The biotech industry has experienced explosive growth, dwarfing that of the high tech industry. It's driven by two factors - the curiosity of its scientists and the payoff. The profits to be made are enormous, and it's these profits that are blinding its proponents and driving the debate.
It all started back in 1995 with the modification The biotech industry has experienced explosive growth, dwarfing that of the high tech industry. It's driven by two factors - the curiosity of its scientists and the payoff. The profits to be made are enormous, and it's these profits that are blinding its proponents and driving the debate.
It all started back in 1995 with the modification of the humble tomato. But what a Pandora's Box it opened. Today we see many varieties of genetically altered produce which, though it looks the same on the outside, is very unique in its genetic make-up. This practice of creating designer foods through gene manipulation is seen as the exiting future in agricultural farming. <strong><A href="http://www.sacvuitton-pascher.com/"> Louis Vuitton Online Shop</A></strong> Geneticists tell us breathlessly that this new technology will revolutionize our lives and lead to electrifying advances in the food industry. Some of the supposed benefits of this gene-manipulation are:
o Foods more tolerant to chemicals & better resistance to pests & diseases
o More nutritional content and improved food processing traits
o Resistance to unfavorable soils and weather circumstances
o Improved ripening, texture and flavor in foods
But Is It Safe?
Although the technology is impressive, the question of food safety remains skeptical and claims illusory. Genetic engineering is only in its infancy and scientists have no idea what they're messing with. By inserting genes to alter design and content, they intervene in DNA which is a self-organizing, self-replicating macromolecule, with the ability to perform error correction. Introduction of an alien gene introduces instability. The stress will cause the molecule to try and <strong><A href="http://www.sacvuitton-pascher.com/louis-vuitton-homme.html"> Louis Vuitton Homme Pas Cher</A></strong> expel, or mutate the alien gene, with the result being a new structure, and the possibility of gross malfunction. This instability or undesired characteristic may not become apparent for several generations.
At this point in time, Agriculture Canada and the USDA have not identified long term health risks. All testing done to date, despite reassurances to the contrary by the biotech industry and regulatory authorities, are construed to safeguard the industry not guarantee public safety. Standard toxicology tests are conducted by the industry that benefits, no testing is done by regulatory authorities (they rely on industry data), no independent scientific tests, no long term studies, no sixth, seventh, eighth and later generation studies, and no monitoring of releases to the environment. In other words, testing is grossly one-sided. The only meaningful trials taking place are those that use the human population as involuntary guinea-pigs and the environment as an outside laboratory.
The biotech industry specializes in half-truths, downright deceptions, and extravagant claims. It comes as no surprise to learn that companies big in the manufacture and distributions of biocides (e.g. Monsanto) are also major biotech players. Nor should it come as a surprise that intense lobbying by the same companies has led to a massive increase in the permitted herbicide residues on crops. GM crops can tolerate increased herbicide applications, thus leading to a substantial increase in usage.
So we can easily see that biotechnology, rather than being used to solve agricultural problems, is more profit driven than need driven. It intensifies the farme <strong><A href="http://www.sacvuitton-pascher.com/louis-vuitton-femme.html">Louis Vuitton Femme Sac</A></strong> rs' dependence upon industrial inputs to legally inhibit the right of farmers to reproduce, share and store seeds. By controlling the germplasm from seed to sale and by forcing farmers to pay inflated prices for seed-chemical packages, companies are determined to extract the most profit from their investment.
Opinion polls show the world public to be overwhelmingly against genetically modified foods. In France, Britain, Denmark, USA and countries of Europe, between 68-90% of all surveyed were dogmatically against the use of GM products. The giant chemical companies are well aware of this dilemma.
(There is substantial opposition from the public, from the media, and not least, from retailers) - Leaked internal Monsanto report.
Yet we'll likely continue to dine on DNA altered cuisine without ever knowing it. Peddlers of genetically modified foods continue to slip their adulterated products onto the world market in the hope that no one will notice. Producers deliberately mix GM and non-GM products in their foods, which amounts to force-feeding an unsuspecting public. How many people in Canada know they're eating an estimated diet of 60% genetically processed foods? How many know that the US, Canada and Argentina account for more than 90% of the world's GM food crops? Absence of food labeling helps tremendously in this growing market (as it does with irradiated food).
[Labeling is the key issue ... If you put a label on genetically engineered food; you might as well put a skull and crossbones on it. - head of Asgrow, Monsanto seed subsidiary].
of the humble tomato. But what a Pandora's Box it opened. Today we see many varieties of genetically altered produce which, though it looks the same on the outside, is very unique in its genetic make-up. This practice of creating designer foods through <strong><A href="http://www.sacvuitton-pascher.com/louis-vuitton-femme/sacs-a-main.html">Louis Vuitton Sac Pas Cher</A></strong>
gene manipulation is seen as the exiting future in agricultural farming. Geneticists tell us breathlessly that this new technology will revolutionize our lives and lead to electrifying advances in the food industry. Some of the supposed benefits of this gene-manipulation are:
o Foods more tolerant to chemicals & better resistance to pests & diseases
o More nutritional content and improved food processing traits
o Resistance to unfavorable soils and weather circumstances
o Improved ripening, texture and flavor in foods
But Is It Safe?
Although the technology is impressive, the question of food safety remains skeptical and claims illusory. Genetic engineering is only in its infancy and scientists have no idea what they're messing with. By inserting genes to alter design and content, they intervene in DNA which is a self-organizing, self-replicating macromolecule, with the ability to perform error correction. Introduction of an alien gene introduces instability. The stress will cause the molecule to try and expel, or mutate the alien gene, with the result being a new structure, and the possibility of gross malfunction. This instability or undesired characteristic may not become apparent for several generations.
At this point in time, Agriculture Canada and the USDA have not identified long term health risks. All testing done to date, despite reassurances to the contrary by the biotech industry and regulatory authorities, are construed to safeguard the industry not guarantee public safety. Standard toxicology tests are conducted by the industry that benefits, no testing is done by regulatory authorities (they rely on industry data), no independent scientific tests, no long term studies, no sixth, seventh, eighth and later generation studies, and no monitoring of releases to the environment. In other words, testing is grossly one-sided. The only meaningful trials taking place are those that use the human population as involuntary guinea-pigs and the environment as an outside laboratory.
The biotech industry specializes in half-truths, downright deceptions, and extravagant claims. It comes as no surprise to learn that companies big in the manufacture and distributions of biocides (e.g. Monsanto) are also major biotech players. Nor should it come as a<strong><A href="http://www.sacvuitton-pascher.com/louis-vuitton-homme.html">Louis Vuitton Homme Sac</A></strong> surprise that intense lobbying by the same companies has led to a massive increase in the permitted herbicide residues on crops. GM crops can tolerate increased herbicide applications, thus leading to a substantial increase in usage.
So we can easily see that biotechnology, rather than being used to solve agricultural problems, is more profit driven than need driven. It intensifies the farmers' dependence upon industrial inputs to legally inhibit the right of farmers to reproduce, share and store seeds. By controlling the germplasm from seed to sale and by forcing farmers to pay inflated prices for seed-chemical packages, companies are determined to extract the most profit from their investment.
Opinion polls show the world public to be overwhelmingly against genetically modified foods. In France, Britain, Denmark, USA and countries of Europe, between 68-90% of all surveyed were dogmatically against the use of GM products. The giant chemical companies are well aware of this dilemma.
(There is substantial opposition from the public, from the media, and not least, from retailers) - Leaked internal Monsanto report.
Yet we'll likely continue to dine on DNA altered cuisine without ever knowing it. Peddlers of genetically modified foods continue to slip their adulterated products onto the world market in the hope that no one will notice. Producers deliberately mix GM and non-GM products in their foods, which amounts to force-feeding an unsuspecting public. How many people in Canada know they're eating an estimated diet of 60% genetically processed foods? How many know that the US, Canada and Argentina account for more than 90% of the world's GM food crops? Absence of food labeling helps tremendously in this growing market (as it does with irradiated food).
[Labeling is the key issue ... If you put a label on genetically engineered food; you might as well put a skull and crossbones on it. - head of Asgrow, Monsanto seed subsidiary].