Roundup in City-Dwellers’ Urine
Health & Disease, Soil Erosion & Contamination, Water Contaminaton & Loss — by Jeffrey M. Smith February 21, 2012
Studies have already found Monsanto’s toxic herbicide Roundup in groundwater, in streams, and even in the rain and air of US agricultural areas. It’s been found in our blood and even crosses the placental barrier to enter our unborn fetuses. So are we surprised that a German university study has now found significant concentrations of Roundup’s main ingredient glyphosate in the urine of city dwellers?
Perhaps we should be surprised at the amount: all the samples had concentrations of glyphosate at 5 to 20 times the limit for drinking water.
Comments (3)Inspiring Story Shows Shortcut to End GMOs
Consumerism, GMOs, Health & Disease — by Jeffrey M. Smith December 7, 2011
by Jeffrey M. Smith, Institute for Responsible Technology
11 minutes
It took the audience just 11 minutes to give up food brands they had grown up with and to commit to seek healthier non-GMO food. Of course this group had already been against genetically modified organisms as a concept. This was Greenfest after all; and in San Francisco no less. But when I asked them to honestly rate themselves on a scale of 1-100 how vigilant they had been at avoiding GMOs, the largest number of hands went up for the lowest category — 1-20. That’s typical of most US audiences. And so is what happened next….
Comments (2)Farmer Suicides Rising in India as GM Bt Cotton Crops Fail
Food Shortages, GMOs — by Jeffrey M. Smith December 5, 2011
by Jeffrey M. Smith, Institute for Responsible Technology
The record suicide rate among farmers in India continues to rise, with one farmer now committing suicide every 30 minutes. Many media reports blame failed GM Bt cotton crops for the crisis.
More than a quarter of a million farmers have killed themselves in the last 16 years in what is the largest recorded wave of suicides in history. An article for Sky News reports that one farmer who committed suicide "had been persuaded to use genetically modified seeds by the possibility of a better harvest. What he wasn’t told was that they needed more rain than the region provided."
Comments (3)And, the GMO T-Shirt Design Contest Winner is…
GMOs — by Jeffrey M. Smith October 12, 2011
by Jeffrey M. Smith, Institute for Responsible Technology
After more than 40,000 votes on 139 designs, here is the winning design chosen by Threadless – and we love it! It makes people laugh, tells a story, raises questions, and starts a conversation.
Wear it for GMO rallies! Buy them as holiday gifts! Give one to your favorite teacher!
The Institute for Responsible Technology Facebook t-shirt contest photo gallery:
Take a picture of yourself in this winning design and upload it to our Facebook page!
Our gratitude and thanks!:
So many talented designers entered, we can’t thank you enough for your energy and passion!
Our work:
Threadless donates 25% of each sale to the Non-GMO Campaign of The Institute for Responsible Technology.
Thanks for your support!
Comments (2)Biotech’s Dirty Tricks Exposed in New Documentary – Scientists Under Attack
Consumerism, GMOs, Health & Disease — by Jeffrey M. Smith October 8, 2011
Trailer: Scientists Under Attack
Get the full DVD to show during October’s Non-GMO Month — invite all your friends and encourage them to spread the word! To make it easy to share this great film during Non-GMO Month, we’ve reduced the cost of buying the film in 6-packs to only $79.95 (individually priced at $19.95). We hope you’ll enjoy this new film, and share it with all those who care about the safety of our food supply.
DVD review by Jeffrey M. Smith
"One question means one career." This was the harsh warning of UC Berkeley Professor Ignacio Chapela for those daring to conduct independent research on genetically engineered foods and crops. "You ask one question, you get the answer and you might or might not be able to publish it; but that is the end of your career." Both he and biologist Arpad Pusztai dared to asked questions and do the research. And then all hell broke loose.
Using stunning visuals filmed on three continents, veteran German filmmaker Bertram Verhaag tracks the fate of these two scientists at the hands of a multi-billion dollar industry that is desperate to hide the dangers of their genetically modified organisms (GMOs).
Comments (1)Tell the FDA to Label My Food
Consumerism, GMOs, Health & Disease — by Jeffrey M. Smith October 5, 2011
It’s Non-GMO month — help us by signing the petition to require the FDA to label our food.
In a country that labels everything from cosmetics to cleaning agents, it’s surprising that there are no laws in the U.S. requiring labeling of genetically engineered foods.
The FDA undertakes no GMO safety testing on its own. Instead, they allow companies like Monsanto, who told us that their DDT, PCBs, and Agent Orange was safe, to determine if their GMOs are safe. Internal FDA documents revealed that the agency’s own scientists warned of serious health risks, and urged long-term testing–but were denied. Now many doctors prescribe non-GMO diets, citing serious health disorders in lab animals fed GMOs. Don’t be a lab animal!
There are many reasons why Americans want labeling of genetically engineered foods. Whatever the reason is that brought you here, what unites us all is that we all want to make informed choices about the food we eat and feed our families. We have a right to know if what we are eating has been genetically engineered.
We have a right to know what’s in our food.
Thank you for your support!
Comments (5)USDA Abdicates GMO Oversight and Welcomes Roundup Ready Lawns
GMOs, Health & Disease — by Jeffrey M. Smith August 16, 2011
Editor’s Note: Just as we’re learning a great deal more about the dangers of Roundup, Monsanto’s glyphosate herbicide, the U.S. government is bringing us Roundup Ready lawns for our children to play on….
The US Dept of Agriculture just dropped a bomb on GMO regulations in America. Their announcement, released on the Friday afternoon before the July 4th weekend to reduce the media coverage, eviscerated government oversight over a whole new class of GMOs. The USDA announced that Roundup Ready Kentucky bluegrass would be exempt from regulation. That means that a new variety GM grass, produced by Scotts Miracle-Gro, will hit US markets without any government review, not from the USDA, EPA, or FDA. The modified grass, destined for lawns, playgrounds, soccer fields, and golf courses, is designed to survive applications of the weed killer Roundup. This will dramatically increase the use of the toxic herbicide, which is linked to birth defects, cancer, and reproductive problems. Its overuse will also speed up the spread of Roundup-resistant superweeds, requiring a return to other acutely toxic herbicides scrapped decades ago.
Dangerous Toxins From Genetically Modified Plants Found in Women and Fetuses
Consumerism, GMOs, Health & Disease — by Jeffrey M. Smith May 31, 2011
When U.S. regulators approved Monsanto’s genetically modified “Bt” corn, they knew it would add a deadly poison into our food supply. That’s what it was designed to do. The corn’s DNA is equipped with a gene from soil bacteria called Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) that produces the Bt-toxin. It’s a pesticide; it breaks open the stomach of certain insects and kills them.
But Monsanto and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) swore up and down that it was only insects that would be hurt. The Bt-toxin, they claimed, would be completely destroyed in the human digestive system and not have any impact on all of us trusting corn-eating consumers.
Oops. A study just proved them wrong.
Comments (4)Online Non-GMO Speaker Training (Webinar) with Jeffrey Smith begins in June
Consumerism, Courses/Workshops, GMOs, Health & Disease — by Jeffrey M. Smith May 6, 2011
Dear Friends,
We invite to join us for our next Online Non-GMO Speaker Training Webinar with Jeffrey Smith.
When: June 14, 21, 28, & July 12th
Time: 8:00pm-10:00pm EST
Cost: $80 Individual / $140 Couple Early Discount Before May 20th $70/$120
Partial scholarships are available — please contact scholarships (at) responsibletechnology.org
Speaker Training Course Description:
Join international bestselling author and filmmaker Jeffrey M. Smith to learn how to speak about genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and to organize effective activism on the issue. Whether you want to give complete presentations or simply add a GMO section to your current lecture, whether you’re planning to discuss GMOs in a professional setting with clients or just with friends in a casual way, or whether you want to be a leading anti-GMO campaigner or simply want to help out where you can, don’t miss this unique opportunity to learn from the leading spokesperson on GMO health dangers.
You will learn:
Comments (2)GMOs Linked to Organ Disruption in 19 Studies
Animals, GMOs, Health & Disease — by Jeffrey M. Smith April 10, 2011
A new paper shows that consuming genetically modified (GM) corn or soybeans leads to significant organ disruptions in rats and mice, particularly in livers and kidneys. By reviewing data from 19 animal studies, Professor Gilles-Eric Séralini and others reveal that 9% of the measured parameters, including blood and urine biochemistry, organ weights, and microscopic analyses (histopathology), were significantly disrupted in the GM-fed animals. The kidneys of males fared the worst, with 43.5% of all the changes. The liver of females followed, with 30.8%. The report, published in Environmental Sciences Europe on March 1, 2011, confirms that “several convergent data appear to indicate liver and kidney problems as end points of GMO diet effects.” The authors point out that livers and kidneys “are the major reactive organs” in cases of chronic food toxicity.
“Other organs may be affected too, such as the heart and spleen, or blood cells,” stated the paper. In fact some of the animals fed genetically modified organisms had altered body weights in at least one gender, which is “a very good predictor of side effects in various organs.”
Comments (6)Monsanto’s Roundup Triggers Over 40 Plant Diseases and Endangers Human and Animal Health
GMOs, Health & Disease — by Jeffrey M. Smith January 26, 2011
The following article reveals the devastating and unprecedented impact that Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide is having on the health of our soil, plants, animals, and human population. On top of this perfect storm, the USDA now wants to approve Roundup Ready alfalfa, which will exacerbate this calamity. Please tell USDA Secretary Vilsack not to approve Monsanto’s alfalfa today.
 The diseased field on the right had glyphosate applied the previous season. Photo by Don Huber |
While visiting a seed corn dealer’s demonstration plots in Iowa last fall, Dr. Don Huber walked passed a soybean field and noticed a distinct line separating severely diseased yellowing soybeans on the right from healthy green plants on the left (see photo). The yellow section was suffering from Sudden Death Syndrome (SDS), a serious plant disease that ravaged the Midwest in 2009 and ’10, driving down yields and profits. Something had caused that area of soybeans to be highly susceptible and Don had a good idea what it was.
The diseased field on the right had glyphosate applied the previous season. Photo by Don Huber
Don Huber spent 35 years as a plant pathologist at Purdue University and knows a lot about what causes green plants to turn yellow and die prematurely. He asked the seed dealer why the SDS was so severe in the one area of the field and not the other. “Did you plant something there last year that wasn’t planted in the rest of the field?” he asked. Sure enough, precisely where the severe SDS was, the dealer had grown alfalfa, which he later killed off at the end of the season by spraying a glyphosate-based herbicide (such as Roundup). The healthy part of the field, on the other hand, had been planted to sweet corn and hadn’t received glyphosate.
Comments (7)Throwing Biotech Lies at Tomatoes – Parts 1 & 2
GMOs, Health & Disease — by Jeffrey M. Smith January 15, 2011
Part 1: Killer Tomatoes
Remember the pictures of the fish tomatoes? For years they were an unofficial emblem of the anti-GMO movement. They depicted how anti-freeze genes from an Arctic fish were forced into tomato DNA, allowing the plants to survive frost. Scientists really did create those Frankentomatoes, but they were never put on the market. (Breyers low-fat ice cream, however, does contain anti-freeze proteins from Arctic fish genes, but that’s another story.)
The tomato that did make it to market was called the Flavr Savr, engineered for longer shelf life. Fortunately, it was removed from the shelves soon after it was introduced.
Although there are no longer any genetically modified (GM) tomatoes being sold today, the FDA’s shady approval process of the Flavr Savr provides a lesson in food safety—or rather, the lack of it—as far as gene-spliced foods are concerned. We know what really went on during the FDA’s voluntary review process of the Flavr Savr in 1993, because a lawsuit forced the release of 44,000 agency memos.
WikiLeaks: US Should Retaliate Against EU for Genetically Modifed Resistance
Consumerism, Economics, GMOs, Health & Disease — by Jeffrey M. Smith December 28, 2010
Country team Paris recommends that we calibrate a target retaliation list that causes some pain across the EU — Recommendation by US Ambassador to France, Craig Stapleton [Emphasis added]
WikiLeaked cables released over the weekend revealed more about the US’ role as a global bully, trying to thrust unpopular genetically modified (GM) crops onto cautious governments and their citizens. In a 2007 cable from Craig Stapleton, then US Ambassador to France, he encouraged the US government to “reinforce our negotiating position with the EU on agricultural biotechnology by publishing a retaliation list.” A list, he added, that “causes some pain across the EU since this is a collective responsibility.”
Please join a Non-GMO Action Group TODAY
GMOs, Health & Disease — by Jeffrey M. Smith December 16, 2010
This is the most important newsletter article I have written in 7 years. It’s time to mobilize local and national Non-GMO Groups and you’re warmly invited…
Local Non-GMO Action Groups
When I was in Boulder, Colorado this past November, we advertised a meeting for those interested in helping to get the word out on GMOs. Nearly 70 people showed up! During the two hour session, people shared resources and ideas, set a regular meeting time each month, and divided into sub-groups based on areas of interest. Those outreach groups focused on healthcare professionals, restaurants, schools, local and national government, media, and others.
A month earlier, I helped form similar groups in California—in San Diego, Santa Cruz, San Rafael, and El Cerrito. In fact, anytime I give a public lecture, there are ample numbers of passionate people who want to contribute in some way to help end GMOs. And now we have trained nearly 200 non-GMO speakers.
It is time for us to get organized.
Comments (2)Just Say No to GMO
Consumerism, GMOs, Health & Disease — by Jeffrey M. Smith November 20, 2010
Dear Reader
As we near the end of 2010, I wanted to personally thank you for helping to make this year an unprecedented success in raising awareness about the dangers of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Supermarket News predicted the upsurge in US consumer concern 2010, and it’s happening.
With your support, we’re getting our message out to millions each month through print, media, and internet channels. During October’s Non-GMO Month, the popular health newsletter Mercola.com emailed our GMO articles every day for a week to over 1.5 million homes, followed by a videotaped interview of Dr. Mercola and I.
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