviously GMO!
That is scary as hell! The very nature of plants is to propagate themselves – to expand. There’s simply no way to keep GM crops like these from cross-pollinating with other crops. In effect,we’re all in danger of being drugged through the mechanisms of “pharming.”
Jenny @ NourishedKitchen
Once again, greed is the bottom line. Monsanto greed, pharmaceutical greed, and the attempt to control the entire food market. Food is our basic building block. This is scary, indeed, and people need to realize that when we irreparably harm our food source, it will be the undoing of ourselves. I don’t want Frankenstein’s food and pharmaceuticals. I want REAL food and medicines in moderation that REALLY help CURE ailments. Right now, the pharma is focused on “managing” the ailments created by foodlike substances and side effects to other pharmaceuticals. It is unconscionable and unacceptable.
Sinclair
Vin & Alicia — This has been happening for a while. The GMO pharma crops are not approved as food, obviously, but the dangers of cross-contamination with our food supply are real. Biotech companies take precautions to prevent cross-contamination, of course, but even the most well-intentioned system still has risk. (Just look at that 2002 story for an example.)
Local Nourishment — I agree. We need to be attacking GMO crops on every front.
Jenny — Whenever I think of the consequences of messing with our food supply this way, and the resulting food INSECURITY that results, it terrifies me.
Sinclair — Very true! Thanks for visiting and joining in the conversation.
Yes it all comes down to greed. Greed will bring this nation to its knees. It almost happen with the Banking Industry. As ciztens we must have a say in our food and not let GMO (franken foods) into our mainstream food supply. GMO foods are so scary and no one knows for certain waht they really are. I like my food natural and not altered in a lab. We been growing foods for centuries without it coming from a lab.
Why now.
Monsanto opened “Pandora’s Box” decades ago and they will continue poisoning this planet and the people as long as there’s a buck to be made. In case you missed it; Monsanto’s former lawyer and V.P. (Michael Taylor) is in the Whitehouse as “Food Safety Czar”. These people are unstopable. You should all be appalled and VERY afraid of the ramifications of this criminal activity by these global agri-giants!
It is NOT just a danger to eat what they are growing to create anthrax, cholera, plague, influenza, hepatitis C, lymphoma, and other vaccines, or for interferon for liver diseases, or for spermicidal antibodies or for insulin, but these crops will be able to cause diseases, destroy sperm, and impact normal insulin, by just blowing in the air.
The reality is they are growing GENETICALLY ENGINEERED diseases and GENETICALLY ENGINEERED sterilizing agents that will be floating in the air, and enter your body by just breathing.