Why GMO Seed Should Be Destroyed

Like most people, I adhere to nurturing over mayhem and bloodshed, but if I could I would single-handedly rip, tear, and destroy every GMO stock of corn, soybean, and sugar beet up by its roots, stomp on it for good measure, and hold a bonfire in its honor.

Why?

There are many reasons, actually. Let’s start with what it’s done to the farmers, ranchers and organic growers. It is a little known fact that big business’ such a Monsanto has taken growers to court, claiming their GMO (genetically modified organism) seed was “high jacked” and used in a farmers field. In reality, many times the offending GMO seed or pollen was picked up in the wind from nearby growers and deposited, infecting the farmers own crop! And once there, there’s the devil of a time getting rid of it. The clout of a battery of high-profile attorneys backing big business like Monsanto ties the grower up in court for an inordinate amount of time, much like the chokehold a lioness places on the defenseless neck of a Gazelle as it slowly chokes the life out of it. There it remains until the life blood is gone from the fight and the grower succumbs to heavy-handed legal tactics.

Something similar has been occurring with organic beef ranchers who are highly regulated with regards to the feed they give their organically certified cattle. Should the feed provided by a grower be inadvertently tainted with GMO seed, there goes the organic beef rancher’s certification and their livelihood. And just like the farmer, many times, organic beef ranchers do not have the resources to defend themselves for a long court battle brought on by the mega-corporations.

We can’t leave out the organic grower in this fight, either. Too many of them have been forced into an ongoing battle with nearby growers over seed and pollen that is carried into their fields, forcing them into a never-ending task of trying to control GMO seed from taking root and tainting their precious organic crop. Even worse, some find themselves going to battle—ala David vs. Goliath—to prove that, no, they did not steal Monsanto’s poisoned seed and no, they wanted nothing to do with their Frankenstein altered seed. But even then, they may find themselves in a lengthy court battle where the victory goes to the one with the deepest pockets.

It isn’t only for financial reasons that we must grow less complacent about the hazards of GMO seed, When you have the time and the inclination, look up part two of Why GMO Seed Should Be Destroyed, where we’ll jump in to the health effects Americans are likely to experience from eating the crops from this seed and why many countries have outlawed it.

Part two of Why GMO Seed Should Be Destroyed gets more personal for anyone who values their health. Before you plant that soylent green (see- movie) in your home garden, consider the following: even though GMO seed has been outlawed from the European Union, many countries haven’t been as fortunate. Australia discovered GMO seed had contaminated canola crops in the one-half of the country where GMO seed was banned. The Danish government, in an attempt to protect their organic growers, has decreed that farmers who own fields that have been contaminated with GMO seed must be compensated by the offending farmer that caused the contamination. This solution is problematic, for they must first determine the offender, which could prove to be a daunting task. Perhaps as a nation we should be looking closely at the recent crop failure of GMO corn which led to three South African Provinces calling for a ban on GMO seed.

Will a Few Megla Corporations Own the Food Chain?

Possibly so, if we don’t start asking difficult questions and demanding answers. Part of the concern, should the media let it be know, is GMO seed must be purchased by growers each year at a price dictated by the seed provider, the saving of seed being disallowed if a grower wishes to stay out of court. This has a direct bearing on the price of groceries, and if your pocket book looks like the majority of the populace, this factoid should be a huge concern!

In the meantime, if enough of us boycott GMO seed and opt for growing our own heirloom vegetable gardens, the backlash might make our leaders on the hill take notice. For if the silence of collusion continues, backyard gardeners may be next. Especially if the recently passed S.510 “Food Safety Act Bill” grows a set of steel teeth, and buying heirloom seed and growing organic vegetable gardens and fruits is threatened. We’d better make sure it doesn’t, or a personal choice not to poison our bodies with genetically modified organisms may be taken away, leaving us to glow in the dark.

Already, 93% of canola, 93% of soy beans, and 86% of corn are grown from GMO seed in the US. If you have a sweet tooth, better look out for Sugar Beets, too. In February of 2011, The Department of Agriculture overturned Judge Jeffrey S. White’s earlier injunction for an environmental study surrounding concerns the 80% of sugar beets grown in the US from genetically altered seed could spread to organic sugar beet crops and possibly other crops like Swiss chard and red table beets.

GMO seed also come with negative health issues, although, here again, the news isn’t shared by mainstream media as readily as it should be. Since the use of GMO seed, the US has seen a rise in infertility, gastronomical problems, and autoimmune diseases that are suspected to be linked with the consumption of GMO food. In fact, the American Academy of Environmental Medicine has taken a critical look at GMO foods and is recommending a halt to the use of GMO seed while independent testing can be preformed and labeling be done on all GMO product.

So far, it has been discovered that GMO food produce their own toxins, and pesticides found in GMO corn and cotton has been linked to the deaths of cows, horses, sheep, buffalo and chickens around the globe. Likewise, it is suspected that bees (honeybee hive collapse syndrome, anyone?), monarch caterpillars, and birds have also been effected.

It’s time to call a halt to reckless agricultural practices and leave enough breathing room to research the impact GMO seed with regards to our food chain and our health.

By Barbara Fix, Lipscomb Enterprises Inc. Researcher & Writer