GMO facts and Food Consumption

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GMO facts and Food Consumption

• By Jodi Demerly
• BUS301F

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What are GMOs?

• What is a GMO?
• Genetically Modified Organism
• Plants or animals created by way of gene splicing
  that does not naturally occur in nature
• Never been safety tested by the FDA
• 20 year old policy says its up to the biotech
  companies to determine safety of the genetically
  engineer (GE) foods.
• Making billions in profits, yet GEs foods are
  directly linked to increased health problems

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Who is responsible?

• The Government
• The United States regulation of modified food is
  divided among three agencies
• FDA regulates the safety of GMs that are consumed
  by humans or animals along with the EPA
• EPA regulates biopesticides, making sure
  pesticides are safe for human consumption
• USDA responsible for inspecting plants and
  animals and protecting agriculture against pests
  and disease

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Why the FDA has Failed Consumers

• The United Nations, World Health Organization,
  and the American Medical Association have all
  called for mandatory safety testing of GE foods.
• FDA continually fails to meet the safety testing
  standards
• 40 Congress members have urged the FDA to conduct
  more rigorous review to no avail
• No labeling on food
• 70 or more foods on the market contain GE foods
• Received over 1 Million petitions demanding that
  GMOs are labeled
• FDAs revolving door policy with Michael Taylor
  (Monsanto)
• White house (Obama) instructed FDA to promote
  biotechnology
• Agency official in charge was Taylor, Monsantos
  attorney
• Now Taylor is the US Food Safety Czar

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Who is Monsanto?

• Monsanto is a multinational agricultural
  biotechnology corporation based in the US
• Largest producer of GE seeds
• accounting for 90 of seeds planted globally
• Introduced Roundup Ready a herbicide that kills
  everything but their GE seeds
• Develop and use chemical products that have been
  banned including
• Agent Orange, DDT, Bovine Growth Hormone, and
  PCBs

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Monsanto

• FDA has allowed privatization and patenting of
  seeds
• Farmers who buy Monsantos seeds are required to
  destroy all next generation seeds
• Then required to buy new seeds from Monsanto
  every year
• Then sell the same farmers patented Roundup that
  kills everything but their plants because all
  other pesticides on the market wont work
• 2012 Monsanto received 23.5 million from patent
  infringement lawsuits for cross contamination
• Against farmers that had no control over the wind

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Monsanto Continued

• Promise Roundup Ready would increase profits
• Average cost to plant one acre of Monsantos
  Soybeans has risen 325 and corn up 258
• Promise GE crops would help the environment by
  reducing the need for pesticides
• Farmers used 26 more chemicals per acre
• Promise to increase yields to feed the hungry
• 400 Scientists backed by 58 governments stated
  that GM crop yields do not increase yield and in
  some cases decline
• Non GMO agriculture in developing countries
  resulted in 79 yield increase

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Health Concerns

• 2010 study linked exposure to pesticides
  (Roundup) with
• Cancer, sterility, hormone disruption, birth
  defects, ADHD, and lower IQ
• Animal testing has linked GE foods to
• Cancer, reproductive disorder, miscarriage,
  organ damage, allergies, digestive problems, and
  autism

http//aksarbent.blogspot.com/2013/04/as-another-r
eport-studies-health-risks.html
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Environment Concerns

• Not only do pesticides contaminate our bodies
  they spread into the surrounding soil, water and
  air
• Kills off wildlife, birds, insects, amphibians,
  marine ecosystem and soil organisms
• GMOs are eliminating Monarch Butterfly habitats
  whose population is down 50 in the United States

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Whos Against Labeling and Why

• Monsanto
• Kraft
• Pepsico
• Coca-Cola
• General Mills
• Smithfield Foods, Inc
• Simply, they would lose money if the public knew

http//sandiegofreepress.org/2013/05/the-starting-
line-a-real-scandal- activists-around-the-world-to
-protest-monsanto-may-25th/watering-gmos/. U1r1Wm
dOXrc
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Countries banned GMO crops
http//www.labelgmos.org/the_science_genetically_m
odified_foods_gmo
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GMO, Conventional and Organic
http//www.countrysideorganics.com/2014/04/18/non-
gmo-is-an-improvement-but-it-is-not-organic/
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What Consumers Can Do

• Educate yourself
• Knowledge is power
• Be aware of what you are buying
• Setting standards of what foods you will buy and
  know which companies provide foods that contain
  GMOs and dont buy them!
• Know your local farming practices and buy locally
  or organic
• Diminish political corruption
• Term politicians

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References

• http//www.labelgmos.org/the_science_genetically_m
  odified_foods_gmo
• http//www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_2
  7143.cfm
• http//naturalrevolution.org/gmo-resources/compani
  es-that-oppose-gmo-labeling/2uMTFpZVogGtFL6q.99
• http//www.fas.org/biosecurity/education/dualuse-a
  griculture/2.-agricultural-biotechnology/us-regula
  tion-of-genetically-engineered-crops.html
• http//www.takepart.com/article/2012/09/04/whats-g
  mo-and-why-should-we-care
• http//www.foxnews.com/health/2012/09/10/study-exa
  mines-benefits-organic-foods/
• http//whoismonsanto.com/
• http//sandiegofreepress.org/2013/05/the-starting-
  line-a-real-scandal-activists-around-the-world-to-
  protest-monsanto-may-25th/watering-gmos/.U1r1WmdO
  Xrc
• http//www.responsibletechnology.org/10-Reasons-to
  -Avoid-GMOs.U1gCwEOcM-k.email.
• http//www.labelgmos.org/the_science_genetically_m
  odified_foods_gmo
• http//www.countrysideorganics.com/2014/04/18/non-
  gmo-is-an-improvement-but-it-is-not-organic/