Friday, May 10

Not only Monsanto's patented seeds: genetically modified shrimps and salmons are on our table

Genetically modified food became the paradigm and not the exception. I just did watch a video that claims that 70% of the food we have are GMOs.

Take a look at this list of GMO ingredients we are having. It's appalling!
What about the meat and seafood?

"...and that the consumers will not know since there is no requirement that GMO materials be labeled as such."

claims marine microbiologist Stephen Newman at his blog. He advocates that there is no danger whatsoever in genetically modifying seafood:

"As a scientist with  a strong applied research lean, I follow many issues that I believe may eventually prove to have some economic benefits.  As a graduate student working with a pathogen of salmon, the tools I had for genetic manipulation consisted of chemicals that were known to act on genetic material in a known manner and then the use of simple tools for finding the alterations in genetic material that I was looking for. Today this technology is archaic. We can introduce genes into animals where we want them to be and can control how they work, turning them on and off when we want to. Plants have been the target of much of this work in the last few years and genetically modified plants (GMO) are in widespread use and widely consumed by most Americans and have been for some time with no indications of harm (although admittedly this is a complex issue and assuming that there is no potential for problems is naïve.. we need to be vigilant).  

About 15 years ago, I was involved in a project where we were looking at the potential for adding a gene to cultured shrimp that would make the animal resistant to a virus that was decimating farmed shrimp globally. The end result of the project was the knowledge that genes could be stably transferred into shrimp. This important first step has led the way for others to genetically alter shrimp in any number of ways. The question I kept posing to my employer was who will buy these shrimp? His answer was that the need for farmers to have an animal resistant to a virus with the potential for a large economic impact will drive it and that the consumers will not know since there is no requirement that GMO materials be labeled as such. With fish, there have been many successful reports of genetic manipulation in a number of species including multiple species of carp, salmonids including rainbow trout, Tilapia and others and we are now appearing to be on the verge of the commercialization of a genetically engineered Atlantic salmon ." (emphasis added)

I find it very strange that Dr. Newman want to hide from consumers that these seafoods are GMO if he is so sure that it causes no harm. He should produces real good evidences proving the benefits of GMO seafood.

I don't eat salmon for I found it very strange that something that was so hard to find and highly expensive became omnipresent and cheap.
I did a search and there it was: GMOs.

No thank you. I only like fish and never been very fond of seafood.

The problem is huge and it requires a lot of work to have food that is not genetically modified.
There will be a march against Monsanto on May, 25th.
This is a good news but the fight is just beginning. For those who want to eat the good and old fashion way when food tasted good and were more connected to nature it will require a lot of marches.
I have already suffered a lot of alteration in my body due to GMO food and medicines.
We can't have back our "pure race" - equating the expression with human beings who would not have suffered any alteration due to GMO food and medicines plus environmental changes.

But it would be great to stop here.

There are scientists working to stop GMO food for thirty years. Dr. Phillip Bereano is one of them.
Dr. Philip Bereano is a Professor Emeritus at the University of Washington and an engaged activist concerning genetically modified (GM) foods. His academic work is within Technology and Public Policy, and over the past 30 year
Read one of his articles and watch the video.

The scientists who are working with genetic modification for companies has a very interesting attitude: they say those who are against it are crazy and are part of a conspiracy theory group.
It's part of their work behaving like this.
Integrity in science! Is it too much to ask?