By Dr. Mercola
We are extremely excited to announce another free weeklong
streaming of the hour-length version of Genetic Roulette—The
Gamble of Our Lives,1
winner of the Top Transformational Film of 2012 by AwareGuide
and 2012 Movie of the Year by the Solari Report.
Featuring testimony from healthcare practitioners,
scientists, veterinarians, parents, and others about the health
risks of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in food, this
powerful documentary shares the amazing stories of individuals
who saw undeniable improvements after switching to a non-GMO
diet.
Last year, during its first free showing week, Genetic
Roulette garnered over 1.25 million views. Viewers were so
moved that many made the decision to eliminate GMOs from their
diet before the credits rolled, and subsequently reported profound improvements
in their health.
This film could change your life too! So please, take
advantage of this opportunity and forward this important film to
all of your close personal friends; share it with others on
Facebook and Twitter.
“GENETIC ROULETTE unveils a world most of us have
never seen. It raises alarming questions about GMOs, and we
deserve answers. For all that you love, hear this message
and act now.” — Frances Moore Lappé, author of Diet
for a Small Planet and EcoMind
What Is a GMO?
As Jeffrey Smith, creator of Genetic Roulette,
explains, genetically engineered organisms are created by taking
one or more genes from one species and forcing it into the DNA
of another species. Oftentimes, the gene is “piggy-backed” on a
virus, or part of a virus, in order to activate the gene.
Examples include inserting spider genes into goats to produce
goat’s milk that contain spider web proteins used to make
bulletproof vests.
Cow genes have been inserted into pigs in order to produce
pigs with cowhides. Human genes have been inserted into corn to
produce a spermicide. When it comes to GMOs in our food supply,
there are two main categories:
- Herbicide-tolerant crops, designed to
withstand otherwise lethal doses of chemicals. Roundup Ready
crops are in this category. In June, groundbreaking research
was published detailing a newfound
mechanism of harm for Roundup. The finding suggests that
glyphosate may actually be the most important factor
in the development of a wide variety of chronic diseases.
- Pesticide-producing crops, designed to
produce a toxic protein inside the plant itself, which kills
bugs that eat the plant by causing their stomachs to
rupture. These are the so-called Bt crops.
A study published in February 2012 shows that this Bt
toxin is capable of breaking open human cells, and that it
might cause the same kind of disruption in the gut of humans
as it causes in the insects it kills. Consuming Bt corn or
soy could potentially cause gut permeability ("leaky gut"),
which can predispose you to all sorts of health problems.
Contrary to popular belief, the process of genetic
engineering is anything but precise. As Dr. Robin Bernholt says,
“it’s sub-microscopic shooting from the hip.”
“The very process of genetic engineering creates
unpredicted side effects. You take a gene and make millions
of copies and they put them into a gun, literally and then
shoot that gun into a plate of millions of cells – and then
you clone those cells into a plant,” Jeffrey Smith
explains.
One of the things that the biotech industry does not want to
admit is that this process creates wholly
unpredictable side effects. Take the
genetically engineered cow Daisy, for example. Daisy, a
cloned dairy cow, was genetically engineered to produce milk
that does not contain a whey protein called beta-lactoglobulin
(BLG), which is a common cause of milk allergy.
However, it didn’t take long for unexpected results to crop
up. For one, while the genetic modification did reduce levels of
BLG protein in the milk to undetectable levels, it more than
doubled concentrations of caseins, other hard-to-digest milk
proteins that are also linked to allergies and even
Alzheimer’s disease.
With Introduction of GMOs, Chronic Disease Rates Began to Climb
Over the last two decades, the United States has witnessed a
dramatic rise in chronic illnesses that simply were not part of
the norm some 30-50 years ago. Since the mid-1990s, the number
of Americans suffering from at least three chronic illnesses
nearly doubled.
Life expectancy has decreased and infant mortality has
increased. So what’s changed? Why are so many more Americans
getting sick today—and at an earlier age—than ever before?
One of the most radical changes that has occurred in the past
20 years is the genetic engineering of our food supply.
Genetically engineered soy and corn were introduced into the
American diet in 1996. As stated by Ashley Koff in the film, “
We have gone from food in its whole food form, to food
undergoing a scientific experiment.” One unintended side effect
of this experiment is the creation of foreign and highly
allergenic proteins. To quote soil scientist and physician Dr.
Arden Anderson:
“From a biophysics perspective, when we look at the
signature now of that entire gene sequence, it’s foreign; it
does not exist anywhere in nature. And therefore your immune
system, which is truly a grand electromagnetic sensor
system, looks at that gene sequence that is supposed to be
food, whether it is soy or corn or whatever it might be.
.. and says 'I’ve never seen that sequence ever, it doesn’t
exist in nature, it’s foreign.' [So] it attacks. It creates
an inflammatory reaction and attacks that sequence.”
According to Jeffrey Smith, who has spent the last 17 years
educating people about GMOs, there are definitive correlations
between the results from animal-feeding studies and the patterns
of human disease we’re now seeing.
For example, the American Academy of Environmental Medicine has
done a number of animal-feeding studies on GMOs, specifically
enumerating the particular categories of diseases and disorders
found in these controlled environments. These include:
Gastrointestinal problems |
Immune problems |
Reproductive problems |
Organ damage |
Dysfunction and dysregulation of cholesterol |
Dysfunction and dysregulation of insulin |
Kidney problems, for example, have been demonstrated in
19 different animal-feeding studies, and kidney diseases are
also on the rise among Americans. As stated by Smith:
“You look at the three different corresponding
factors: (1) what humans are getting better from, (2) what
livestock is getting better from, (3) what afflictions are
afflicting the lab animals fed with GMOs, and then you look
at what diseases are really taking off in the United States
– they’re the same categories:”
Glyphosate—Another Major Culprit in the Rise of Chronic Disease
There’s also another potent toxin associated with genetically
engineered foods that is unrelated to the Bt toxin or the
genetic alteration itself, and that is
glyphosate—the active ingredient in Monsanto’s
broad-spectrum herbicide, which is used on both genetically
engineered (GE) crops and many conventional crops as well. The
contamination appears to be greater in GE crops however,
especially in so-called Roundup Ready crops.
For example, in one nutritional analysis,2
GMO corn was found to contain 13 ppm of glyphosate, compared to
zero in non-GMO corn. At 13 ppm, GMO corn contains more
than 18 times the “safe” level of glyphosate set by the
EPA. As mentioned earlier, groundbreaking research
published this past June details a newfound
mechanism of harm for Roundup, which suggest that glyphosate
may actually be the most important factor in the
development of a wide variety of chronic diseases.
44,000 Pages of Memoranda Prove FDA Has Lied About GMO Safety
You’ve probably heard that “genetically engineered crops have
no impact on the environment” and are “safe to eat.” But did you
know that federal departments in charge of food safety in the US
and Canada have not actually conducted tests to affirm
this alleged “safety”? Since 1992, the US Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) has maintained that the agency is unaware
of any information showing that GMOs are significantly different
from conventional varieties, and so therefore safety studies are
unnecessary.
But, as discussed in the film, some 44,000 pages of secret
internal memos and other documents forced out by a 1998 lawsuit
shows that the FDA has lied about the safety of GMOs since the
very beginning... According to Steven Druker, an attorney and
executive director of the Alliance for Bio-Integrity who
coordinated the lawsuit against the FDA to obtain mandatory
safety testing and labeling of gene-spliced foods:3
“As I combed through those 44,000 pages of memoranda
and other documents, I was shocked. Because it became clear
that the FDA had lied repeatedly since 1992; they claimed
that there was an overwhelming consensus within the
scientific community that these foods were safe. But the
overwhelming consensus within their own scientific staff was
exactly opposite. These foods could not be presumed safe.
...What Monsanto and the biotech industry wanted from
the FDA was a policy that created the illusion that
genetically engineered foods were being diligently regulated
but, in fact, impose no burdens at all; [a policy] that in
fact had zero regulation. And the FDA has pulled that off
masterly.”
How could such a thing happen, you might ask. Well, once you
realize that the person in charge of policy at the FDA at the
time was a former Monsanto attorney, Michael Taylor, the answer
should become fairly easy to recognize. Taylor later became
Monsanto’s vice president. And now he’s back at the FDA
again as the US Food Safety Czar...
How to Avoid GMOs
There are nine primary GE food crops, the derivatives of
which can be found in more than 70 percent of supermarket foods,
particularly processed foods. If you want to avoid GMOs, make
sure none of the following are on your grocery list or in the
foods you buy, unless they are USDA certified organic:
Soy |
Cottonseed |
Corn |
Canola oil |
Hawaiian papaya |
Alfalfa |
Sugar from sugar beets |
Some varieties of zucchini |
Crookneck squash |
Also avoid any product containing
aspartame, which is
derived from a GE organism, and any milk product that may have
rBGH. I recommend consuming only raw, organic milk products
you've obtained from a trustworthy local dairy farmer. The
Institute for Responsible Technology has put together a helpful
Non-GMO Shopping Guide you can download and print. They even
have an iPhone app.
Your best bet, of course, is to buy organic whole foods. By
buying organic, you will dramatically reduce your exposure to
pesticides, hormones and antibiotics, as those are used on
nearly all GE crops. Get to know your local farmers. Many are
too small to afford official certification, but may still adhere
to organic, sustainable practices. The only way to determine how
your food is raised is to check them out, meeting the farmer
face to face if possible. Yes, it does take time but is worth it
if you are really concerned about your family's health.
Get Involved, and Help Spread the Word
If you enjoyed the film, please purchase the DVD and support
the Institute for Responsible Technology’s work to educate
people on the health dangers of GMOs. With your purchase, you
will receive a bonus DVD, which includes:
- The beautiful Seeds of Freedom, narrated by
Jeremy Irons and produced by The Gaia Foundation and African
Biodiversity Network.
- A presentation by Jeffrey Smith to hundreds of
physicians who not only give him a standing ovation, but
indicate they will prescribe non-GMO diets to their
patients.
- A hard-hitting talk on the unholy alliance between the
US government and Monsanto; accompanied by some dark
highlights of Monsanto’s history.
Also, join IRT’s
Tipping Point Network of organized advocates who are making
a difference. And be sure to subscribe
to IRT’s free newsletter, Spilling the Beans, to
stay informed of all things GMO.
Last but certainly not least, you can make a difference by
making a donation to the Institute for Responsible Technology
(IRT). Your gift will help IRT to get this urgent message out to
millions of others. Together, we can end the genetic
engineering of our food supply.
© Copyright 1997-2013 Dr. Joseph Mercola. All Rights Reserved.