Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Pathogen New To Science Found in Round-Up Ready GM Crops?


















Pathogen New To Science Found In Round Up Ready GM Crops?

Excerpt:

USDA senior scientist sends “emergency” warning to US Secretary of Agriculture
Tom Vilsack on a new plant pathogen in Roundup Ready GM soybean and corn that
may be responsible for high rates of infertility and spontaneous abortions in
livestock. Dr. Mae-Wan Ho

Please distribute widely and forward to your elected representatives

An open letter appeared on the Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance founded and run
by Judith McGeary to save family farms in the US [1, 2]. The letter, written
by Don Huber, professor emeritus at Purdue University, to Secretary of
Agriculture Tom Vilsack, warns of a pathogen “new to science” discovered by “a
team of senior plant and animal scientists”. Huber says it should be treated as
an “emergency’’, as it could result in “a collapse of US soy and corn export
markets and significant disruption of domestic food and feed supplies.”

The letter appeared to have been written before Vilsack announced his decision
to authorize unrestricted commercial planting of GM alfalfa on 1 February, in
the hope of convincing the Secretary of Agriculture to impose a moratorium
instead on deregulation of Roundup Ready (RR) crops.

The new pathogen appears associated with serious pervasive diseases in plants -
sudden death syndrome in soybean and Goss' wilt in corn – but its suspected
effects on livestock is alarming. Huber refers to “recent reports of
infertility rates in dairy heifers of over 20%, and spontaneous abortions in
cattle as high as 45%.”

This could be the worst nightmare of genetic engineering that some scientists
including me have been warning for years [3] (see Genetic Engineering Dream or
Nightmare, ISIS publication): the unintended creation of new pathogens through
assisted horizontal gene transfer and recombination.

Huber writes in closing: “I have studied plant pathogens for more than 50 years.
We are now seeing an unprecedented trend of increasing plant and animal diseases
and disorders. This pathogen may be instrumental to understanding and solving
this problem. It deserves immediate attention with significant resources to
avoid a general collapse of our critical agricultural infrastructure.”

The complete letter is reproduced at the link.

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The bacterias and viruses used to invade the DNA sequences of the plants they are genetically engineering by forced invasion with DNA from other species are in herently unstable. This presents problems regarding contamination and health. This is what you are eating and what the USDA won't allow you to see on a food label.

This is also why understanding terms like "substantial equivalence" is so important and why arming yourself with knowledge on this topic may well ultimately keep you and those you care about healthier. The main premise of substantial equivalence used by this industry with regards to GMOs is that they possess the same metabolic and protein profiling as conventional crops, and also Monsanto's contention that has already been proven false, that transgenic contamination does not occur.

It astounds me that even with evidence to the contrary coming to light regarding negating the use of substantial equivalence that it is still allowed to stand. This is how you know the full weight of the clout Monsanto and other companies like it have within the agencies of your own government and the revolving door policy that keeps its employees involved in high level government positions that set food policy.

My next entry will go into substantial equivalence and the patenting of GMO traits in seeds in a bit more detail highlighting attempts to keep important information off your food labels in violation of your right as a consumer to know what you are eating. This information if indeed true will shed an entire new light on the tactic of using substantial equivalence to disguise a much murkier agenda.

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