‘1) GMOs disrupt digestion. Purveyors of GMOs claim that the human body is unable to tell the difference between GMOs and natural food. But a 2004 study published in the journal Nature Biotechnology tells a different story, having found that transgenic plant DNA actually persists in the human gastrointestinal tract upon consumption. According to this important study, which is the closest thing to a human clinical trial that has ever been conducted with GMOs, genetic material from GMOs actually transfers into the DNA of living bacteria in the gut, where it reproduces indefinitely. (http://www.anh-usa.org)

2) GMOs cause cancer. The most recent study to identify a link between GMO consumption and the formation of cancer, the so-called Seralini Study provides solid evidence showing that GMOs are processed by mammals far differently than natural foods. According to this study’s findings, rats fed a lifetime of GMOs sprayed with the toxic Roundup (glyphosate) herbicide developed serious tumors that took over their entire bodies. An earlier study published in the International Journal of Biological Sciences arrived at similar results, with the addition of organ failure as a symptom of GMO consumption. (http://www.naturalnews.com)

3) GMOs increase herbicide use. Contrary to industry claims, GMOs have not reduced the need for chemical inputs, but rather greatly expanded it. According to a comprehensive, 16-year review of chemical use in conjunction with the advent of GMOs in 1996, researchers from Washington State University’s Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources found that herbicide use has increased by an astounding 527 millions pounds since GMOs were first introduced. To make matters worse, Roundup, the chemical of choice for many GMOs, has been found to persist in soils, waterways, and other environmental nooks and crannies, and sometimes it even ends up contaminating water supplies. ( http://www.huffingtonpost.com)

4) GMOs damage native species. A major point of contention with GMOs is that they can very easily pass their traits onto non-GMO, organic, and native crops and other plants, effectively destroying their very integrity permanently. Hundreds of farmers have actually been sued by Monsanto and other GMO giants over the years after their crops were inadvertently contaminated by GMOs. GMOs are also responsible for killing off bees, bats, butterflies, and other pollinators, whose bodies are unable to handle the onslaught of altered DNA and chemicals that are characteristic of GMO technologies. (http://www.naturalnews.com/035511_insecticide_bees_collapse.html)

5) GMOs pollute the environment. Mainstream scientists and industry spokespersons often gloat about the supposed environmental benefits of GMOs. But the truth of the matter is that GMOs and the chemicals used to grow them are a major source of environmental pollution. A 2011 study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Science found that the Bacillus thuriengensis (Bt) bacteria engineered into Monsanto’s GM corn can now be found in hundreds of streams and waterways throughout the U.S. Midwest. Another study published in the journal Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry revealed that Roundup herbicide is also present in many waterways and groundwater sources throughout America as well. (http://naturalsociety.com)

6) GMOs deplete soil minerals, destroy beneficial bacteria. The presence of Roundup, Bt bacteria, and other GMO byproducts in our water and soil would only be half as bad if these toxins merely persisted as innocuous pollutants. But studies have shown that these chemicals actually degrade and deplete soils of vital minerals and beneficial bacteria, both of which protect crops from pests, viruses, and other threatening elements. Glyphosate, the active component in Roundup, also does not biodegrade, which means it is continually accumulating in the environment without restraint, perpetually altering soil composition and contaminating natural resources. (http://www.psrast.org/soilecolart.htm)

7) GMOs spawn crop-destroying ‘superweeds,’ ‘superbugs.’ The basic premise behind how GMOs work portends that artificially engineering crops with resistance to certain chemicals and exposures that would otherwise harm or kill them can improve yields and protect the environment. And this built-in resistance has allowed farmers to indiscriminately spray chemicals like Roundup on their crops without worrying about killing them. But this system is now failing, as the weeds and pests targeted by GMO technologies have mutated and developed resistance to crop chemicals and Bt toxin. As a result, pestilence and disease is on the rise due to GMOs, which spells eventual disaster for the food supply. (http://grist.org)

To learn more about the dangers of GMOs, visit the Institute for Responsible Technology:
http://www.responsibletechnology.org/gmo-dangers’

‘While it’s impossible to avoid all of the toxins and cancer causing agents that surround you, there are some simple, yet effective steps you can take that will greatly decrease your exposure to toxic substances. Making these painless adjustments can lower your risk for just about every type of cancer along with a whole slew of other diseases. The key to this list is that each of the items exposes you to toxins or cancer causing agents on a daily, or almost daily, basis. By eliminating them you are effectively cutting out a large majority of your exposure.

1. Purchase organic foods

By going organic, you are not only avoiding pesticides; you are also avoiding GMOs, artificial ingredients and harmful preservatives.

2. Filter your tap water

Tap water contains arsenic, fluoride and chlorine; all of which are highly toxic. Using a water filter for your drinking water is a great start; however, the body absorbs a substantial amount of water through the skin during showers and baths. One good option is to install an entire house water filter which can remove 99 percent of these chemicals.

3. Get the mercury fillings taken out of your mouth

Mercury is highly toxic and the old fillings in your mouth may be slowing leeching into your system. When making an appointment to get your mercury fillings removed, be sure to find a dentist that has expertise in this area.

4. Make your own deodorant

Deodorants and antiperspirants contain dangerous chemicals including aluminum, parabens, propylene glycol, FD&C colors, talc and more. Making your own natural deodorant is as easy as mixing coconut oil, baking soda and shea butter.

5. Buy natural toothpaste and mouthwash

Fluoride is very toxic and should not be swallowed. Many toothpastes and mouthwashes contain fluoride, triclosan, saccharin and artificial colors such as FD&C Blue #1. Avoid these ingredients by purchasing natural toothpastes and mouthwashes. You can also make your own mouthwash with water, baking soda or sea salt, and a drop of peppermint or tea tree oil.

6. Buy natural bodywash, shampoo and conditioner

Avoid ingredients including triclosan, fragrance, PEG, ceteareth, polyethylene, DMDM hydantoin and parabens including propyl, isopropyl, butyl, isobutyl.

7. Make your own natural home cleaners

Cleaners such as AJAX, Lysol, bleach and the like produce very toxic fumes. They can be replaced by a simple and inexpensive mixture of vinegar and lemon. There are many simple recipes for non-toxic, homemade cleaners.

8. Buy natural laundry detergent

Most name brand laundry detergents leave chemical residue on your clothes which is absorbed by your skin. Ingredients to avoid include linear alkyl sodium sulfonates, petroleum distillates, phenols and sodium hypochlorite (house bleach).

9. Don’t use the microwave

Microwaves kill food, plain and simple. The way they cook is unnatural. Instead use your oven, stove-top, toaster or toaster oven whenever possible.

10. Limit your cell phone use

The radiation from cell phones can cause cancer. Limit your cell phone use and try to use hands free options such as Bluetooth and speakerphone whenever possible.

A few other notables include:

- Use natural makeup
- Don’t use baby powder (talcum)
- Don’t use weed killers or pesticides’

(Source: naturalnews.com)

‘GMO avoidance tips

(1) Two labels will help you know whether or not you’re looking at food genetically modified or containing GMOs: USDA (or other agency) certified organic or the None GMO Verified seal from the non-GMO project, a non-government group that inspects foods from provider members. View the seal here (http://www.nongmoshoppingguide.com/non-gmo-project-seal.html).

Unfortunately, neither label is an absolute 100% guarantee that there are no slight traces of GMOs. Nearby GMO crops of the same type you purchase can pollute even organic crops and still be USDA approved as organic.

(2)Which infectious GMO crops should be avoided unless clearly designated organic? Almost all corn, and soy crops in the USA and Canada are genetically modified. A lot of cotton is and canola is genetically modified. Avoid those cotton seed and canola oils. Beet sugar can come from genetically modified beets.

(3) Nearly 80 percent of packaged foods contain GMOs. These need to have one or both of the labels mentioned earlier. Besides causing liver damage, high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) or corn syrup sweeteners come from GMO corn. Another toxic sweetener, aspartame, is also a GMO.

(4) Realize that the term “natural” on a food product is meaningless for determining an organic or non-GMO food product. It’s simply deceptive marketing.

(5) Non - organic milk and milk products are usually from cows fed GMO corn or soy. Even worse, one-third of commercial milking cows are injected with patented Monsanto GMO growth hormones called recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH).

If dairy is not labeled organic or grass fed, at least look for a labels that says no hormones or rBGH. Traces of pus or blood from rBGH cows’ udder infections is not nutritious. Meat eaters should avoid factory farm meats that are fed GMOs and injected with antibiotics. Look for organic grass fed.

(6) Avoid packaged cereals unless the logos from section (1) are present. If you have children, train them patiently to not demand those cereals in brightly colored boxes. Most are full of GMOs, even if they say “natural” or appear in health food stores.

Here’s a handy free shopping guide to help you maneuver food aisles without buying GMOs (http://www.nongmoshoppingguide.com/download.html).’

‘Genetically modified foods are getting a lot of press these days, especially in California where Proposition 37, the labeling of GMO foods, will be on the November 6th Election Day ballot. Why is the GMO industry so upset about having GM foods labeled? Could it be if consumers knew what GMOs are capable of doing not only to the environment but also to the human body, they would not purchase them, as happened in many countries, especially the European Union?

Would you believe that the United States is the only industrialized country in the world that does not permit the labeling of GMOs for either fresh or processed foods? However, 14 states have legislation introduced regarding GMO labeling that seems to be going nowhere fast. In 2005 Alaska passed a biotech seafood labeling law.

Alaskan Governor Frank Murkowski recently signed into law Senate Bill 25 which is the United States’ first law for labeling genetically engineered food. [4]

Interestingly, Michael Hansen, a senior scientist with Consumers Union says, “If companies say genetic engineering is fine, then OK let’s label it and let the consumers make their own decisions.” So what are the biotechs afraid of?

Scientific facts? Being caught with fudged science, especially since the recent 2-year rat study, performed by Professor Giles-Eric Seralini, PhD, at the independent research facility CRIIGEN in France, was published in Food and Chemical Technology. Photographs of tumor-laden rats from that CRIIGEN study can be viewed at http://sustainablepulse.com/2012/09/19/criigen-study-links-gm-maize-roundup-premature-death-cancer/.’

(Source: activistpost.com)

‘This week, the American Academy of Environmental Medicine (AAEM) called on “Physicians to educate their patients, the medical community, and the public to avoid GM (genetically modified) foods when possible and provide educational materials concerning GM foods and health risks.” They called for a moratorium on GM foods, long-term independent studies, and labeling. AAEM’s position paper stated, “Several animal studies indicate serious health risks associated with GM food,” including infertility, immune problems, accelerated aging, insulin regulation, and changes in major organs and the gastrointestinal system. They conclude, “There is more than a casual association between GM foods and adverse health effects. There is causation,” as defined by recognized scientific criteria. “The strength of association and consistency between GM foods and disease is confirmed in several animal studies.”
 
More and more doctors are already prescribing GM-free diets. Dr. Amy Dean, a Michigan internal medicine specialist, and board member of AAEM says, “I strongly recommend patients eat strictly non-genetically modified foods.” Ohio allergist Dr. John Boyles says “I used to test for soy allergies all the time, but now that soy is genetically engineered, it is so dangerous that I tell people never to eat it.”
 
Dr. Jennifer Armstrong, President of AAEM, says, “Physicians are probably seeing the effects in their patients, but need to know how to ask the right questions.” World renowned biologist Pushpa M. Bhargava goes one step further. After reviewing more than 600 scientific journals, he concludes that genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are a major contributor to the sharply deteriorating health of Americans.’

‘With Breast Cancer Awareness Month (BCAM) less than two weeks away, the latest bombshell GMO/Roundup study produced by a French research team, and presently making international headlines, is well-timed. The researchers found, in the first long-term GM corn and Roundup feeding study of its kind, that female rats, exposed to concentrations well below official safety limits, developed massive, progressive mammary tumors which either lead to premature death, or required euthanasia due to their great suffering.

Why would this be of concern to BCAM? After all, BCAM is the annual pinkwashing celebration, where people collectively and forcibly remove the thought of there being preventable and treatable causes of breast cancer from their minds, hurl themselves over the lemming-like cliff of cause-marketing, e.g. Buckets for a Cure, sacrificing their time, energy and money raising billions more for a pharmaceutical cure for a pharmaceutically incurable condition.  This annual ritual celebrates ribbon-wearing vacuity, pretending like “carcinogens” don’t exist, or that it doesn’t matter that a carcinogen-producing chemical company, now defunct Imperial Chemical Industries, and its  pharmaceutical subsidiary, Zeneca, co-founded Breast Cancer Awareness Month in 1985.  

Zeneca, of course, merged with Astra AB in 1999, becoming AstraZeneca, manufacturer of the breast cancer blockbuster drugs Arimidex and Tamoxifen. By pushing for widespread adoption of breast screenings they generated millions of new and future customers (mammography-induced breast cancer), even while one of the main forms of mammography-detected cancer, Ductal Carcinoma In Situ (DCIS), is often intrinisically benign, better left untreated with conventional, highly toxic “therapies” like radiation and chemotherapy.

The conflict of interest here is as devastating as it is obvious, which is why we hope the new finding linking GM corn and Roundup herbicide to breast cancer will compel BCAM to respond, and change their awareness strategy to become more patient- versus industry-friendly. One thing is for sure. The study’s findings were not vague or equivocal, but disturbingly clear…’

‘Modern wheat is a “perfect, chronic poison,” according to Dr. William Davis, a cardiologist who has published a book all about the world’s most popular grain.

Davis said that the wheat we eat these days isn’t the wheat your grandma had: “It’s an 18-inch tall plant created by genetic research in the ’60s and ’70s,” he said on “CBS This Morning.” “This thing has many new features nobody told you about, such as there’s a new protein in this thing called gliadin. It’s not gluten. I’m not addressing people with gluten sensitivities and celiac disease. I’m talking about everybody else because everybody else is susceptible to the gliadin protein that is an opiate. This thing binds into the opiate receptors in your brain and in most people stimulates appetite, such that we consume 440 more calories per day, 365 days per year.”’

(Source: cbsnews.com)