tagged w/ Genetically Engineered Food
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Editor's Note: Problem = wheat shortages due to extreme weather and speculation driving commodity prices; Reaction = global starvation and outrage; Solution = Drought-resistant GMO wheat seed from Monsanto.
This year, your bread dishes are probably not genetically modified — consumer and food industry opposition has so far prevented any GM wheat from making it to your table. So your biscuits, thickened gravy and turkey stuffing are made with flour from traditionally bred wheat.
But several seed companies, including Monsanto, Syngenta, BASF and others, are working on transgenic wheat. U.S. Wheat Associates, an industry group, said in early 2010 that GM wheat is still several years away, but efforts are ongoing to improve its acceptance among international consumers.
Monsanto Co., the world’s largest producer of genetically modified seed, backed off commercialization of “Roundup Ready” wheat several years ago, amid concerns it could hurt the U.S. wheat market. But earlier this month, the firm said it's the "right time" to pursue development of drought-resistant and high-yielding wheat.
Read Full Article http://globalpoliticalawakening.blogspot.com/2010/11/monsanto-says-its-right-time-for-gmo.html
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7 Mega-Cartels That Run the WorldEditor's Note: Problem = wheat shortages due to extreme weather and speculation... more
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A delegation of politicians and community activists gathered on August 7 in La Leonesa, a small farm town in Argentina, to hear Dr. Andres Carrasco speak about a study linking a popular herbicide to birth defects in Argentina's agricultural areas.
But the presentation never happened. A mob of about 100 people attacked the delegation before they could reach the local school where the talk was to be held.
Dr. Carrasco and a colleague locked themselves in a car as the mob yelled threats and beat on the vehicle for two hours. One delegate was hit in the spine and has since suffered lower-body paralysis. Another person was treated for blows to the head. A former provincial human rights official was hit in the face and knocked unconscious.
Witnesses said the angry crowd had ties to local officials and agribusiness bosses, and police made little effort to stop the violence, according to human rights group Amnesty International.
READ MORE: http://globalpoliticalawakening.blogspot.com/2010/11/war-over-monsanto-gets-ugly.htmlA delegation of politicians and community activists gathered on August 7 in La... more
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The Future Of Food offers an in-depth investigation into the disturbing truth behind engineered foods that have quietly filled U.S. grocery store shelves for the past decade.
[4 1/2 out of 5 stars]
http://www.hulu.com/watch/67878/the-future-of-foodThe Future Of Food offers an in-depth investigation into the disturbing truth behind... more
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Petition to stop de-regulation of Genetically Engineered Corn: At link above.
Tell the Department of Agriculture: No Biotech, No Biofuels!
The U.S. Agriculture Department is looking to fast-track the deregulation of Genetically Engineered (GE) corn for ethanol production, despite growing evidence that GE crops are dangerous for human health and the environment.
GE crops have been forced on consumers without mandatory labeling or adequate assessment of negative human health and environmental impacts. A recent study by the Austrian government even demonstrated how a type of GE corn cause infertility in lab rats.
The current industrialized processes of creating biofuels, like ethanol, are inherently unsustainable and actually cause more total greenhouse gases and use more petroleum than gasoline.
Please take action below and consider customizing your message. The Organic Consumers Association's Washington, DC staff will personally deliver your letter to the USDA on January 20, 2009.Petition to stop de-regulation of Genetically Engineered Corn: At link above.... more
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Have you ever picked up a cold, frosty beer on a hot summer's day and thought that it simply couldn't get any better?
Well, you may have to think again.
A team of researchers at Rice University in Houston is working to create a beer that could fight cancer and heart disease. Taylor Stevenson, a member of the six-student research team and a junior at Rice, said the team is using genetic engineering to create a beer that includes resveratrol, the disease-fighting chemical that's been found in red wine.
Scientists at the University of Wisconsin in June had called resveratrol, which is a natural component of grapes, pomegranates and red wine, a key reason for the so-called French Paradox -- the observation that French people have lower rates of heart disease despite a cuisine known for its cream sauces and decadent cheeses, all loaded with heart-clogging saturated fats.
The Wisconsin researchers had noted that adding small doses of resveratrol to the diet of middle-aged mice significantly slows their aging and keeps their hearts healthy. And they added that giving high doses to invertebrates extends their life spans, and high doses also stave off premature death in mice fed a high-fat diet.
Stevenson said that the Rice research group, most of the members of which aren't old enough to legally drink alcoholic beverages, came up with the idea of adding resveratrol to beer during a casual conversation about potential projects to undertake. "The idea is that it may have greater effects [in beer than in wine]," he added. "The amount of red wine you'd need to drink to get the same results they get with rats in labs is about half a bottle a day."
He explained that the amount of resveratrol in wine varies from bottle to bottle, since it depends on growing conditions for the grapes and other variables. The researchers felt they could design a beer with higher and more consistent concentrations of the cancer-fighting chemical.
The students, using their own Dell, Lenovo ThinkPad and Gateway laptops, are now in the process of developing a genetically modified strain of yeast that will ferment beer and produce resveratrol at the same time. Stevenson said that as the research advances, the team will need to use one of Rice University's computer grids to run compute-heavy genetic models.
The Rice effort is the latest in a series of projects that use technology to find cures to major health concerns like cancer and heart disease.
In August, scientists at Stanford University announced that they have found a way to use nanotechnology to have chemotherapy drugs target only cancer cells, keeping healthy tissue safe from the treatment's toxic effects.
CONT'D::Have you ever picked up a cold, frosty beer on a hot summer's day and thought... more
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