Even The NY Times Is Now Rejecting Monsanto GMO Science

This isn’t a leak. It isn’t a timid flow. It’s a flood. I’m talking about about the criticism of Monsanto’s so-called science of genetically-engineered food.

Image: Raw For Beauty

For the past 20 years, independent researchers have been attacking Monsanto science in various ways, and finally the NY Times has joined the crowd.

But it’s the way Mark Bittman, lead food columnist for the Times magazine, does it that really crashes the whole GMO delusion. Writing in his April 2 column, “Why Do G.M.O.’s Need Protection?”, Bittman leads with this: “Genetic engineering in agriculture has disappointed many people who once had hopes for it.”

As in: the party’s over, turn out the lights.

Bittman explains: “…genetic engineering, or, more properly, transgenic engineering – in which a gene, usually from another species of plant, bacterium or animal, is inserted into a plant in the hope of positively changing its nature – has been disappointing.”

As if this weren’t enough, Bittman spells it out more specifically: “In the nearly 20 years of applied use of G.E. in agriculture there have been two notable ‘successes,’ along with a few less notable ones. These are crops resistant to Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide (Monsanto develops both the seeds and the herbicide to which they’re resistant) and crops that contain their own insecticide. The first have already failed, as so-called superweeds have developed resistance to Roundup, and the second are showing signs of failing, as insects are able to develop resistance to the inserted Bt toxin — originally a bacterial toxin — faster than new crop variations can be generated.”

Bittman goes on to write that superweed resistance was a foregone conclusion; scientists understood, from the earliest days of GMOs, that spraying generations of these weeds with Roundup would give us exactly what we have today: failure of the technology to prevent what it was designed to prevent. The weeds wouldn’t die out. They would retool and thrive.

“The result is that the biggest crisis in monocrop agriculture – something like 90 percent of all soybeans and 70 percent of corn is grown using Roundup Ready seed – lies in glyphosate’s inability to any longer provide total or even predictable control, because around a dozen weed species have developed resistance to it.” Glyphosate is the active ingredient in Roundup.

Just as the weeds developed resistance and immunity to the herbicide, insects that were supposed to be killed by the toxin engineered into Monsanto’s BT crops are also surviving.

Five years ago, it would have been unthinkable that the NY Times would print such a complete rejection of GMO plant technology. Now, it’s “well, everybody knows.”

The Times sees no point in holding back any longer.
Of course, if it were a newspaper with any real courage, it would launch a whole series of front-page pieces on this enormous failure, and the gigantic fraud that lies behind it. Then the Times might actually see its readership improve.

Momentum is something its editors understand well enough. You set your hounds loose on a story, you send them out with a mandate to expose failure, fraud, and crime down to their roots, and you know that, in the ensuing months, formerly reticent researchers and corporate employees and government officials will appear out of the woodwork confessing their insider knowledge.

The story will deepen. It will take on new branches. The revelations will indict the corporation (Monsanto), its government partners, and the scientists who falsified and hid data.

In this case, the FDA and the USDA will come in for major hits. They will backtrack and lie and mis-explain, for a while, and then, like buds in the spring, agency employees will emerge and admit the truth. These agencies were co-conspirators.

And once the story unravels far enough, the human health hazards and destruction wreaked by GMOs will take center stage. All the bland pronouncements about “nobody has gotten sick from GMOs” will evaporate in the wind.

It won’t simply be, “Well, we never tested health dangers adequately,” it’ll be, “We knew there was trouble from the get-go.”

Yes, the Times could make all this happen. But it won’t. There are two basic reasons. First, it considers Big Ag too big to fail. There is now so much acreage in America tied up in GMO crops that to reject the whole show would cause titanic eruptions on many levels.

And second, the Times is part of the very establishment that views the GMO industry as a way of bringing Globalism to fruition for the whole planet.

Sources:
www.nytimes.com
www.rawforbeauty.com
http://www.naturalcuresnotmedicine.com

Five natural supplements to detox your body of toxic GMO foods

If you eat out at restaurants, purchase non-organic or processed foods from the grocery store, or even take vitamin supplements that have not been consciously crafted with quality ingredients, chances are you are routinely ingesting genetically modified organisms (GMOs) without even knowing it. And unless you take the time to regularly detoxify these unnatural poisons, they may be building up inside your body and triggering alterations in your natural gene expression, which could eventually lead to chronic illness and even death.

This is why it is vitally important to regularly cleanse and detoxify your body of transgenic materials that may be damaging the natural flora balance in your gut, as well as poisoning your blood, causing gastrointestinal upset, and triggering neurological damage, among other conditions. Here are five natural supplements you can use to help detoxify your body of harmful GMOs, and ultimately restore a healthy balance to your mind and body.

1) Psyllium husk. Known for its incredible colon-cleansing effects, psyllium husk is a favorite when it comes to cleansing protocols that involve flushing the intestines and restoring healthy digestive function. Since GMOs have been shown to directly alter the bacterial balance within the gut, psyllium husk is a powerful remedy to help rid the gut of these transgenic invaders, which will in turn allow beneficial bacteria to regain their rightful place as regulators of the digestive system.

Individuals with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), constipation, diarrhea, ulcerative colitis, indigestion, and other persistent digestive disorders typically experience dramatic relief by supplementing with psyllium husk. When ingested along with copious amounts of water, psyllium husk expands into a gelatin-like mass that basically scrubs the intestines clean of toxic buildup. This same colonic action can also help rid the digestive system of accumulated transgenic materials as well. (http://www.naturalnews.com)

2) Organic sulfur/MSM. When it comes to ensuring that the liver is operating at its full detoxification capacity, there is perhaps no nutrient more powerful than organic sulfur, which is also known as methylsulfonylmethane (MSM). A critical component in detoxification, energy production, cell oxygenation, and immune capacity, organic sulfur has gained "near miracle" status among many health professionals who now recognize how a lack of this vital nutrient can encourage toxic buildup within the body. (http://www.naturalnews.com/026797_sulfur_organic.html)

Organic sulfur used to be present throughout the food supply before the days of GMOs, petrochemical fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides, and other "modern" agricultural interventions -- but today, it is severely lacking throughout the food supply. Supplementing with organic, lignan-based sulfur crystals will help repair your malfunctioning cells, restore healthy oxygen transport, and ultimately facilitate a systemic detoxification process that will encourage the elimination of GMO remnants from your system.

3) Probiotics. Since GMOs tend to alter bacterial balance within the gut, supplementing with probiotics and probiotic-rich foods -- these include things like raw sauerkraut, kefir, kombucha tea, authentic miso soup, fermented vegetables, yogurt, and blue-green micro-algae -- is absolutely vital for protecting your body against the harmful effects of GMO exposure. In conjunction with the other cleansing protocols mentioned here, supplementing with high-quality probiotics will help ensure that your digestive tract remains free of toxins. (http://www.globalhealingcenter.com/natural-health/probiotic-foods/)

4) Cascara sagrada/sacred bark. One of the most powerful known colon-cleansing herbs, cascara sagrada, which also goes by the names of sacred bark, California buckthorn, and rhamnus purshiana, has long been used by ancient cultures to cleanse the bowel and eliminate toxins. Cascara sagrada is rich in a compound known as anthraquinone that instigates the contraction of intestinal walls, which in turn promotes healthy bowel activity. (http://www.colonhealthmagazine.com)

Cascara sagrada also contains compounds that promote the strengthening of the muscles in the intestinal lining, which are necessary for healthy and regular elimination of waste and toxins. This, combined with its laxative effect, makes cascara sagrada one of the most effective colon cleansing herbs known to man, and one that will help keep your system protected against GMO damage.

5) Wild burdock root. A powerful blood-cleansing agent, wild burdock root is relatively easy to obtain, and simple to take. An aggressive diuretic, wild burdock root is strong enough to rid the body of even hard-to-reach toxins, including GMOs residues and associated pesticide and herbicide chemicals. Burdock root also helps cleanse parasites, heavy metals, bacteria, and other toxins from the blood, and is often used to treat chronic bacterial and viral infections such as Lyme disease. (http://www.naturalnews.com/027521_burdock_root_blood.html)

Continue Reading:
http://www.naturalnews.com/041664_GMOs_detoxification_dietary_fiber.html#ixzz2cOSELs8F

“Natural” Sodas Made with GMO Sugar Scam Consumers

While doing some research for a completely unrelated article, I discovered the little known fact that food manufacturers are not required to specify on a food label whether the “sugar” or “sucrose” in their products is derived from cane sugar or beet sugar.

Why is this a big deal?  There’s nothing wrong with beet sugar, right?

Wrong.

Since its introduction to the market in 2008, Monsanto’s Roundup Ready GMO sugar beets have completely taken over the market. At least 95% of the sugar beets grown in the United States are now genetically modified and the FDA encouraged this trend to continue withcomplete deregulation of GMO sugar beets in July 2012.

Here’s the critical point:  approximately 50 percent of white sugar sold in the US is made from GMO sugar beets and consumers don’t even know it – most erroneously assume it is nonGMO cane sugar. Again, there is no requirement to distinguish on a food label whether “sugar” or “sucrose” is derived from beet sugar, cane sugar, or a mix of the two.

The bottom line is that any product you buy that says “sugar” or “sucrose” is almost certainly at least partially if not completely GMO beet sugar unless it is certified organic or labeled as 100% cane sugar.

What does this mean for those so called “throwback” sodas that use “old fashioned”, “real sugar” instead of high fructose corn syrup?

Nothing more than a marketing ploy. Throwback or “natural” sodas are not the healthier, old fashioned choice that food manufacturers would have you believe.

PepsiCo, manufacturer of Naked Juice and Sierra Mist has already been sued once for abusing the “natural” label.  The company recently settled a lawsuit for $9 million that alleged that some of the ingredients in Naked Juice, a brand of fruit and veggie drinks, aren’t “natural” at all, with the vitamins synthetic, an artificial fiber manufactured by Archer Daniels Midland, and GMOs.

PepsiCo confirmed to me in a telephone conversation that the sugar in its “natural” sodas are in fact made with a mixture of cane sugar and GMO beet sugar.

In essence, if you are trying to avoid GMO high fructose corn syrup at the supermarket, your choice of products containing “sugar” are without a doubt GMO as well no matter what the item may be – candy, breakfast cereal or even “healthy” granola bars.

Buying bags of white sugar for making homemade kombucha? Better switch to organic sugar or nonorganic sugar specifically labeled as 100% cane sugar or you’ve been brewing a GMO drink for your family.

Use a pack of white sugar in your morning tea or coffee at Starbucks? Yes, that’s almost certainly at least partially GMO too.

Be careful when seeking out natural sodas like Blue Sky Sodas from Hansen’s at the health food store as this can be especially confusing.  For example, the sugar used in the Blue Sky Organic soda line is pure cane sugar. In addition, four of the nonorganic sodas are listed on the Hansen’s Natural website as containing pure cane sugar as well.

However, for the majority of the Blue Sky sodas, the label does not say organic or pure cane sugar.  It simply says “real sugar” which when I inquired, does indeed mean at least part of the sweetener is GMO beet sugar derived.  Here is the exact wording of the email response to my telephone inquiry to customer service:

Thanks for taking the time to contact our company directly with your inquiry. 

The sugar in Blue Sky Sodas is either sourced from cane and or beet and is refined as normal table top sugar is. Real refers to the fact it is not a chemically derived sweetener like High Fructose Corn Syrup, Glucose Syrup, etc. 

Sugar from GMO beets is not considered chemically derived?  Not sure how that conclusion could be made given that GMOs are created in a lab and are clearly not natural. Buyer beware indeed!

Why Products Containing GMO Beet Sugar are So Unhealthy

Besides the completely unknown effects of consuming GMOs which have never been adequately tested, the activist organization Citizens for Health reports that GMO sugar beets in the food supply are of particular concern because the sugar is extracted from the beet’s root rather than the part of the plant growing above the ground with the result being more glyphosate pesticide residues in the sugar.

Another problem is that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) continues to increase the allowable levels of glyphosate on sugar beet roots, seemingly ad infinitum as superweed resistance continues to grow.

Inexplicably, the EPA continues to allow ever higher levels of glyphosate on GMO crops despite the release of a study showing that glyphosate inhibits the growth of beneficial gut bacteria in humans and leads to the overgrowth of pathogenic intestinal bacteria resulting in a slow, insidious increase in systemic inflammation over months and years.

Sodas That Really ARE Natural

Continue Reading: http://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/natural-sodas-made-with-gmo-sugar-scam-consumers/

Texas Police Hit Organic Farm With Massive SWAT Raid

A small organic farm in Arlington, Texas, was the target of a massive police action last week that included aerial surveillance, a SWAT raid and a 10-hour search.

Members of the local police raiding party had a search warrant for marijuana plants, which they failed to find at the Garden of Eden farm. But farm owners and residents who live on the property told a Dallas-Ft. Worth NBC station that the real reason for the law enforcement exercise appears to have been code enforcement. The police seized "17 blackberry bushes, 15 okra plants, 14 tomatillo plants ... native grasses and sunflowers," after holding residents inside at gunpoint for at least a half-hour, property owner Shellie Smith said in a statement. The raid lasted about 10 hours, she said.

Local authorities had cited the Garden of Eden in recent weeks for code violations, including "grass that was too tall, bushes growing too close to the street, a couch and piano in the yard, chopped wood that was not properly stacked, a piece of siding that was missing from the side of the house, and generally unclean premises," Smith's statement said. She said the police didn't produce a warrant until two hours after the raid began, and officers shielded their name tags so they couldn't be identified.According to ABC affiliate WFAA, resident Quinn Eaker was the only person arrested -- for outstanding traffic violations.

The city of Arlington said in a statement that the code citations were issued to the farm following complaints by neighbors, who were "concerned that the conditions" at the farm "interfere with the useful enjoyment of their properties and are detrimental to property values and community appearance." The police SWAT raid came after "the Arlington Police Department received a number of complaints that the same property owner was cultivating marijuana plants on the premises," the city's statement said. "No cultivated marijuana plants were located on the premises," the statement acknowledged.

The raid on the Garden of Eden farm appears to be the latest example of police departments using SWAT teams and paramilitary tactics to enforce less serious crimes. A Fox television affiliate reported this week, for example, that police in St. Louis County, Mo., brought out the SWAT team to serve an administrative warrant. The report went on to explain that all felony warrants are served with a SWAT team, regardless whether the crime being alleged involves violence.

In recent years, SWAT teams have been called out to perform regulatory alcohol inspections at a bar in Manassas Park, Va.; to raid bars for suspected underage drinking in New Haven, Conn.; to perform license inspections at barbershops in Orlando, Fla.; and to raid a gay bar in Atlanta where police suspected customers and employees were having public sex. A federal investigation later found that Atlanta police had made up the allegations of public sex.

Other raids have been conducted on food co-ops and Amish farms suspected of selling unpasteurized milk products. The federal government has for years been conducting raids on medical marijuana dispensaries in states that have legalized them, even though the businesses operate openly and are unlikely to pose any threat to the safety of federal enforcers.

Continue Reading: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/15/texas-swat-team-conducts-_n_3764951.html