Genetic Engineering
GMO = Genetically Modified Organism
GMOs are created in a lab, by inserting a gene from one organism into another unrelated organism, producing plants and animals that would never occur in nature. No long-term safety studies have been done on humans, but animal studies link the consumption of GMOs to an increase in allergies, kidney and liver disease, ADHD, cancer, infertility, chronic immune disorders and more.
On a recent Saturday afternoon, in an estuary near Tampa Bay, Florida, I watched airboats move up and down the river banks, spraying massive plumes of weedkiller on to the vegetation. The state of Florida was trying to control and kill off scores of plant species. Nearby, children were lying out in the sun, though they knew better than to swim in the water, which has recently been blooming with toxic algae. Mists of weedkiller drifted downwind toward them.
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In just two years, President Trump has unleashed a regulatory rollback, lobbied for and cheered on by industry, with little parallel in the past half-century. Mr. Trump enthusiastically promotes the changes as creating jobs, freeing business from the shackles of government and helping the economy grow.
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Consumer Reports has long been a supporter of mandatory on-package labeling of genetically engineered food, on the grounds that consumers have the right to know what is in their food and make informed choices based on what is disclosed on labels. But the new rule gives companies the option of providing disclosure via electronic means rather than providing on-package information.
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U.S. consumers will see labels on food products that contain genetically modified ingredients as early as 2020, federal officials said Thursday. The USDA on Thursday released the first national disclosure requirements for foods that have been altered in a way that doesn’t occur naturally.
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More than 9,000 lawsuits are now pending against Monsanto, by people who allege that exposure to Roundup weedkiller caused their cancer.
Most of the people behind these lawsuits have stories not unlike the one told by Dewayne Johnson, during his landmark jury trial. Like Johnson, many of these people have non-Hodgkin lymphoma—or they have family members who have already died from the disease.
To Monsanto’s victims, these trials are a way to hold Monsanto accountable for its crimes.
But to Werner Baumann, CEO of Bayer (which acquired Monsanto last year for $63 billion),
Read moreHow France and Germany Are Ousting Glyphosate in a Search for Healthy Soils and Pesticide-Free Crops
Millions have been following European discussions on the possible ban (or a new licensing period) for glyphosate-based herbicides; discussions which stemmed from the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) declaring glyphosate a probable human carcinogen in March, 2015.
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China is set to introduce maximum residue limits (MRLs) of 200 parts per billion (ppb) or lower for glyphosate in all imported final food products and raw materials including grains, soybeans and other legumes before the end of 2019, according to Sustainable Pulse sources.
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We’ve known for a while that Monsanto buried the truth about Roundup weedkiller by ignoring concerns by its own scientists. Now it seems Dow Chemical Co. has been using the same playbook.
Dow (renamed DowDuPont after its 2017 merger with DuPont) likely knew for decades that its widely used chlorpyrifos insecticide is harmful to humans—especially children and developing fetuses. But the company hid that information from regulators, both in the U.S. and EU, according to a new study, published in the journal Environmental Health.
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Instructions on the packaging of Monsanto’s biggest-selling weed killers Roundup and RangerPro tell you to wear long-sleeved shirts, long pants, shoes, and socks. They tell you to wash your hands before “eating, drinking, chewing gum, using tobacco, or using the toilet.” But there is no warning that exposure to even trace amounts of these pesticides may cause terminal cancer
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If only Bayer, the German pharmaceutical and agricultural seed and chemical giant, had bothered to ask around before acquiring the American-based Monsanto Company for $63 billion in cash last June. Two months later a jury delivered a $289 million award (later reduced to $78 million) to a groundskeeper who claimed his frequent exposure to Monsanto’s Roundup weedkiller had given him cancer and that the company covered up the danger.
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