How much organic food do you eat?

[seedcorn]

Nye was interesting as he went from defending GMO to making up a story where mankind perished of malaria. We're seeing over 40 generations of swine (animal similar to us in many ways) fed GMO and no bad results-in face healthier than ever in history of man kind.

Baby food Has non-GMO beans in them-shoddy work on his part.

 

[valley ranch]

Anyone who sells, promotes or profits from GMOs or associated poisons must be very conflicted. Having enough inteligence to understand the danger to human through the food chain and yet driving profit or benefit continues their support for the danger and against people.

 

[Smart Red]

People have the ability to "turn a blind eye" to many different situations.
1.) There are some for whom profit trumps everything and once you're rich enough you can do philanthropic works to make amends.
2.) There are some for whom scientific truth runs counter to what they believe so it is discounted and the false information continues to be spread.
3.) There are some who 'need' to believe what they are doing is just and good so that is what they act upon.
4.) There are some who don't see 'too fat' when they look in the mirror, don't see 'drugs' in their children's behavior, don't see their own 'addiciton' as a problem for themselves or their family.
5.) There are some who block out such unpleasant or dangerous situations in their lives. Not that they choose not to remember, but their body mechanisms turn the bad memories off.

I'm sure there are many other situations that result in no perceived conflicts with the world people live in.

 

[valley ranch]

Evidence of GMO harm in pig study
A groundbreaking new study [1] shows that pigs were harmed by the consumption of feed containing genetically modified (GM) crops.

Find a clear summary of the study here

Find the full paper here

GM-fed females had on average a 25% heavier uterus than non-GM-fed females, a possible indicator of disease that requires further investigation. Also, the level of severe inflammation in stomachs was markedly higher in pigs fed on the GM diet. The research results were striking and statistically significant.

Lead researcher Dr. Judy Carman, adjunct associate professor at Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia,[2] said: “Our findings are noteworthy for several reasons. First, we found these results in real on-farm conditions, not in a laboratory, but with the added benefit of strict scientific controls that are not normally present on farms.

“Second, we used pigs. Pigs with these health problems end up in our food supply. We eat them.

“Third, pigs have a similar digestive system to people, so we need to investigate if people are also getting digestive problems from eating GM crops.

“Fourth, we found these adverse effects when we fed the animals a mixture of crops containing three GM genes and the GM proteins that these genes produce. Yet no food regulator anywhere in the world requires a safety assessment for the possible toxic effects of mixtures. Regulators simply assume that they can’t happen.

“Our results provide clear evidence that regulators need to safety assess GM crops containing mixtures of GM genes, regardless of whether those genes occur in the one GM plant or in a mixture of GM plants eaten in the same meal, even if regulators have already assessed GM plants containing single GM genes in the mixture.”

The new study lends scientific credibility to anecdotal evidence from farmers and veterinarians, who have for some years reported reproductive and digestive problems in pigs fed on a diet containing GM soy and corn.[3]

Iowa-based farmer as well as crop and livestock advisor Howard Vlieger, one of the coordinators of the study, said: “For as long as GM crops have been in the feed supply, we have seen increasing digestive and reproductive problems in animals. Now it is scientifically documented.

“In my experience, farmers have found increased production costs and escalating antibiotic use when feeding GM crops. In some operations, the livestock death loss is high, and there are unexplained problems including spontaneous abortions, deformities of new-born animals, and an overall listlessness and lack of contentment in the animals.

“In some cases, animals eating GM crops are very aggressive. This is not surprising, given the scale of stomach irritation and inflammation now documented. I have seen no financial benefit to farmers who feed GM crops to their animals.”

The research was conducted by collaborating investigators from two continents and published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Organic Systems. The feeding study lasted more than five months, the normal commercial lifespan for a pig, and was conducted in the US. The pigs were slaughtered at the usual slaughter age of over 5 months, after eating the diets for their entire commercial lifespan.

 

[valley ranch]

Find a clear summary of the study here

Find the full paper here

Website GMOJudyCarman.org with full information on Dr Judy Carman’s work

Study details

168 newly-weaned pigs in a commercial piggery were fed either a typical diet incorporating GM soy and corn, or else (in the control group) an equivalent non-GM diet. The pigs were reared under identical housing and feeding conditions. They were slaughtered over 5 months later, at the usual slaughter age, after eating the diets for their entire commercial lifespan. They were then autopsied by qualified veterinarians who worked “blind” – they were not informed which pigs were fed on the GM diet and which were from the control group.

The GMO feed mix was a commonly used mix. The GM and non-GM diets contained the same amount of soy and corn, except that the GM diet contained a mixture of three GM genes and their protein products, while the control (non-GM) diet had equivalent non-GM ingredients. Of the three GM proteins in the GM diet, one made a crop resistant to being sprayed with the herbicide Roundup, while two were insecticides.

Contact:

Dr Judy Carman, Adelaide, Australia

Email: judycarman@ozemail.com.au

 

[valley ranch]

GM Soy Linked to Illnesses in Farm Pigs
Danish Farmer Reverses Illnesses in pigs by reverting to a GM-free diet for his animals, which is yet further evidence for the toxicity of glyphosate tolerant GM crops Dr Eva Sirinathsinghji

Please circulate widely and repost, but you must give the URL of the original and preserve all the links back to articles on our website. If you find this report useful, please support ISIS by subscribing to our magazine Science in Society, and encourage your friends to do so. Or have a look at the ISIS bookstore for other publications

A Danish farmer has gained huge public recognition for publishing his simple method for ridding his pigs of illness- removing genetically modified (GM) ingredients from their diet.

Published in the farming magazine Effektivt Landbrug on 13 April 2012 [1], the farmer Ib Borup Perderson describes how his pigs suffered from symptoms including chronic diarrhoea, birth defects, reproductive problems, reduced appetite, bloating, stomach ulcers, weaker and smaller piglets, and reduced litter sizes. This was not just a problem for the animals themselves but also the profitability of the farm, with fewer healthy animals, mounting costs of medicines and added labour costs.

After researching the health hazards of GM foods and associated herbicides, Pederson decided to stop feeding his 450 sows with GM soybean, replacing them with fishmeal and non-GM soybean instead. He began to notice health benefits after two days of a GM-free diet. The farmer’s account has since been published in an English dossier compiled by scientist Brian John of GM-free Cymru (Wales), with collaboration from Pederson, published online by GM Watch [2].

This finding adds to the continual flow of new evidence appearing in peer-reviewed scientific studies, farmers’ reports and witness accounts of the devastating health impacts of glyphosate-based herbicides and the associated GM crops modified to tolerate it. Birth defects from glyphosate exposure were detected in the 1980s in lab animals performed by Monsanto (see [3] EU Regulators and Monsanto Exposed for Hiding Glyphosate Toxicity, SiS 51, [4] Lab Study Establishes Glyphosate Link to Birth Defects, SiS 48, 5 Glyphosate Kills Rat Testes Cells, SiS 54). Residents of heavy agrochemical-use zones in Argentina have seen startling increases in birth defects, adult and human cancer rates as well as other illnesses (see [6] Argentina's Roundup Human Tragedy, SiS 48, [7] Pesticide Illnesses and GM Soybeans, SiS 53). Argentinian tobacco farmers have recently filed a lawsuit against Monsanto for birth defects suffered by their children following claims by the corporation that the chemical was safe to use [8]. Animal feeding studies have shown GM soya feed to cause sterility, stunting and death in rats (see [9] GM Soya Fed Rats: Stunted, Dead, or Sterile, SiS 33). This is also not the first time that livestock illness including reproductive problems has been linked to glyphosate-tolerant crop derived feed. Professor Emeritus Don Huber of Perdue University, a senior scientist of USDA (US Department of Agriculture) has been studying crop health for over 20 years, and warned how reduced mineral content of glyphosate-tolerant crops lead to nutritional deficiencies in livestock that in turn cause reproductive problems (see [10] USDA Scientist Reveals All, SiS 53). Reduced mineral content in crops results from glyphosate’s metal chelating properties, rendering essential minerals unavailable. Nutrient deficiency effects are independent of direct glyphosate toxicity that causes endocrine disruption, birth defects and cancers among other illnesses. The identification of a novel pathogen in glyphosate-treated crops, reproductive organs of livestock as well as aborted foetal tissue may also be a contributing factor (see [11]Emergency! Pathogen New to Science Found in Roundup Ready GM Crops?,SiS50).

 

[valley ranch]

Improvements in health with GMO-free diet
The dossier [2] presents following effects since removing GM produce from the pigs’ diets, as described by Pederson:

1. Within 2 days, diarrhoea virtually disappeared in the farrowing house, whereas before, 50-100 ml Borgal / day [an antibacterial drug] had to be used.

2. Since switching, there had been no death from bloat in sows or death by ulcers, as opposed to minimum 1 per month previously (36 sows died due to stomach related sickness over the last two years before switching).

3. No sows have died through loss of appetite, whereas 2 sows died from this cause last year.

4. Even without washing between farrowings, diarrhoea does not reappear; previously failing to wash between sows would result in more diarrhoea.

5. Previously the farmer had struggled with diarrhoea in first layer sows, no more problems there.

6. Two years ago when the diarrhoea was as its worst, there were months with nearly 30% dead in the farrowing house. At that time it was impossible to find sows that could nurse piglets.

7. Before it was unusual to have a sow with 13 piglets weaned. The average was about 10.5 per sow plus spare mothers. Now the farmer is getting over 12 piglets on average weaned and 14 piglets weaned per sow is common. There are fewer nursing sows, simply because the sows are milking better and eating more.

8. Sows farrow better and there is 0.3 more live births per sow, of which 0.2 is gained from fewer stillborn. There have been 14.9 live born and 1.6 stillborn averaged over the past 7 months.

9. The piglets weaned are stronger and more evenly sized.

10. Man-hours are reduced by 20-30 hours per month, partly by washing less and because everything is easier.

Pedersen adds: “Independent researchers have shown Roundup to be both a powerful and non-selective biocide and an endocrine disruptor, leading to birth deformities, abortion, cancer and changes in microflora in the gut of mammals, so that clostridia becomes a problem. This, I think, is the direct reason for chronic Botulism in cattle. I know that the diarrhoea and bloated sow problems… which we had -- and which disappeared with the changed diet -- were due to clostridia bacteria”. Birth defects were a significant problem with “13 malformed piglets (about one in 700) [were] born over the last nine months on the GM diet, most of them live born”.

 

[valley ranch]

Economic Improvements with GMO-free diets
The widespread illnesses were burdening the farm with extra costs, including medical costs to deal with rampant stomach problems. Following 12 months of GM-free feed, Mr Pederson now uses half of the national average of antibiotics, compared to above average usage prior to the feed conversion. The savings made by reducing medicinal use by two-thirds was sufficient to cover the extra expense of GM-free feed which has totalled 28,500 DKr. Further, with an extra 1.8 piglet weaned per sow, and 12 less sows dying from stomach problems per year, the farm is making an extra profit of 250,000 DKr a year, translating to roughly an extra £55 per sow.

 

[valley ranch]

Danish Government will perform new safety tests
In response to the public interest generated by Mr Pederson’s story, the Danish National Pig Research Centre has decided to investigate effects of non-GM and GM Soya on pig health, stating that there has been no clear scientific study performed to date. The research aims to map stomach changes in pigs fed GM soya-treated with glyphosate from 30 kg bodyweight to slaughter at 110 kg, compared to GM- and glyphosate-free soya.

Brian John, although welcoming the positive move to address the problem, has rightly questioned some of the study design. Feeding pigs from 30 kg instead of 7 kg onwards may miss an opportunity to observe effects that would take place at a younger age, and there is no information as to what they will be fed prior to the GM diet. Effects on reproduction will not be addressed by this study either, which appears to be one of the major concerns.

Scientific investigations have until now been stifled. Regional and national records in many EU countries and the US where GM feed is widely used are inadequate, as government regulators are abandoning their obligations to monitor harmful effects of livestock feed in order to protect food security and public health. Nonetheless, other farmers are sharing personal experiences; another farmer in Denmark, Mr Christensen, has similarly improved his pigs’ health through switching to GM-free feed last year.

To conclude
Farmer’s testimonies need to be taken seriously. They are witness statements from experts in field whose findings are corroborated by laboratory and clinical studies exposing the detrimental and even lethal effects of glyphosate-tolerant crop technologies.

References
1. “Svineproducent høster gevinst af gmo-fri soja”, Effektivt Landbrug , April 13 2012 (in Danish).

2. “GM soy linked to health damage in pigs - a Danish Dossier”, http://gmwatch.org/latest-listing/1-news-items/13882, GMWatch.com Dossier, 8th May 2012.

3. Sirinathsinghji E and Ho MW. EU Regulators and Monsanto Exposed for Hiding Glyphosate Toxicity.Science in Society 51, 46-48, 2011

4. Ho MW. Lab study establishes glyphosate link to birth defects. Science in Society 48, 32-33, 2010

5. Sirinathsinghji E. Glyphosate Kills Rat Testes Cells, Science in Societ4 54, to appear.

6. Robinson C. Argentina's Roundup human tragedy. Science in Society 48, 30, 2010

7. Sirinathsinghji E. Pesticide Illnesses and GM Soybeans. Ban on Aerial Spraying Demanded in Argentina. Science in Society 53, 42-43, 2012

8. “Monsanto sued for poisoning farmers”. http://rt.com/usa/news/monsanto-farmers-tobacco-use-809/, RT.com, 8thMay 2012.

9. Ho MW. GM Soya Fed Rats: Stunted, Dead, or Sterile.Science in Society 33, 4-6, 2007

10. Sirinathsinghji E. USDA scientist reveals all – glyphosate hazards to crops, soils, animals and consumers. Science in Society 53, 36-39, 2012

11. Ho MW. Emergency! Pathogen new to science found in Roundup Ready GM crops?Science and Society 50, 10-11, 2011

 

[seedcorn]

I will remove myself from this discussion of lies, insults and innuendos. The garbage being spouted is so very much the opposite of what is seen is beyond belief. Next there will be witch doctors being touted as medical healers. I'm done!