March 26, 2016 – If you thought you’d never see the day when labels would actually provide usable information that you and families across American have been clamoring for–well end may be in sight. In the moonlight haze of 11th hour voting by the senate despite its quick sail through the house of representatives, the DARK Act may finally be relegated to the annals of history. The DARK Act was politely coined as such–by those who support truth in labeling. Its namesake, DARK Act, or ‘Deny Americans the Right to Know’ is just what the GMO industry was trying to do to the American people–but under the cover of veiled transparency. The industry had intentionally misbranded the name of those proposed law to confuse the very people they were claiming to protect–the public. And, it was those very entities that initiated suit through its representative industry groups–suing the state of Vermont to prevent their truth in labeling law from going into effect in July of 2016. Nevertheless, the US Congress working with the grocery associations and industry lobbyists had by their own hand, misbranded the proposed law–calling it the ‘Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2015’ –a virtual opposite of what the proposed law actually entailed.
GMO’s Have Not Always Been Safely Consumed
Back in the 1980’s many people in the US fell ill and some died, when a genetically modified supplement of L-Tryptophan was produced by Showa Denko a Japanese company whose product was distributed in US marketplace. This supplement proved deadly to some, while permanently debilitated many. Several reasons were alleged with regard to the cause of death and disability caused by the supplement, but most disturbing, the company destroyed the GMO strain used to develop the supplement before definitive testing could be done. Interestingly, no other manufacturer of L-Tryptophan had inflicted similar injury or death other than the GM produced supplement.
Why So Much Fury Over GMO’s & Labeling?
One reason, is that the scientist who discovered the effects on GMO and their concomitant pesticides on his laboratory animals just won his defamation case against the very same industry that was trying to silence his research by discrediting him. Dr. Seralini had found that feeding his laboratory animals a steady diet of GMO’s with their concomitant herbicides–those lab animals grew large tumors over much of their bodies. Yet, despite years of criticism by the GMO industry, a recent Court decision found that Dr. Seralini had in fact been libeled and slandered by accusations of forgery–and the high court in France found his work to be a legitimate enterprise. The result, those who had in fact tried to defame Dr. Seralini have themselves been silenced by the Court. In fact, Dr. Seralini is not alone in his findings. An Australian scientist, Dr. Judy Carmen–her work substantiates Dr. Seralini’s findings. In fact, Dr. Carmen’s animal feeding studies have consistently shown that animals fed a steady diet of GMO’s exemplify severe gastric inflammation and illness as a result of consuming this feed. Because of these scientists’ tireless work, it has become imperative to look at how consumption of GMO’s and their concomitant herbicides can similarly affect the humans who consume them. Most importantly, since the World Health Organization has now held that the herbicide ‘glyphosate’ is a ‘probable carcinogen’–an herbicide tailor-made for pairing with their concomitant GMO counterpart–it is now more important than ever. Most importantly, as a result of this revelation, the FDA just announced it will now start testing for glyphosate residue in food. Something the FDA has now committed themselves to do….
Where Do We Go From Here?
Now that the truth is unfolding, Americans need to shake off the deceptive web spun by big agribusiness and biotech. Consumers must relentlessly push for truth in labeling and buy organic. People can and should vote with their dollars, and that is just what is happening. As of 2016–Campell’s Soup is the first major corporation to start labeling GMO’s. No doubt they will gain consumer trust by doing so, although consumers still need to demand fresh organic, pesticide free products. Whether Campell’s will introduce organics into their product line is still to be seen, neverthless, Campell’s should be commended for taking a stand. To find out which products are produced without GMO’s, visit www.TheNonGMOProject.org and for Organics, visit https://www.organicconsumers.org/ and https://www.ota.com/organic-101/organic-standards For a list of some of the most toxic foods, visit: http://www.ewg.org/key-issues/food
Yet despite all the testing and analysis by private watchdogs, many in the biotech and agribusiness still insist that GMO’s and their concomitant designer herbicides are safe. Yet, the point is somewhat elusive. The question should no longer be ‘are these products safe’–but instead how much are people willing to consume knowing the facts. A clear level of transparency and accountability is in order.
Last but not least, we must address the ubiquitous nature of these toxic pesticides that have seeped into our water supply. To learn more about how dangerous chemicals paired with GMO’s–including glyphosate have infiltrated our drinking water, visit http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/dwq/chemicals/glyphosate/en/
Stay tuned for more information on toxic pollutants in our water, and who can and should be held accountable for their devastating effects upon families, children and the unborn–upcoming on The Legal Edition.