In this week’s spotlight I wish to discuss our dependence on government. The very nature of our lives depends on various governmental agencies operating with our best interests in mind. It is therefore disconcerting when we learn that a significant appointment to some agency overseeing our food, water, and drugs has been given to a favored friend who has been or is still affiliated with a commercial company that the agency is supposed to oversee. This is the fox guarding the hen house, and it happens with every administration. For example, what do you think when a former Monsanto executive is appointed to an agency that may well have the power to make decisions on matters that Monsanto has spent hundreds of millions of dollars lobbying about? Who then are we to trust? Is this good old boy form of corruption acceptable?
Government of and by Industry?
A very interesting chart available on the Internet shows the number of people Monsanto has on their payroll, people who are also members of Congress and serve in important governmental roles, including deputy director of the FDA. If you go to GEKE.US, you will find not only this graphic but also many others, such as the same sort of interface between our government and big tobacco or big oil.
A concern shared by many regarding GMOs includes the uncontrolled spread of GMO seeds and vegetation. Of course, there are many who insist this is both an unreasonable and unwarranted objection. But is it? Following on the heels of the GM wheat contamination incident in Oregon, GM-contaminated alfalfa has now been found where it wasn’t supposed to be in the state of Washington. Agriculture officials in Washington State are testing samples of alfalfa after a farmer reported his hay was rejected for export because it tested positive for a genetically modified trait that was not supposed to be in his crop.
We Eat Our Weight in GMOs Every Year
Genetically engineered food is now part of our mainstream diets. It has been estimated that Americans unknowingly eat their weight each year in GMOs, and the fact is, no long-term health study has ever been conducted to demonstrate the safety of GMO consumption. If you were planning on eating your body weight of anything in a year, or feeding that much food to your family, wouldn’t you first want to know if long-term studies and monitoring had shown it to be safe?
What do you think of this headline, “Human genes engineered into experimental GMO rice being grown in Kansas”? Now my initial reaction when I saw this was, “Oh, come on, that couldn’t be true!” The facts differ. Unless the rice you buy is certified organic, or comes specifically from a farm that tests its rice crops for genetically modified traits, you could well be eating rice tainted with actual human genes.
Hiding Evidence
Did you know that Syngenta, a biotech giant, has been charged criminally with hiding the fact that their own research showed that cows died from eating its genetically modified corn? The charges follow a long struggle for justice by a German farmer whose dairy cattle suffered mysterious illnesses and deaths after eating Bt 176. They were grown on his farm as part of authorized field tests during 1997 to 2002. By 2000, his cows were fed exclusively on Bt 176, and soon illnesses started to emerge. He was paid 40,000 euros by Syngenta as partial compensation for 5 dead cows, decreased milk yields, and vet costs. During a civil lawsuit brought against the company by the farmer however, Syngenta refused to admit that its GM corn was the cause, claiming no knowledge of harm. The case was dismissed and the farmer remained thousands of euros in debt. But in 2009, the farmer learned of a feeding study allegedly commissioned by Syngenta in 1996 that resulted in four cows dying in two days. Now he and another farmer-turned-activist have brought Syngenta to the criminal court to face charges of withholding knowledge of the U. S. trial.
Secrets We Must Know
Today’s spotlight blog is all about drawing attention to the secretive nature of much of what goes unreported to the masses dealing with GMOs and of course the fact that many of the people who have say in the matter are those who already have an invested financial interest. Surely a program with such far-reaching consequences as this should be more transparent. In my book, Gotcha, I have written a lot about the many ways our government fails to protect us while we continue to trust that they are doing what we expect, as opposed to what we inspect.
As always, thanks for the read and I appreciate your feedback.
Eldon Taylor
Provocative Enlightenment
NY Time Bestselling Author of Choices and Illusions
www.eldontaylor.com