US Farmers Up The Ante on Japan’s Struggle Against Modified Corn
TOKYO - Japan, the last major importer in Asia still holding out against genetically modified corn for human food use, could soon be forced into a corner by record corn prices in the United States.
The world’s largest corn importer has long had animal feed that uses genetically modified organisms, or GMO, but buys only a small amount of such corn for human food use.
But food makers are caught between U.S. farmers demanding a higher premium for GMO-free corn and Japanese grocers and consumers, who are the last in Asia still resisting modified crops.
The rising costs and difficulty of dealing with modified corn separately from unmodified could also see more tie-ups in the industry, after Oji Cornstarch last year formed an alliance with two smaller rivals.
“We’ve started to ask each of our customers in an interview whether and how much they can take,” said Yoshihiko Shikakura, senior managing director at the sales department of Oji Cornstarch, a joint venture between Oji Paper and the trading company Mitsui.
Until recently, most corn processors have used only non-GMO crops to produce corn starch and corn syrup, a widely used sweetener, as some customers, mainly beer and drug makers, refuse to use GMOs.
But smaller corn processors have already used unseparated cargoes, taking advantage of lax labelling laws for small quantities of raw materials in foods in Japan.
Shrinking supplies could mean the price premium on non-GMO corn that processors pay to importers is set to double to ¥10,000, or $100, a ton next year, analysts predict.
Currently, U.S. GMO corn is imported at around ¥40,000 a ton, doubling over the past two years on a similar rally in Chicago corn prices during the same period.
GMO supporters argue that soft drink makers are the most likely to make the switch as the process to turn corn starch into syrup makes protein content in the product negligible.
Beer makers so far are resisting price hikes in corn starch, an important ingredient for beer, or a shift to GMO.
“Lack of public acceptance means we don’t consider it,” said a spokesman at Kirin Holdings, which seven years ago led its peers to use only non-GMO corn starch for Japanese beer.
A survey last July by the Japanese Food Safety Commission showed that only 4.1 percent of consumers think GMO food is free from risk.
Use of GMO products would trigger negative campaigning by anti-GMO groups such as Greenpeace, which led a successful attack on GMO foods in Europe.
“It is not something we can overlook due to a lack of strict labeling rules here,” said Sachiyo Tanahashi, a GMO campaigner at Greenpeace Japan. “We’ve been proposing top food makers produce organic products at a premium price to gauge the appetite of consumers, but so far in vain.”
Japan grows very little corn of its own and imports 12 million tons a year for animal feed - mostly GMO crops except for about 700,000 tons of non-GMO for organic eggs and other quality products.
It also imports about three million tons of corn a year for use in foodstuffs, almost all of which is non-GMO from the United States, the world’s biggest corn exporter.
In 2007, GMO crops were found on 73 percent of U.S. corn acres and were expected to rise further, increasing the costs to separate non-GMO from GMO crops in planting, storing and transporting.
Use of GMO could be costly for corn processors. If an unapproved GMO trait is found, importers, not exporters, are responsible to pay the extra cost to dispose of the unwanted material.
Two new alliances in Japan by top corn processors will make it easier to introduce GMO corn, as their enlarged businesses can allocate complete plants to handle GMO supplies separately, a logic that could lead to further tie-ups in the food processing industry.
In the face of rising costs, Oji Cornstarch last year formed an alliance with Gun-ei Chemical Industry and another smaller rival.
If customers decide to accept GMO supplies, the bigger group means they now have the flexibility to allocate one factory to use GMO corn.
Another group is also forming. Nihon Shokuhin Kako announced an alliance with Kato Kagaku in January, bringing together two of the top three processors, while a grouping of smaller processors is also possible.
“The more the non-GMO premium rises, the more business alignment is formed here,” said Shikakura of Oji Cornstarch.
© 2008 Reuters
Idiot scientist trouble makers never learn that nature is smarter than they are.
kelmer - In your case I have to agree, even though “nature” does not have a brain. Next time you need medication, why don’t you just let nature take its course?
Kelmer would likely take a natural remedy, which would be the natural course. Further, Nature is clearly sentient, but not necessarily smart, as you display.
Its good to see religious diversity. Neo-paganism is alive and well!
Can Japan buy organic cane sugar from Fidel?
Mr Obvious March…Nature provides herbs, and other much safer and effective healing….The ‘brainy’ scientists take these herbs extract the active ingredient and make a poison.
Here is a sample of what brainy scientific medicine creates:
http://ssristories.com/index.php?sort=date
and this:
U.S. says overdose of UCB cough medicine can kill
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. health officials issued an alert on Tuesday about reports of life-threatening side effects and deaths linked to inappropriate use of UCB SA’s prescription cough medicine Tussionex
etc
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=us-says-overdose-of-ucb-c
Amazing - with all this stupid action, people still keeping living longer and longer. It must be all that organic medicine voo doo. If the organic medicine would just kick in a liitle faster maybe natural selection would also.
Disclosure is what is important. GMO’s are not specific about the modifications that are made. Force feeding GMO’s without understandable specifics is just another form of corporate abuse. That lack of respect guarantees that I will support and consume organic foods.
And even some scientists, if not their deranged camp followers, recognise nature is th source of all cures:
Cup Of Black Tea Could Defend Against Anthrax Threat, Research Suggests
ScienceDaily (Mar. 16, 2008) — A cup of black tea could be the next line of defence in the threat of bio-terrorism according to new international research.
A new study by an international team of researchers from Cardiff University and University of Maryland has revealed how the humble cup of tea could well be an antidote to Bacillus anthracis –more commonly know as anthrax.
As a nation, Brits currently drink 165 million cups of tea, and the healing benefits of the nation’s favourite beverage have long been acknowledged.
But now the team of scientists led by Professor Les Baillie from Welsh School of Pharmacy at Cardiff University and Doctor Theresa Gallagher, Biodefense Institute, part of the Medical Biotechnology Centre of the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute in Baltimore, has found that the widely-available English Breakfast tea has the potential to inhibit the activity of anthrax, as long as it is black tea.
Anthrax - a potentially fatal human disease - is caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis. A very serious and rapidly progressing form of the disease occurs when bacterial spores are inhaled making anthrax a potent threat when used as a biological warfare agent.
Published in the March issue of the Society for Applied Microbiology’s journal Microbiologist, Professor Baillie said: “Our research sought to determine if English Breakfast tea was more effective than a commercially available American medium roast coffee at killing anthrax. We found that special components in tea such as polyphenols have the ability to inhibit the activity of anthrax quite considerably.”
The study provides further evidence of the wide range of beneficial physiological and pharmalogical effects of this common household item.
The research also shows that the addition of whole milk to a standard cup of tea completely inhibited its antibacterial activity against anthrax.
Professor Baillie continued: “I would suggest that in the event that we are faced with a potential bio-terror attack, individuals may want to forgo their dash of milk at least until the situation is under control.
“What’s more, given the ability of tea to bring solace and steady the mind, and to inactivate Bacillus anthracis and its toxin, perhaps the Boston Tea Party was not such a good idea after all.”
Professor Les Baillie is Professor of Microbiology at Welsh School of Pharmacy. He is also Associate Professor, Director Biodefense Initiative, Medical Biotechnology Centre, University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute in Baltimore, and Adjunct Professor in the Microbiology and Immunology Department, University of Maryland at Baltimore.
Adapted from materials provided by Cardiff University.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080312100045.htm
Most people who are opposed to GM Food do not have any understanding of what it means for food to be GM. They are simply reactionary.
However I agree with ‘Doom n Gloom March’ that companies need to be specific about any changes that are made.
Like any other technology GM Food could be used for the benefit of mankind or it could be detrimental.
We should focus on the beneficial aspects:
-food that can be grown in harsher soil
-adding vitamins/proteins to promote health of people who are malnourished (Golden Rice)
-Pest resistant so that less harmful pesticide is needed
etc …
Just because you don’t understand something doesn’t mean that it is dangerous.
What isn’t so obvious about Mr. Obvious is that he has been consuming massive quantities of cornflakes containing gene sequences extracted from cognitively impaired gibbons, something which has clearly affected his powers of reason.
brianct,
“Mr Obvious March…Nature provides herbs, and other much safer and effective healing….The ‘brainy’ scientists take these herbs extract the active ingredient and make a poison.”
Well of course, why didn’t I see that. It is so much more advantageous to the pharmecutical industry for us to be dead rather than be available as a living customer.
Of course nothing nature made would harm us… well other than sumac, hemlock, nightshade, about a million different kinds of mushrooms, etc., etc.
Hey brianct, if you ever have to go in for surgery, for God’s sake whatever you do, don’t let them give you the purified form (digitalis) of the foxglove plant. Insist on eating the whole thing, leaf by leaf. Maybe after you’ve grazed enough, you’ll be ready. Of course then you will have all this shrubbery in your stomach and the attendant problems that causes for a surgical patient. Then there is the infinitely harder problem of figuring out just how many plants it will take to make for a correct dosage. Mother Nature is such a kidder that way.
Sing along with me… “One bush makes you larger and another one makes you small” Go ask Alice
Ludditism is alive and well.
Leaperz,
“What isn’t so obvious about Mr. Obvious is that he has been consuming massive quantities of cornflakes containing gene sequences extracted from cognitively impaired gibbons, something which has clearly affected his powers of reason.”
Making ad-hominem attacks is so much more helpful than actually stating a position and supporting it with as much evidence as can be mustered. Bravo!
Let me get this straight, kendpotter, in the syllogism that prevails in your little universe, “Ludditism is alive and well” and “Neo-paganism is alive and well!” aren’t ad-hominem attacks.
Attempting to reason with GMO supporters is kind of like trying to preach the gospels to the cast of the Night of the Living Dead.
Happy ranting!
‘Most people who are opposed to GM Food do not have any understanding of what it means for food to be GM. They are simply reactionary.
However I agree with ‘Doom n Gloom March’ that companies need to be specific about any changes that are made.
Like any other technology GM Food could be used for the benefit of mankind or it could be detrimental.
We should focus on the beneficial aspects:
-food that can be grown in harsher soil’
===============================
You sound like a spin doctor. Thats what the likes of Monsanto want you to believe…they have to sell their toxic technology somehow..hyping non-existent benefits is the usual way.
You can learn more about GM here:
http://www.gmwatch.org/
‘Well of course, why didn’t I see that.’
Kendpotter, probably because youve been brainwashed.
‘Of course nothing nature made would harm us… well other than sumac, hemlock, nightshade, about a million different kinds of mushrooms, etc., etc.’
so you are claiming black tea will kill you?
‘Hey brianct, if you ever have to go in for surgery’
something you need to know before you step inside a hospital:
‘A definitive review and close reading of medical peer-review journals, and government health statistics shows that American medicine frequently causes more harm than good.
The number of people having in-hospital, adverse drug reactions (ADR) to prescribed medicine is 2.2 million.1
Dr. Richard Besser, of the CDC, in 1995, said the number of unnecessary antibiotics prescribed annually for viral infections was 20 million. Dr. Besser, in 2003, now refers to tens of millions of unnecessary antibiotics.2, 2a
The number of unnecessary medical and surgical procedures performed annually is 7.5 million.3
The number of people exposed to unnecessary hospitalization annually is 8.9 million.4
The total number of iatrogenic deaths shown in the following table is 783,936.
It is evident that the American medical system is the leading cause of death and injury in the United States. The 2001 heart disease annual death rate is 699,697; the annual cancer death rate, 553,251.5
etc
http://www.healthe-livingnews.com/articles/death_by_medicine_part_1.html
Please avoid all technology now, before you breed. If you are stupid then please don’t breed and stop evolution from doing its job. Unfortunately socialist programs will keep you from going extinct. Our conservative politicinas are keeping you from going the way of dinosours.
Just going into a modern hospital is dangerous as playing russian roulette.
Hospital-Acquired Infections: One of Modern Medicine’s Dirtiest Secrets
Every year, thousands of hospitalized patients die from infections caused by professional carelessness in U.S. hospitals. I witnessed, first-hand, exactly how it happens even at the best institutions
by FederalWriter
in non-fiction> health & fitness
on Aug. 28, 2007 at 05:11pm
While dozens of media vans, Secret Service and local law enforcement personnel maintained their vigil outside New York Presbyterian Hospital and 24-hour private nurses monitored the recovery of former president Bill Clinton from heart bypass surgery in 2004, my beloved father, a retired 87 year-old professor of nuclear physics, and the other hundreds of patients at the same hospital, received care that would have appalled Joseph Lister more than a century ago.
When I urged my father to undergo the implantation of a cerebral shunt to treat his normal pressure hydrocephalus, I already new the often-quoted statistic that approximately 10% of all in-patients treated in American hospitals contract some form of bacterial infection completely unrelated to the condition that necessitated their hospitalization in the first place. Had I known that the vehicle of infectious transmission was rampant neglect of the most basic and elementary concepts of antisepsis on the part of licensed health care professionals, I might have advised against his undergoing treatment, notwithstanding the inevitable progression of his illness otherwise. At least his remaining life would have been comparatively pain-free and dignified.
etc
http://www.thisisby.us/index.php/content/hospital_acquired_infections__one_of_modern_medicine__s_dirtiest_secrets
Sunday, August 8, 2004
Families say hospital unsanitary, unsafe
Three more lawsuits join dozens filed against Louisville facility
The Associated Press
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Three more lawsuits have been filed against Jewish Hospital, alleging poor patient care and gross negligence.
The lawsuits filed Friday say the hospital allowed dangerous conditions to exist even though it knew an increasing number of people were getting sick with infections. They claim hospital officials were aware proper procedures weren’t being followed as early as 2000 but failed to act.
The hospital has denied the allegations.
The lawsuits filed Friday in Jefferson County Circuit Court were the latest of more than two dozen similar suits that attorney Joseph White has filed against the hospital in the past eight months.
Hank Wagner, president and CEO of Jewish Hospital, told reporters in June that the hospital will aggressively defend the suits and won’t settle any.
“We think this is more of the same, confusing patients and families,” Linda McGinity Jackson, a hospital spokeswoman, said Friday. “We definitely believe that we will win in a court of law. We are drawing our line in the sand. We are not going to succumb to frivolous lawsuits.”
Each of the families is asking for a trial and compensatory and punitive damages.
One of the three lawsuits filed Friday alleged wrongful death - the seventh such suit White has filed against the hospital.
Jesse Walters claims in the suit that his wife, Shirley, was a patient for a month last August. During her stay, Walters alleges, she was infected with bacteria known as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, and died May 23.
Among other allegations in the lawsuits: patients being placed in rooms before the rooms were cleaned; an insufficient number of nurses and cleaning staff; blood and feces left on floors and walls; and staff failing to wash their hands or wear masks or gloves when they should.
http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2004/08/08/loc_loc2kyhosp.html
‘Please avoid all technology now, before you breed.’
Its technology that is bringing on extinction, from fish extinction by factory ships, to mass kills of land animals.
brianct - Your obviously a student of prehistoric science. Extictions have always been caused by technology. Oh wait, where did the technology come from before humans evolved? Must have been aliens! Brilliant!
My main issue with GM foods is that they are not being adequately tested for safety.
http://www.seedsofdeception.com/Public/Newsletter/June05GMCornHealthDangerExposed/index.cfm
“When a German court ordered Monsanto to make public a controversial 90-day rat study on June 20, 2005, the data upheld claims by prominent scientists who said that animals fed the genetically modified (GM) corn developed extensive health effects in the blood, kidneys and liver and that humans eating the corn might be at risk. The 1,139 page research paper on Monsanto’s “Mon 863” variety also revealed that European regulators accepted the company’s assurances that their corn is safe, in spite of the unscientific and contradictory rationale that was used to dismiss significant problems. In addition, the study is so full of flaws and omissions, critics say it wouldn’t qualify for publication in most journals and yet it is the primary document used to evaluate the health impacts.
Mon 863 is genetically engineered to produce its own pesticide, a toxin called Bacillus thuringiensis or Bt, designed to attack a corn pest called the corn rootworm. Rats fed Mon 863 developed several reactions, including those typically found with allergies (increased basophils), in response to infections, toxins and various diseases including cancer (increased lymphocytes and white blood cells), and in the presence of anemia (decreased reticulocyte count) and blood pressure problems (decreased kidney weights). There were also increased blood sugar levels, kidney inflammation, liver and kidney lesions, and other changes. According to top research biologist Arpad Pusztai, who was commissioned by the German government to evaluate the study in 2004, based on the evidence no one can say that Mon 863 will cause cancer or allergies or anything specific. The results are preliminary and must be followed-up to rule these out. He warns, however, “It is almost impossible to imagine that major lesions in important organs. . . . or changes in blood parameters. . . . that occurred in GM maize-fed rats, is incidental and due to simple biological variability.”
French Professor Gilles-Eric Seralini, a molecular endocrinologist at the University of Caen, agrees that the results indicate a toxic reaction. Seralini is a member of two French government commissions that evaluate GM food, one of which originally rejected a request for approval of the corn variety in October, 2003 due to the adverse findings of the study. Seralini won a French lawsuit allowing him to express his concerns in public, and now Greenpeace has won a German court battle that makes public the data that is the source of his concerns.
Pusztai and Seralini spoke about the Mon 863 study at a June 22 press conference in Berlin organized by Greenpeace. Both scientists are uniquely qualified to evaluate the study. Seralini studies endocrine disruptors and the impact of pesticides on health. He was one of four experts appointed to respond to the WTO challenge filed by the US against the European Union’s policy on GM food and crops. He has read all of the industry’s GM-food submissions to Europe as well as all the commentaries on the submissions. Pusztai is the leading authority in his field of protein science (lectins) and had been commissioned by the UK government in the 1990s to develop the ideal testing protocol for all GM foods. Although his protocol was supposed to be adopted by the UK government and eventually in Europe, Pusztai’s controversial finding that GM potatoes damaged the health of rats ultimately stopped the work. Pusztai has also been commissioned to evaluate all published studies on GM foods, and has analyzed most of the confidential submissions made by industry.
Both scientists have expressed alarm about the unsupported arguments that Monsanto and some European regulators use to force product approvals. Now that the Mon 863 study is available, other scientists and the public can evaluate the industry’s defense, which Pusztai and Seralini say contradict well established scientific principles. Chief among their concerns are the ways Monsanto explains away statistically significant effects.”
But you ask, how could it be approved by FDA? They just ASS*U*ME that it is the same as regular corn and trust Monsanto and other GM seed merchants. repeat after me, In Monsanto we trust. The Agent-Orange/PCB Monsanto would never jeapordize your health for profit.
http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/timeline.jsp?timeline=seeds_tmln&seeds_policies=seeds_nationalLegislation
“[In 1992]The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issue[d] a policy statement ruling that genetically modified (GM) food is “substantially equivalent” to conventionally grown food and therefore will not be subject to any special regulations. The agency justifies its position saying that assessments concerning the safety of food products should be based on the characteristics of the food product and not on the methods used to develop that product. [US Food and Drug Administration, 5/29/1992 ] Specifically addressing the issue of labeling for GM foods, the statement says: “The agency is not aware of any information showing that foods derived by these new methods differ from other foods in any meaningful or uniform way, or that, as a class, foods developed by the new techniques present any different or greater safety concern than foods developed by traditional plant breeding. For this reason, the agency does not believe that the method of development of a new plant variety… would… usually be required to be disclosed in labeling for the food.””
So humans are basically being used as lab rats, and if they do cause disease, if no one is looking for the cause, it will never be traced to the GM foods. But who cares, there are too many of us anyways.
With the understanding that their is some good to the GM product the rub is, when it can’t reproduce. The fact that many of the seeds are good for only one use and you are forced to buy from that one supplier Monsanto. That is why many countries and people refuse to be put in that situation.
Genetic modification has one purpose and it is not humanitarian. The purpose is to control agriculture, localize profits, and manipulate the people that depend on corporate controlled food supply. Other than that, it is an aborition on nature. Mr. Obvious is an ass****.
Help us expose the extent of Biotech activity in Hawai’i - Thanks to Monsanto, Syngenta. Pioneer etc, we have greatest amount (13,000) of unregulated GMO field test sites in the world. www.hawaiiseed.org
My Obvious
You are as far away from the truth as a hawk is to the moon.
MiMiCcS - GM/Bt crops are some of the most completely tested technologies that exist. No verifiable adverse effects on anything except insects have ever been found. Bt has been used as an organic insecticide for 50 years. Pusztai is a discredited scientist who was fired after it was found that he did not have data to back up his scientific claims/publication. He is an anti-GMO activist. The rat study in question has been reviewed by knowledgable and experienced toxicologist, both academic and government, from around the world and found to support a conclusion of safety. When a scientist speaks for Greenpeace it says a lot about his impartiality. Reputable scientists consider this to be an eco-terrorist organization that spouts junk science. They find credible venues for good science. Regulators don’t trust, they evaluate evidence.
Hopeful - This conspiracy theory sounds good until one realizes that Monsanto sells products. No one is forced to buy them. If the products were not competetive, no one would buy them. This is just good old fashioned competition. Banning GM crops is protectionism and is as obvious as the US subsidy for ethanol.
Treefrog - Stick and stones… Very adult. Maybe you need a nap.
eden - Maybe you should be less worried about a couple genes in a GM crop and be more worried about the thousands of new genes in every new variety of that crop based on conventional breeding, or maybe about the many exotic animals and plants that are threatening native ecosystems.
Infatuation with GM-crop bashing will eventually be viewed like the historic fear of pasturized milk. This is not progressive or objective thought. Like the dinosaurs, you will go extinct.
re Mr. Obvious 6:00am
“…Monsanto sells products. No one is forced to buy them. If the products were not competetive, no one would buy them.”
this totally ignores the labeling issue. what should be obvious is that monsanto and its ilk have something to hide. if their products are as safe as they claim, why would they spend millions on lawsuits to avoid having to label their products honestly, and to prevent others from doing so?
if i can’t be certain what i’m buying, how is that a free choice?
“…Monsanto sells products. No one is forced to buy them. If the products were not competetive, no one would buy them.”
Tell that to the farmer(s) of non-GMO crops whose field was polluted by Monsanto seeds from passing trucks and neighbors fields. They then get sued by Monsanto and are forced to pay outrageous royalties…even if it can be proven that the Monsanto seed is only at roadside and provided no financial gain to the farmer.
I saw one case where it was “Roundup Ready Canola”…the only benefit being resistance to “Roundup” pesticide. The farmer was not a user of “Roundup”, and was unaware of the pollution of his fields. He still got sued, and lost.
There are many cases like these.
There is no intrinsic conflict between science and reverence for nature. There is no quarrel between reason and love. There is always the question of, “Does a new technology do something better than the old without creating more trouble than it’s worth?”. And the deeper question of, “Can we foresee what kind of a world we are creating by using this new development?” My opinion is that technology mostly transforms the nature of our practical problems, it doesn’t improve life or increase human happiness. But that could change. The story isn’t finished.
hazmat - Since when were labels required when a safe product is being sold. Those providing trendy food like organic and free-range can label their products if they want. Or are you suggesting that every food that does not meet your philosophical needs be labeled? “not-organic” “not-free-range” “not kosher” It is up to those marketing specialty products to label their own gimick.
The 1000-acre farmer and seed dealer from Canada has been on tour with his show and dance. He selected a Monsanto trait by spraying his canola with Round Up, and then saved the seed for replanting. Only transgenic Round-Up resistant canola can survive this herbicide. He is a thief. He lost in court because he sprayed round-up on stolen traits. He belongs in jail.
Horrible GM nightmare situations are real! I bought fertilizer which had been contaminated with tiny Roundup Ready Canola seeds. I now have to eagle-eye my crops for volunteer canola plants. Year after year they return, disguised as cute little creatures, but in reality, devils from hell. I revel in ripping them from the ground and watching them ever so slowly die, die, die!
Greg R - You have got bigger problems if there is seed in your fertilizer. Where the heck did you buy fertilizer with seed in it?
re Mr. Obvious 10:51am
“hazmat - Since when were labels required when a safe product is being sold.”
assuming that’s a question, i’ll answer it with another: have you ever bought cookies? if you had, and looked carefully at the box, you’d have found a label identifying the contents (some food purists might argue that cookies in general aren’t safe, but i won’t go that far).
“Those providing trendy food like organic and free-range can label their products if they want.”
maybe. perhaps you’re unaware that monsanto has successfully sued producers of rBGH-free milk to prevent them from labelling their products as such, on the specious grounds that to do so would unfairly malign milk containing the monsanto-derived product (exactly how this could be so was unstated—but that’s what you get from our “activist, liberal” courts).
perhaps you’re also unaware that the standards for determining what is and is not organic have been under corporate assault for years. sewage sludge (renamed “biosolids” to sound more “green,” irradiation (they had to scrap the original nuke logo for that one), etc have been foisted on us in a scramble to catch up with the educated consumer, and only a massive public outcry prevented the term “organic” from being diluted into meaninglessness. but the issue remains, and monsanto’s not giving up.
of course a reasonably well-trained agribiz troll would know all this already. if this doesn’t describe you, then you need to inform yourself on these acts of corporate/judicial meddling in the market.
once again: markets are not free if relevant information is not freely available. got it?
Didn’t get to read the whole thread, but I noticed there is a discussion going on about natural medicine vs. modern or chemical medicine. I believe both can give benefits when used properly. However, it’s true there is a tendency in western medicine to prescribe pills and chemical solutions when they are not necessarily the best approach or the healthiest option.
For example, I had tendonitis in my foot and couldn’t walk for two months. I went to a few different doctors, each who told me to take anti-inflammatory pills, wrap my foot in a bandage, and not walk on it. After two months, the next step was to be an anti-inflammatory injection, and if that wasn’t going to work, I was going to have to get surgery.
Later I went to Mexico and a friend recommended a “huesero,” or a traditional Mexican chiropractor. He rubbed my foot, intensely massaged it moving my tendons around, and told me to walk on it because that’s the only way it will heal. (Completely opposite advice from what the various doctors told me.) His treatments hurt like hell, but after two sessions, which cost about $10 US each, I could walk again. I’ve been able to walk ever sense.
Another simpler example is when I put acid medicine on my plantar’s warts for weeks, but that just made them hurt and they kept coming back. So I went to a doctor who burned them off after giving me shots in each wart to numb them, which was probably one of the most painful things I’ve ever experience. The warts still came back. Later a friend who’s into natural remedies told me that if you rub a slice of potato over them every day, they just go away naturally and painlessly. It worked.
I could go on with more similar examples, and examples from friends and family. I think the moral of the story is that sometimes surgery and modern medicine is good and necessary. But there is also an older knowledge of natural methods that many of us have forgotten. I think one reason is just a matter of ignorance and doubting. Perhaps another reason is that it’s much more profitable for pharmaceutical companies if we think we have to buy a brand-name bottle of pills for every ailment we have, rather than making a tea out of an herb or using certain foods.
I think it would be beneficial to keep an open mind on both sides, but I do believe we need to re-explore beneficial natural remedies and preserve this knowledge.
cheencheen - I agree with your premise. Give different approaches a chance based on evidence. Nature is a model of great medicine and great pathogenicity. Believe it or not, pharmacutical companies understand this. Aspirin is from willow bark. Scientists are not stupid and realize that nature is a great source of useful medicine. They do not think all natural is good, but hey realize that evolution has produced some increadibly useful substances. Most scientists just want to help mankind. Demonizing Industry scientists is just not useful.
Mr. Obvious-Apparently a semi-trailer bringing potash from canada had not been cleaned out very well from a previous load of RR canola. cheencheen-warts (and some other things)respond to treatments as much by one’s faith in the method as they do to the actual ‘medicine’. Another example is the fact that more expensive placebos work better than cheaper ones.
Greg R - So why does RR canola present more of a problem for you than conventional canola. Has it become a weed in your RR corn or soy bean? How do you know it is RR if you are not trying to control it with roundup?
Mr Obvious March is a obvious GM troll
‘GM/Bt crops are some of the most completely tested technologies that exist. No verifiable adverse effects on anything except insects have ever been found. Bt has been used as an organic insecticide for 50 years. Pusztai is a discredited scientist who was fired after it was found that he did not have data to back up his scientific claims/publication. He is an anti-GMO activist.”
GM crops have been tested, by the owners, and when these tests prove problematic, are hidden:
‘The biotech industry claims that the FDA has thoroughly evaluated GM foods and found them safe. This is untrue. Internal FDA documents made public from a lawsuit, reveal that agency scientists warned that GM foods might create toxins, allergies, nutritional problems, and new diseases that might be difficult to identify.131-140 Although they urged their superiors to require long-term tests on each GM variety prior to approval, the political appointees at the agency, including a former attorney for Monsanto, ignored the scientists. Official policy claims that the foods are no different130 and do NOT require safety testing. A manufacturer can introduce a GM food without even informing the government or consumers.146 A January 2001 report from an expert panel of the Royal Society of Canada said it was “scientifically unjustifiable”136 to presume that GM foods are safe. Likewise, a 2002 report by the UK’s Royal Society said that genetic modification “could lead to unpredicted harmful changes in the nutritional state of foods,” and recommended that potential health effects of GM foods be rigorously researched before being fed to pregnant or breast-feeding women, elderly people, those suffering from chronic disease, and babies.263
How could the government approve dangerous foods? A close examination reveals that industry manipulation and political collusion-not sound science-was the driving force.
Government employees who complained were harassed, stripped of responsibilities, or fired.77-83
Scientists were threatened. Evidence was stolen. Data was omitted or distorted. Some regulators even claimed they were offered bribes to approve a GM product.
There are only about two dozen published, peer-reviewed animal feeding studies on the health effects of GM foods.
One study showed evidence of damage to the immune system and vital organs, and a potentially pre-cancerous condition.12-13 When the scientist tried to alert the public about these alarming discoveries, he lost his job and was silenced with threats of a lawsuit.18-20
Two other studies also showed evidence of a potentially pre-cancerous condition. The other seven studies, which were superficial in their design, were not designed to identify these details.37
In an unpublished study, laboratory rats fed a GM crop developed stomach lesions and seven of the forty died within two weeks. The crop was approved without further tests.37, 137-140
Many industry studies appear to be rigged to find no problems. In the case of a genetically engineered bovine growth hormone (rbGH), for example, researchers injected cows with only one forty-seventh the normal dosage before reporting hormone residues in milk.91-92 They heated the milk 120 times longer than standard, to report that pasteurization destroys the hormone.93-94 They added cows to their study that were pregnant before treatment, to claim that rbGH didn’t impede fertility.89 Cows that fell sick were dropped from studies altogether.80-81
With soybeans, serious nutritional differences between GM and natural soy were omitted from a published paper.35-36 Feeding studies masked any problems by using mature animals instead of developing ones and by diluting their GM soy 10 to 1 with non-GM protein.34
There are no adequate tests to verify that GM food will not create dangerous allergic reactions. While an international organization developed testing standards to minimize the possibility of allowing allergenic GM varieties on the market, GM corn currently sold in the U.S. has not been subjected to those tests and would most certainly fail them. One of these tests, for example, uses a test tube simulation to evaluate how long a potential GM allergen can last inside the digestive system before being broken down. Compared to the recommended international standards, however, one biotech company used a far stronger acid concentration and more than 1,250 times the recommended amount of a digestive enzyme to make the claim that their protein degrades too quickly to cause a reaction.179
The only human feeding trial ever conducted confirmed that genetically engineered genes from soy transferred to the bacteria inside the digestive tract. (The biotech industry had previously said that such a transfer was impossible.) The World Health Organization, the British and American Medical Associations, and several other groups have expressed concern that if the “antibiotic resistant marker genes” used in GM foods got transferred to bacteria, it could create super-diseases that are immune to antibiotics.59-60 More worrisome is that the “promoter” used inside GM foods could get transferred to bacteria or internal organs. Promoters act like a light switches, permanently turning on genes that might otherwise be switched off. Scientists believe that this might create unpredictable health effects, including the potentially pre-cancerous cell growth found in the animal feeding studies mentioned above.37
The biotech industry says that millions have been eating GM foods without ill effect.This is misleading.
About 100 people died and 5-10,000 to fell seriously ill when they consumed the food supplement L-tryptophan. Only those who consumed the variety that was genetically modified became ill. That brand had minute, but deadly contaminants that would easily pass through current regulations today. If the disease it created had not been rare and acute, with crippling and deadly symptoms, the GM supplement might never have been traced as the cause. Once discovered, however, industry and government covered up facts and diverted the blame. Even the FDA testimony before Congress withheld vital information.107-125
For a summary of the L-tryptophan issue, click here.
etc
http://www.seedsofdeception.com/Public/AboutGeneticallyModifiedFoods/index.cfm
Mr Obvious March works for Monsanto
I do not work for Monsanto and have never received a penny from them. I am also critical of some of their practices, such as fighting to keep specialty milk from cows labeled as coming from cows not treated with suplimental hormones. In my opinion these suppliers have a right to make use of this marketting ploy - Just like a kosher label. However the propaganda shovelled by brianct is just that. Where are the peer-reviewed publications? I can put out a web page or tabloid artical that says the moon is made of cheese too. In fact, the urban ledgends quoted above are scare stories to deceive the ignorant.
PS. Please investigate the L-trytophan study. It shows why taking unregulated supliments and herbal medicine is risky. These have no oversight by the government regulators. The “natural” contaminant in the L-tryptophan did kill people. It seems like you actually know this and reject the findings by the scientists that studied it. Somehow you know better. Perhaps you should prepare a paper on your findings and submit it to a scientific journal. But no - their is a conspiracy that is keeping you down.
Mr. Obvious-I’m 100%RR corn and beans, so that’s why the RR canola is a pain. Unfortunately, the more RR crops that are developed, the more problems like this that will occur. Of course I could spray a different chemical to kill the canola, but that adds to costs and I hate to use more chemicals than absolutely necessary.
Greg R - sounds like your fertilizer provider should be on the hook for the extra cost. Your lucky it did not contain a RR resistant weed. You bought an adulterated product.
Greg R,
It sounds like you (a farmer) are closer to the problem than any of the rest of us here. What do you think about the trade-offs. Use of a GM crop versus greater chemical application? Greater abundance versus organic? Etc, etc.
Ken
Mr. Obvious & kendpotter-The adulterated fertilizer came from my local co-op. They helped out the first 2 years. Since then I haven’t asked for any additional help. If I’m watchful, it’s not a real big deal, but it is easy to forget when there are so many other things on one’s mind. At this time the RR system is the most convenient for farmers. The overall cost is comparable to conventional farming, but in general the yields are now a bit better. GM corn, which protects against corn-borers and now also against rootworms, is a huge improvement. Previously, we were stuck dealing with skull & crossbones insecticides or take a chance on your corn falling flat and definitely losing yield even if it remained standing. Vague worries about crops have to compete with the real concerns of handling nasty pesticides. It’s easy to choose GM.
Greg R - You may want to talk to your local extension agent about some herbicide rotation before your stuck with RR-weeds. Once they start, its too late to react.
Mr. Obvious-I do use a small dose of atrazine on my corn which is helpful in a number of ways. Many years ago we relied heavily on atrazine. It’s a good product for the most part, but certainly not in every way, so I’m glad to use a much reduced amount. Just as I try to watch for the RR canola, I try to watch for other weeds. If I have any weeds growing in my fields, I like to know why.
Greg R - Glad you are not using much atrazine. Its ability to get in groundwater is a little troublesome. I am not sure what alternatives are available, but if your watching closely, I am sure you’ll be fine. With a lot of farmers working thousands of acres, it can get difficult to scout all this land.
Mr Obvious: ‘ I can put out a web page or tabloid artical that says the moon is made of cheese too.’
Well, lets see you do so. But Jeffrey Smiths book is not a tabloid Its a well documented examination of the science behind GM…and it includes an examination of peer reviewed research. Of course, given you dismissed Pusztai and his research, id say your interest in peer-reviewed research was zero and a red herring.
Also you dont read peer-reviewed research, nor are u qualified to.
And for a self-proclaimed non Monsanto man, you make a very useful PR man for them. So what are they paying you?
‘Glad you are not using much atrazine. Its ability to get in groundwater is a little troublesome’
Mr Obvious is oblivious to the pollution practices HE supports…chemical medicines ALSO get into the ground water and affects the fish:
‘Medicine in water affects fish
Pharmaceuticals blamed for reproductive problems, shorter life spans
By Jeff Donn, Martha Mendoza and Justin Pritchard, Associated Press
Article Created: 03/11/2008 02:35:56 AM PDT
LAKE MEAD, Nev. — On this brisk, glittering morning, a flat-bottomed boat glides across the massive reservoir that provides Las Vegas its drinking water. An ominous rumble growls beneath the craft as its two long, electrified claws extend into the depths.
Moments later, dozens of stunned fish float to the surface.
Federal scientists scoop them up and transfer them into 50-quart ice chests for transport to a makeshift lab on the dusty lakeshore.
Within the hour, the researchers will club the 7-pound common carps to death, draw their blood, snip out their gonads and pack them in aluminum foil and dry ice.
The specimens will be flown across the country to laboratories where aquatic toxicologists are studying what happens to fish that live in water contaminated with at least 13 different medications, from over-the-counter painkillers to prescription antibiotics and mood stabilizers.
More often than not these days, the laboratory tests bring unwelcome results.
A five-month Associated Press investigation has determined that trace amounts of many of the pharmaceuticals we take to stay healthy are seeping into drinking-water supplies, and a growing body of research indicates that this could harm humans.
But people aren’t the only ones who consume that water. There is more and more evidence that some animals that live in or drink from streams and lakes are seriously affected.
Pharmaceuticals in the water are being blamed for severe
reproductive problems in many types of fish. The endangered razorback suckerand male fathead minnow have been found with lower sperm counts and damaged sperm. Some walleyes and male carp have become what are called feminized fish, producing egg yolk proteins typically made only by females.
Meanwhile, female fish have developed male genital organs. Also, there are skewed sex ratios in some aquatic populations, and sexually abnormal bass that produce cells for both sperm and eggs.
There are problems with other wildlife as well: kidney failure in vultures, impaired reproduction in mussels, inhibited growth in algae.
“We have no reason to think that this is a unique situation,” says Erik Orsak, an environmental contaminants specialist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, pulling off rubber gloves splattered with fish blood at Lake Mead. “We find pretty much anywhere we look, these compounds are ubiquitous.”
etc
http://www.insidebayarea.com/trivalleyherald/ci_8530757
brianct - So what peer-reviewed artcles are you referring too -the one’s in the National Enquirer? I can publish any book I want if I finance it. Peer review requires independent scientists to agree that the evidence supports the conclusions. This is not Dr Zeuss. I want less impact on natural habitats, and GM crops help. If you want to worship Mother Earth, go ahead. Just don’t confuce religion with science.
Mr Not so Obvious…YOU are the one who needs to show PEER reviwed studies by INDEPENDENT scientists (and not industry flacks) that GM IS safe!
‘Just don’t confuce religion with science.’
which is what you do, when you genuflect before it…
Ever hear of scientism?
brianct - Do you want to pay for safety studies on GM crops? Then go ahead. Of course Monsanto pays for the safety tests for products they want to market. I sure do not want to pay for safety testing your next product. The studies used to support GM crop registrations must be reviewed by government scientists trained in the discipline that they are reviewing, not by hacks.