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.
The unrestricted development of biotechnology- without any reservations, let alone precautionary measures- is the public policy of the government of Puerto Rico.
Governor Aníbal Acevedo-Vilá has been pretty explicit about it in his economic policy, which he pompously calls the "knowledge economy". Back in January the PR Senate approved a bill making the "knowledge economy" official government policy. The bill, which was presented by right-wing senator José Garriga-Picó and had the support of all political parties, stresses attracting investment in pharmaceuticals and biotechnology
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"In summary, the risk to Monsanto's shareholders from the company's genetic engineering business are substantial. the company faces business constraints in the form of market rejection by consumers, producers, and farmers; significant legislative hurdles to commercialization; uncertainty in the face of human health and environmental impacts stemming from the company's products; and finally, significant risk exposure from potential contamination of the human food chain by unapproved genetically engineered traits." Monsanto & Genetic Engineering: Risks for Investors A report prepared by
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In January, a biotech industry front group, International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA), announced, with great fanfare, that global acreage of genetically engineered (GE)crops had increased 19% in 2001. According to ISAAA, 5.5 million farmers last year planted 130 million acres (52.6 million hectares) of GE crops, a 30-fold increase since 1996. For the year 2000, ISAAA had reported a somewhat smaller 11% growth in GE acreage. Cheerleaders for Frankenfoods, including Monsanto and the American Farm Bureau, hailed ISAAA's most recent projections as "proof
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The worst nightmares of Monsanto and the Gene Giants are becoming reality. The four year food fight by European consumers and farmers is slowly but surely driving genetically engineered (GE) foods and crops off the EU market, the largest in the world. US corn exports to the EU have fallen from $360 million a year to near zero, while soybean exports have fallen from $2.6 billion annually to $1 billion--and are expected to fall even further as major food processors, supermarkets, and fast-food chains ban GE soy or soy derivatives in animal feeds.
Canada's canola exports to Europe
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