We know that our agriculture, meats, and dairy industries are using GMO to continue to meet demands, and that this is here to stay… let’s face facts. Despite other countries clearly labelling GMO products, US legislation does not mandate GMO labelling…. yet! In our industries’ attempts to continually improve crop quality, quantity, and features, how many lines will be crossed?
I recall the experiment of inserting a gene of a fish into the DNA of tomato seeds in order to allow the crop to survive freezing temperatures and allow the fruit to have a longer shelf life. I couldn’t decipher if tomatoes were still vegetarian with part fish in them…. And this did create an uproar from many people which may have impacted the decision to go forth. Thank goodness this line was not crossed.
I recall “Round-up Ready” crops coming to market with altered DNA so that they can be sprayed with the Round-up pesticide without affecting their growth – only the nearby weeds. But these new crops -soy, corn, rapeseed(canola), alfalfa, cotton, and sorghum – carry within their DNA an anti-bacterial component which could lead to unintentional consequences to the eater. Are these crops labelled? No. Unfortunately this line was crossed… forever.
But now the line that is about to be crossed makes me shudder-not once but twice. There has been much publicity surrounding a vaccine for Alzheimer’s. To all that hold on the promise of hope here…. Be careful what you ask for. In August 2004, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) approved the first license for cloning human embryos in the UK. A good portion of the CDC’s immunization schedule requires the use of these human fetus-originated vaccines. Beyond the obvious moral/religious/philosophical reasons to reject aborted fetal cell derived vaccines, there could also be real health concerns associated with introducing this type of biological material into our bodies. That’s the first shudder.
Next comes “Bio-Pharming” which is a way of inserting this biological material into our crops in order to create an edible vaccine. I have read more than 15 studies where this has been done (experimental basis only). The most concerning is the plan for the edible vaccine for Alzheimer’s disease being inserted into rice. This could be much cheaper than standard vaccines. But if the human population is EATING crops injected with human materials, isn’t this cannibalism? That’s the second shudder.
And by the way, do you think this crop will be labelled? I don’t. Another phenomenal line yet to be crossed – coming soon. And to think I thought transgenic tomatoes were controversial.
Additional Resources:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1280366/
