Category Archives: animals

We’ve talked about it before….GMO’s..

Here is Wikipedia’s definition of Genetically Modified Organisms…. “ A genetically modified organism (GMO) is an organism whose genetic material has been altered using genetic engineering techniques. Organisms that have been genetically modified include micro-organisms such as bacteria and yeast, plants, fish, and mammals. GMOs are the source of genetically modified foods, and are also widely used in scientific research and to produce useful goods other than food.”

It’s time to clean out the pantry folks and purge those frankenfoods!! 

Don’t know what to throw out?  Well there is a looong and detailed list of foods found at the Rumor Mill News website.  Good to know someone is doing their homework!

It’s a sad list because some of these are in MY OWN pantry!!  Click here to go to the very long and detailed list.

Why is this topic so maddening?  Well here are a couple of reasons cited by Ari LeVaux  at The Atlantic which was enough to creep me out and it’s only night past Halloween!

Check this out…

“Chinese researchers have found small pieces of rice ribonucleic acid (RNA) in the blood and organs of  humans who eat rice. The Nanjing University-based team showed that this  genetic material will bind to receptors in human liver cells and  influence the uptake of cholesterol from the blood.

The type of RNA in question is called microRNA (abbreviated to miRNA) due to its small size. MiRNAs have been studied extensively since their discovery ten years ago, and have been implicated as players in several human diseases including cancer, Alzheimer’s, and diabetes. They  usually function by turning down or shutting down certain genes. The  Chinese research provides the first in vivo example of ingested plant miRNA surviving digestion and influencing human cell function in this way.

Should the research survive scientific scrutiny — a serious hurdle — it  could prove a game changer in many fields. It would mean that we’re  eating not just vitamins, protein, and fuel, but gene regulators as  well.

That knowledge could  deepen our understanding of many fields, including cross-species  communication, co-evolution, and predator-prey relationships. It could  illuminate new mechanisms for some metabolic disorders and perhaps  explain how some herbal and modern medicines function.

This study had nothing to do with  genetically modified (GM) food, but it could have implications on that  front. The work shows a pathway by which new food products, such as GM  foods, could influence human health in previously unanticipated ways.

Monsanto’s website states, “There is no need for, or value in testing the safety of GM foods in  humans.” This viewpoint, while good for business, is built on an  understanding of genetics circa 1960. It follows what’s called the  “Central Dogma” of genetics, which postulates a one-way chain of command between DNA and the cells DNA governs.

The Central Dogma resembles the process of ordering a pizza. The DNA codes  for the kind of pizza it wants, and orders it. The RNA is the order  slip, which communicates the specifics of that pizza to the cook. The  finished and delivered pizza is analogous to the protein that DNA codes  for.

We’ve known for decades  that the Central Dogma, though basically correct, is overly simplistic.  For example: MiRNAs that don’t code for anything, pizza or otherwise,  travel within cells silencing genes that are being expressed. So while  one piece of DNA is ordering a pizza, it could also be bombarding the  pizzeria with RNA signals that can cancel the delivery of other pizzas  ordered by other bits of DNA.

Researchers have been using this phenomena to their advantage in the form of small, engineered RNA strands that are virtually identical to miRNA. In a  technique called RNA interference, or RNA knockdown, these small bits of RNA are used to turn off, or “knock down,” certain genes.

Humans and insects have a lot in common, genetically. If miRNA can in fact survive the gut then it’s entirely possible that miRNA intended to influence insect gene regulation could also affect humans.”

What can you do?  Well, California has it going on right now.  Prop 37  would make California the first state in the country to require that certain plant or animal products sold be labeled if its genetic material has been modified. The law would also make it illegal for food companies to label genetically modified organisms, or GMOs, as “natural.”  If approved, Proposition 37 would take effect in 2014.

We have a right to know and California is hoping to pass this proposition so other states can follow.  The passing of this prop could change the future of our food.

Just trust me….says the big corporations……..

 Ummm……no thanks…

SUPPORT PROPOSITION 37 AND SAY NO…to GMO’s