What’s to Know About GMO
What’s to Know About GMO?
Genetically modified organisms (GMO) have become a hot topic among farmers, environmentalists, gardeners and others concerned with food and environmental safety. Some folks believe that GMO technology is “the single most potent technology the world has ever known” and capable of causing incurable damage to our species’ well being.
Here is a very simple explanation of the issue: Monsanto, the producer of the infamous chemicals Agent Orange and PCB, has developed a biotechnology that alters the genetic makeup of seeds. The original and ongoing intent of the technology is to allow mass spraying of herbicide over entire fields without hurting the crop.
Seeds are altered to produce plants that are not affected by herbicide, so farmers can broadcast spray huge amounts of Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide without affecting the food crop. Did I say not affecting? That is what Monsanto would have you believe, but common sense and the evidence indicates otherwise.
Monsanto has gone so far as to patent these genetically modified food crops, has bought out more than fifty seed companies and is basically working toward the control of our entire food supply by limiting our choices to their GMO seeds.
They are now even seeking patents on breeding pigs and on the offspring themselves!
Here are just a few of the dangers of GMO and the food produced by the technology – see the links below for more information:
(1). Pesticides are now INSIDE the food you eat! “Pesticidal foods” have genes that produce a toxic pesticide inside the food’s cells. This represents the first time “cell-interior toxicity” is being sold for human consumption. There is little knowledge of the potential long-term health impacts.
(2). The majority of GM agricultural products are developed specifically for toxin-resistance – namely for higher doses of herbicides/ pesticides sold by the largest producer companies – Monsanto, Dupont Novaris, Dow, Bayer, Ciba-Geigy, Hoescht, AgroEvo, and Rhone-Poulenc. More pesticides in our environment, contrary to the claims of Monsanto.
(3). Critically reduced biodiversity – the great gene pool of millions of beneficial plants is in serious jeopardy.
(4). Direct links and evidence of increased incidence of cancer and other diseases.
(5). Destruction of forest ecosystems.
(6). Facilitation of increased success of superviruses.
(7). The FDA only requests of firms that they conduct their own tests of new GM products, and the FDA makes no review of those tests unless voluntarily requested by the company producing the product.
The list goes on and on…again, see the links below for more information.
So what can we do to stop the proliferation of GMO in our society? Certainly write letters to our elected representatives to protest. Equally important, patronize only those seed suppliers who adamantly oppose GMO: these are a few who do so. Include in this list, Irish Eyes, Fedco Seeds and Wetsel.
And here is another list of companies which signed a Safe Seed Pledge in 2006, stating: “We pledge that we do not knowingly buy or sell genetically engineered seeds or plants.”
The best advice for gardeners is to always order certified organic, GMO-free seeds.
The issue of GMO tainting of our seed bank is huge. I believe we need to spread the word to all of society, not just gardeners, environmentalists and other “tree-huggers”. Please send this information along to friends and associates.
Many thanks to Esmaa Self for reminding me of the seriousness of this issue, and to the websites below for providing essential information:
List of non-GMO seed suppliers:
And here is a video about one filmmaker’s documentation of Monsanto’s atrocities:
embed:
Reader Comments
Excellent piece! Great information, especially the list of non GMO seeds suppliers. I hope new gardeners and those who may not yet know much about this important issue read your wise words. (I Stumbled ya, btw)
Keep fighting for a pure food stream and a healthy planet. Never give up!
Hi Dan,
Great article! It provides good background explaining WHY Monsanto is evil, IMHO. And it’s quite timely for my purposes, considering that GMO is a significant subtopic of the free organic gardening teleclass I’m hosting at 2 pm CST (-6 GMT) Wednesday. Folks can still sign up at http://www.askfarmerphoebe.com. The teleconference service is accessible via Skype too!
Just as I’ve done with a couple of other bloggers, I have to take issue with the list of seed companies that purchase from Seminis, which was bought by the GMO monster Monsanto last year. As Lou Zembello, sales/marketing director for Johnny’s Selected Seeds, told me on the phone Friday, Johnny’s (which is on another version of the list you posted) has, in fact, purchased from Seminis, even after Monsanto purchased the distributor. Zembello says Johnny’s is phasing out ties with that company as inventory of the products they purchased runs out, or something to that effect.
Mike McGrath, a highly respected organic gardener, who has deep roots in the small-market, organic farming community, called the original e-mail the list derived from “a hoax.”
Instead of perpetuating what some might consider misinformation about these companies, how about promoting a larger list of seed companies/organizations that have signed a pledge to “not knowingly buy or sell genetically engineered seeds or plants”? More than 100 companies have taken that pledge. http://www.gene-watch.org/programs/safeseed/sourcebook.html
Johnny’s Selected Seeds is one of them. I’ll be talking with one of its employees about it tomorrow. I hope you can join us!
Best regards,
Phoebe King
(aka FarmerPhoebe)
I swear I can be like a dog with a bone, sometimes. I just gotta keep gnawing at it:
Here’s a couple of more links about the Monsanto/Seminis union. Until I started preparing for my teleclass, I didn’t realize what deep implications this purchase means for regular organic gardeners like me, let alone suppliers like Fedco and Johnny’s. Read for yourself.
http://newfarm.rodaleinstitute.org/features/2005/0205/seminisbuy/index.shtml
http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/Financial-Industry/Monsanto-completes-purchase-of-Seminis
This final link lists VARIETIES produced by Seminis. I still have not been able to find a reputable source that lists which seed suppliers still purchase from Seminis. http://gardendjinn.typepad.com/garden/2007/01/monsanto_now_ow.html
Park Seed does not buy GM seed from Seminis. We do not carry any GM products at all. Park Seed also do not carry treated or fungicide coated seed. We, like most of our competitors, do buy a few select types of hybrid vegetable seed from Seminis just as we have for years before they were purchased my Monsanto. For years, they have been known for producing superior quality hybrid vegetable seeds. We, like you, feel that there is a purity and tradition in gardening from seed and we do not support anything that threatens that rich pastime.
Holly Glenn
Public Relations Coordinator
Park Seed Company
1 Parkton Avenue
Greenwood, SC 29647-0001
hglenn@parkseed.com
http://www.parkpr.com
Genetically modified foods are linked to toxic and allergic reactions, sick, sterile, and dead livestock, and damage to virtually every organ studied in lab animals. They are banned in Europe and elsewhere, yet GMOs are present in the vast majority of processed foods in the US.
Find free materials at http://www.responsibletechnology.org to educate yourself, download the free Non-GMO Shopping Guide to avoid GMOs when shopping, and the materials in the Campaign Kit will help educate and inspire others.