“Fed Up!” — A Film About the Risks
of GE Foods and the Industrial Food System
August 15, 2015
Story at-a-glance
Industrial agriculture threatens the very foundation
of future food production by damaging the soil and
destroying biodiversity
Instead of solving world hunger, the current system
is destroying farms, bankrupting farmers, and posing
grave risks for pollinators
Pesticide exposure has been linked to serious health
effects, including birth defects, Alzheimer’s
disease, and cancer
By Dr. Mercola
In 2002, the documentary “Fed Up!” was released about genetic
engineering (GE), industrial agriculture, and the dangers posed
by the present food system. More than a decade later, this film
is still relevant.
Despite the lack of credible scientific research documenting
the long term safety of GE foods, most foods in the US are still
not labeled with respect to GE ingredients.
Industrial agriculture is damaging the foundation of future
food production by compacting and eroding the soil, depriving it
of nutrients, killing off its biome, and disrupting the natural
ecological balance.
These problems and monocropping have resulted in a
significant loss of biodiversity, not just in terms of food, but
also for the greater plant and animal kingdoms.
Pests are becoming resistant to the plants engineered to
produce their own pesticides, while beneficial insects such as
honeybees and
Monarch butterflies suffer collateral damage. Weeds are
rapidly developing resistance, as well.
“Fed Up!” explores the unintentional effects of toxic
agricultural chemicals, the resistance of biotechnology
companies to food labeling, and the perpetual revolving door
between government officials and the chemical industry.
How the Green Revolution Turned Many Farms Brown
In the 1940s and 1950s, what came to be known as the “green
revolution” was largely driven by Ford and Rockefeller
foundations who sought to reduce world hunger by helping third
world countries increase their food production.
The foundations’ thinking was that poor (and therefore
hungry) populations would be less susceptible to communist
subversion if they became dependent on American aid.
Mexico and other third world countries were provided
commercial fertilizers, pesticides, and high-yield crop
varieties in anticipation of increased crop yield. This
agricultural system was based on the rather arrogant and
erroneous idea that mankind could dominate nature with
chemicals.
As a result, this system has largely failed. Smaller farmers
have lost their land, tracts have been turned to desert (a
phenomena known as desertification), and much diversity has been
lost.
The green revolution turned out to be more of a “brown
revolution” for peasants and small family farms. Rice and wheat
production may have increased, but the availability of crops key
to native diets, such as lentils and other legumes, have been
dramatically reduced.
Answer to World Hunger Is NOT Genetically Engineered Foods
Industrial agriculture is more profitable for large-scale
operations where production can be mechanized and pesticides can
be applied aerially despite the fact that science consistently
shows that small farms are more productive than large farms.
Small-scale farms produce most of the world’s food but are
squeezed into less than one-quarter of the world’s farmland — or
less than one-fifth if you omit China and India.1
One sure way to worsen
world hunger is to destroy people’s capacity to feed
themselves, which is what industrial agriculture has largely
done. When financial support is channeled to big
agro-corporations, small farms are put out of business, making
the poverty problem worse instead of better.
There is probably no more profound example of this than the
farmers in rural India where one farmer kills himself every 30
minutes — typically by ingesting the very pesticides he can no
longer afford.
More than a quarter of a million
Indian farmers have committed suicide over the past 16 years
after their crops fail and they’re left in financial ruin,
largely as a result of Monsanto’s genetically engineered seeds
(especially Bt cotton).
Bt cottonseed is much more expensive than traditional seed,
requiring more water and pesticides, and has failed to produce
the increased crop yields promised by
Monsanto.
This situation is made worse by the fact that the Indian
government has largely abandoned its small farmers,
discontinuing support programs, and failing to address factors
such as lack of rural credit and poor access to irrigation. New
government programs have barely scratched the surface of this
crisis.
Golden Rice: A Foolish Solution to a Very Real Problem
Improving access to healthy food makes much more sense than
genetic alteration of the food supply. Case in point: “golden
rice,” industry’s answer to the problem of vitamin A deficiency
in developing nations. Vitamin A deficiency is common in third
world countries where people lack access to beta-carotene-rich
foods, such as vegetables and fruits. More than half of all
children in sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, and India are vitamin A
deficient.
Industry’s answer is
golden rice, genetically engineered to produce
beta-carotene, which, theoretically, the human body can convert
into vitamin A. The problem with this “solution” is that the
beta-carotene conversion occurs only under certain conditions —
specifically, beta-carotene is fat-soluble, which means
dietary fat is required for your body to make the conversion.
Many people in developing nations have very low-fat diets,
because they lack access to animal foods or other healthy fats.
Furthermore, malnourished people are less able to convert
beta-carotene into vitamin A. The nutritional soundness of
golden rice becomes even more dubious when you consider the
unrealistic amounts you'd have to consume each day to obtain the
recommended dose of vitamin A. As stated in an Iowa State
University golden rice study:2
"Even if golden rice is successfully introduced… a
woman would need to eat 16 lbs. of cooked rice every day in
order to get sufficient vitamin A, if golden rice
were her only source of the nutrient. A child would need 12
lbs."
So, taken as a whole, the nutritional usefulness of golden
rice is a joke — but it IS a boon for the GE industry, serving
as yet another profit base that further increases farmers’
dependence on patented seeds and agricultural chemicals. The
real solution would be to help the developing world improve
access to REAL sources of vitamin A and other nutrients,
including animal products like eggs, cheese, and meat, and
vegetables such as dark leafy greens and sweet potatoes.
Pesticides Linked to Alzheimer’s Disease, Endocrine Disorders,
and More
Besides the loss of biodiversity that results from industrial
monoculture, heavy use of pesticides poses a serious threat to
both humans and the environment. Every year, 1.2 billion pounds
of pesticides are spread over crops, contaminating the soil,
polluting the water, and making their way up the food chain.
Pesticides were introduced after WWII when certain companies
were looking for new ways to market surplus war chemicals.
Poisons originally designed to kill people were successfully
repurposed as bug killers. Of course, no long term safety
testing was done — the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
didn’t even exist at that time.
One commonly used type of pesticide, organophosphate, was
first developed during World War II as nerve gas. It works by
inhibiting cholinesterase, an enzyme that regulates a key
messenger in your brain called acetylcholine. In effect, these
poisons disrupt the signals between neurons, an action that’s
been linked to neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's and
Parkinson's. In children, there is increasing evidence that
these pesticides are especially damaging, not only at high
exposure levels but also at the low levels to which millions are
chronically exposed.
One of the most widely used chemicals in the US is
glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto’s herbicide
Roundup. In late March, the International Agency for Research on
Cancer (IARC), which is the research arm of the World Health
Organization (WHO), published their assessment3
of the carcinogenicity of a number of organophosphate
pesticides, including
glyphosate. Glyphosate was determined to be a “probable
carcinogen” (Class 2A), based on evidence showing it can cause
non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and lung cancer in humans.
Unfortunately, regulators and politicians are not hearing the
real science, which is drowned out by corporate propaganda.
Instead, they’re told, “Not using pesticides will lead to food
prices tripling, food shortages and starving families” — none of
which are true. In addition to the above, studies suggest
pesticide exposure may be linked to the following health
problems.4It’s important to keep in mind that research in this area
is in its infancy, and the biological effects of these chemicals
are complex and cumulative. As a result, this list is by no
means comprehensive.
Lowered IQ and poorer cognitive function in
children, related to neurodevelopmental problems
Increased risk of attention problems and behavioral
problems in children
Shorter duration of pregnancy
Poorer neonatal reflexes and other nervous system
abnormalities
Increased incidence of birth defects and
malformations
Pesticides Are Not Degrading in the Environment as Quickly as
Expected
The damaging effects of pesticides in the environment are
escalating. You have undoubtedly heard of Colony Collapse
Disorder (CCD).
Honeybees around the world are dying in shocking numbers —
many hives literally disappearing without a trace. Certain
pesticides,
neonicotinoids, have been identified as having a
particularly devastating impact on bee health and survival by
weakening a bee’s immune system.
Recent research shines new light on why these particular
pesticides are taking such a heavy toll on our pollinators. One
such study5found that, although sunlight plays a role in degrading
pollutants such as pesticides, its effects on neonicotinoids
diminish dramatically in water, even if the water is shallow.
So, as these pesticides make their way into rivers and
streams, they can persist because the water is shielding them
from solar degradation. Even three inches of water was found to
be enough to protect neonicotinoids from degradation. If these
pesticides persist in the environment, they tend to
bioaccumulate, which means they’re more likely to negatively
affect bees and other living things — including you.
The bees are just one example of the many problems that can
result when chemicals are rushed to market without any real
safety studies — effectively using the entire planet as one big
uncontrolled science experiment. In the US, more than 84,000
chemicals are put into food and products each year
essentially without safety testing, and strong scientific
evidence points to their roles in cancer, reproductive
abnormalities, early puberty, and a host of other endocrine,
neurological, and metabolic problems.
Solution: Working WITH the Earth, Rather Than Against It
With all of the problems in the world today, it would be
understandable if you felt a sense of futility or hopelessness.
But don’t despair — there is good news! Some very enterprising
people are doing things differently, and it’s working. There are
many examples of successful small-scale farmers in the US and
abroad who’ve returned to more traditional ways of farming,
supporting the land rather than destroying it, working in
partnership with nature as opposed to trying to exert dominance.
There is a complex food web that begins in the soil and ends
up on your dinner plate. Ignoring factors that decrease soil
health will ultimately impair yours. We need to reconnect with
this complex food web, which is the message so well portrayed in
the film “Origins,” linked above. My goal is to motivate,
inspire, and encourage tens of millions of people to start
growing their own food, which can radically transform our
current food system.
Building a system that relies heavily on locally grown foods
would go a long way toward solving many of our global health
problems. I encourage you to withdraw your support from
companies that poison you and your children, and redirect it to
those who are raising food in a way that’s a win-win for all of
us, and the earth.
Your most powerful tool for change is your fork — you vote
with your fork three times a day. But you can also vote with
your shovel! Start growing some of your own food, no matter
how small of a space you have. I believe this is one of the best
ways of facilitating a TRULY green revolution.