Posted October 18, 2019
…and Biotech’s experiment becomes our disaster. Action Alert!
In 2013, a British biotech company, Oxitec, unleased nearly half a million genetically modified mosquitoes in Brazil in an attempt to reduce mosquito-borne diseases. But the experiment has not gone to plan, according to a new paper: the experiment has resulted in the unintended contamination of the local mosquito population, despite the assurances from Oxitec that this would not happen. We must make sure similar experiments are not allowed to occur on American soil. Read more.
Get Informed on Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs)
Organic Apples have more diverse Microbiome than Chemically Grown Ones
Posted October 11, 2019
Organic apples contain a more diverse, balanced, and healthy bacterial community than chemically grown ones, according to a new study (see abstract below) of apple microbiomes (bacterial populations). This could make them healthier as well as better for the environment, though these aspects were not tested in the study. Read more.
Impossible Burger Health Survey
Posted October 4, 2019
Reports from people who experienced adverse health reactions following the consumption of the Impossible Burger or other products produced by Impossible Foods have prompted GMO Free USA, a national nonprofit, to launch a public health survey to gather more data from people experiencing similar reactions. Read more.
Genetically Modifying Mosquitoes to Control the Spread of Disease Carries Unknown Risks
Posted October 4, 2019
In the absence of an effective vaccine for dengue fever, Zika fever, chikungunya and other mosquito-borne diseases, researchers have developed genetic strategies to reduce mosquito populations. One such strategy involves the release into the wild of genetically modified (GM) mosquitoes that express a lethal gene — a strategy believed to have little impact on the overall DNA of wild populations of mosquitoes. Read more.
“I wouldn’t Touch GM Technology with a Barge Pole” –UK Farmer
Posted October 4, 2019
Boris Johnson’s inaugural prime ministerial speech last summer reignited the GM debate among farmers, with disease resistance, insect resistance and drought tolerance all cited. I don’t believe any of this is necessary. Science in the mid-20th century told farmers to use a fantastic array of artificial inputs. Yet we now have a wealth of agronomic issues stemming from the scientifically based “green revolution”. Read more.
False Profits
Posted September 30, 2019
Fracking, vaping, and glyphosate were originally touted as safer solutions for health and environment. They weren’t, and there’s a history to this. There’s a fairly ancient gallon container of Roundup in my garage. I bought it back in the days when Roundup, and its key component glyphosate, was widely considered a safer alternative to other herbicides. Its maker, Bayer, still markets it that way. Read more.
Oppose GMO Mosquito Trials in Florida and Texas
Posted September 30, 2019
Oxitec is proposing to release its genetically modified (GM) OX5034 Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in the US states of Florida and Texas. The EPA has opened a public comment period. Oxitec’s application says, “Female offspring of the OX5034 mosquitoes in the environment are expected to die before they mature into adults and therefore exposure to biting female mosquitoes is not anticipated.” Read more.
Mom’s Across America — Setting a Gold Standard
Posted September 30, 2019
Moms Across America’s new food and supplement certification will help consumers choose products from companies that are committed to the goals of the natural health movement. Action Alert! Our friends at Moms Across America have launched an exciting project called the Gold Standard. This standard will allow consumers to support companies that have core beliefs focused on health, integrity, transparency, and sustainability. Help us support this noble effort. Read more.
Guinea Pig Population (Human Guinea Pigs)
Posted September 30, 2019
Dr José Maria Gusman Ferraz was asked by fellow members of Brazil’s biosafety commission (CTNBio), which approved the GM mosquito project, to visit the city of Juazeiro where Oxitec’s GM mosquitoes were being released. His technical visit involved checking out biosafety conditions at the lab where the GM mosquitoes were being produced, and checking how they were being released into the local environment and how the people living there were responding to the project. What he discovered so shocked him that in his report he called on his fellow regulators to suspend the release of the GM mosquitoes until further health and environmental impact studies were done. In particular, he highlighted the contempt that he felt Oxitec was displaying towards the safety of the local population, who he says were being reduced to mere guinea pigs. Read more.
Gene Editing Unintentionally adds Bovine DNA, Goat DNA, and Bacterial DNA, mouse researchers find
Posted September 30, 2019
The gene-editing of DNA inside living cells is considered by many to be the preeminent technological breakthrough of the new millennium. Researchers in medicine and agriculture have rapidly adopted it as a technique for discovering cell and organism functions. But its commercial prospects are much more complicated. Read more.
