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Reminder & XP: genetically-engineereed alfalfa
SuperGreen posted about this before, but if you missed it and didn't take your chance to speak up.. 
A genetically engineered variant of alfalfa is up for approval and I hope some of you might consider writing to the USDA against this.
You can enter comments directly here http://www.regulations.gov/search/Regs/home.html#submitComment?R=0900006480a6b7a1
I am opposed to all genetically engineered foods and crops, especially unlabeled for a multitude of reasons, and especially alfalfa.
Studies do not show these to do no harm, and have shown that microorganisms in the soil pick up changes from the GE crops, and rats in studies have shown significant multi-organ damage.
People have also had allergic reactions to genetically-engineered foods. You may eat a tomato, and react to the fish gene in it.
Worse, these cannot be controlled. These plants cross-pollinate with the natural species. Even scarier, some of these plants are engineered so as not to produce seeds. If this gene was adopted throughout a food we might not have that plant anymore. That may sound extreme, but its possible. Just look at what we've done to the banana, without such engineering.
A lot of these are engineered with pesticides in them to fight insects, but then cause the development of superweeds, much like MERSA and other 'supergerms', only at the plant level.
Alfalfa is heavily used in farming, both as a feed and a cover crop, and is a major part of the bee cycle. As such this plant has even more potential than any other to spread genetically-engineered aspects without our control.
Even if you think genetically engineered organisms are not harmful, we simply don't have the data to prove them harmless to our food supply on the longterm.
Re: Reminder & XP: genetically-engineereed alfalfa
Best sound ever: baby's heartbeat! (Heard @ 10w1d)
Thanks! I hope the pp considers what i said and doesn't just dismiss it as a reiteration what "fanatical media" are saying.
Best sound ever: baby's heartbeat! (Heard @ 10w1d)
She's a regular MM nestie (and a Seattle-area nestie). I mentioned in my post on MM that I had also posted there, so I think that's why she hit up the Seattle thread.
Its frustrating to see a smart poster being duped by the Monsanto party lines. Calling the science against GE fanatical, and claiming altruistic wrld hunger goals is unfounded, and pretty easily proven so. There are genuine, scientifically-supported concerns and the actions and methods of these companies (namely Monsanto) clearly show solving world hunger is not their goal.
She's a regular MM nestie (and a Seattle-area nestie). I mentioned in my post on MM that I had also posted there, so I think that's why she hit up the Seattle thread.
Gotcha.
Its frustrating to see a smart poster being duped by the Monsanto party lines. Calling the science against GE fanatical, and claiming altruistic wrld hunger goals is unfounded, and pretty easily proven so. There are genuine, scientifically-supported concerns and the actions and methods of these companies (namely Monsanto) clearly show solving world hunger is not their goal.
Exactly. Despite truly trying, i see nothing beneficial in M's goals beyond their own finances. I have never before known of a company i actually considered evil; there are lots of irresponsible ones, but few with the deep and wide-reaching negative repercussions of this one -- and with full knowledge of these repercussions -- before this one. (The problematic oil companies can at least share the blame with needy consumers, which is not the case with GM food.)
Best sound ever: baby's heartbeat! (Heard @ 10w1d)
Thank you for posting this again Alisha! I just e-mailed you to ask for your help in preparing a written/verbal comment for the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) public meeting I'll be attending in MD on Tuesday. If anyone else has anything they'd like me to say, please respond here or e-mail me at elaine dot dubin at gmail dot com. Monsanto and the USDA (the approving authority for the proposed GMO alfalfa) will be there, so let's give them what for!
I know the EIS process well as I work for an environmental consulting company, so here's some info on a notice-worthy comment. It needs to be short, 3 paragraphs max, as agencies have the attention span of a goldfish. It needs to specifically state why GMO is bad for human health & the environment, being mad about GMO in the food supply will get us nowhere. That's why I'm asking for Alisha's help. She writes so eloquently and I'm just so FLUCKING ANGRY. Hehe. It would be good to explain why the dangers outweight the benefits as described in the Draft EIS (in the link Alisha put up). And how it will impact you specifically (not have faith in your food system, concerns about your children's health, the inability to stop the spread of GMO, etc...).
I don't mean to beg, well maybe I do, but please help me. We've got to stop this, we just have to. Not to be melodramatic, but this is the future of organic food we're talking about. Please help.
Oh I totally agree. I don't want to be dramatic, but to me, the biggest part of this is it cannot be undone. Once you loose these, that's it. There is no way to, in 10 years, decide, ohhhh....yeah that stuff is actually bad for us, let's remove it.
I'd love to help of course! The whole thing is just so overwhelming. I could write like 15 pages on GMOs.
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The variety of banana we are used to seeing is just one kind, but because it is easiest to grow for mass transport, its pretty much the only kind grown. Its become incredibly susceptible to disease and pests. I hate to cite snopes, but its a good thorough explanation. http://www.snopes.com/food/warnings/bananas.asp
The point of the banana reference was to illustrate that human interference can have huge, disastrous effects and we're not just talking about a block in the ecosystem here, we're talking about our food. GMO cannot be controlled, and APHIS (USDA div) doesn't even assert that it can. More and more problems are showing up on already approved GE plants, and they want to approve more? And one that has, in some ways, an even greater potential to spread across our food system?
One day, you might not be able to have a Cavendish banana anymore, no big deal, but what if 90% of lettuce was suddenly suspect? We could be facing a BPA-like issue with food in the future. For the record, I'm not sure all what BPA might do negatively, but the fact is, several government agencies, long after its been allowed, are expressing concern and its in so much of our stuff its hard to imagine how to remove it, just like PCBs, which are still floating around in my area in what the EPA considers a SuperFund site.
It would be one thing if that was the choice of the farmers and consumers, but its not. If you read the Environmental Impact Study by the USDA, they clearly acknowledge that farmers wanting to grow organic will be impacted as will consumers. If I wanted to grow alfalfa, or raise organic cattle, and my neighbor planted GE alfalfa, I have no way of protecting my crops or cattle.
Alfalfa is used as a cover crop to replenish fields. Bees love it. Its fed to livestock. Its all over our food system. If in 10 years they decide it wasn't a good idea and does pose health risks, which studies do show already, then what?