I have discussed the dangers of GMO foods and Roundup before.
The evidence continues to mount.
“A peer-reviewed article, published November 7, 2017, in the International Journal of Human Nutrition and Functional Medicine, demonstrates that GMOs are likely taking a heavy toll on our health. And a survey of 3,256 people who avoided them reported astonishing improvements in 28 health conditions.”
You can find a summary of the salient points from this scientific article here.
But I suggest you read the first few pages of the full article here.
The first few pages of this article describe the history of GMOs and how the warnings of FDA scientists were silenced by regulatory executives who were shills for the likes of Monsanto and other dangerous players in this sad history.
11 genetically modified food crops are currently grown for commercial consumption. The six major crops are soy, corn, cotton, canola, sugar beets and alfalfa which are used to feed humans and animals. Cottonseed and canola are also processed into “food-grade” oils and sugar beets are refined to make sugar.
- All six major GMOs are engineered to be herbicide tolerant, to survive spray of weed killer (such as Roundup)
- 89% of GMOs grown in the US are herbicide tolerant
- The most common herbicide involved is Roundup
- 94% of soybeans grown in the US are Roundup Resistant (RR)
- Some varieties of corn and cotton have genes inserted that produce a toxic insecticide called Bt toxin.
- 76% of corn grown in the US is both Bt-producing and herbicide tolerant, 80% of cotton are both Bt and herbicide tolerant.
Roundup is not only used to kill weeds, but it is now sprayed heavily on crops immediately before harvest as a desiccant (drying agent) and large measurable amounts are found in the foods that you purchase in the supermarket.
In 1998 the FDA was sued by the Alliance for Bio-integrity and forced to turn over tens of thousands of pages of internal memos related to GMOs. FDA scientists repeatedly warned their superiors that GMO foods could create serious health risks such as allergies, toxins, antibiotic resistant diseases and nutritional problems. Michael Taylor, the former outside attorney for Monsanto and subsequent vice president of government and regulatory affairs for Monsanto was the political appointee in the FDA charged with overseeing GMOs!
On May 8, 2009,, the American Academy of Environmental Medicine published their policy paper on GMOs citing animal studies that revealed:
- infertility,
- immune dysregulation,
- accelerated aging,
- dysregulation of genes associated with cholesterol synthesis,
- faulty insulin regulation, cell signaling and protein formation,
- changes in the liver, kidney, spleen and gastrointestinal system
The AAEM recommended that the US government implement a moratorium on all GM foods and urged physicians to prescribe non-GMO diets.
But Monsanto prevailed and FDA officials ignored the warnings of their own scientists.
The three general categories of GMO danger include:
- consequences of the GMO transformation process
- the Bt toxin found in GMO corn and cotton
- the herbicides-particularly Roundup, that are sprayed on most GMO foods and consumed by those who eat GMO food.
A study of Monsanto’s RR corn revealed 117 proteins and 91 small molecule biochemicals significantly different from natural corn. Some of those differences “enhance the effects of histamine, thus heightening allergic reactions” and two of the polyamines in the GMO corn have been implicated in the formation of carcinogens (nitrosamines).
The GMO process can produce a host of unintended changes in RNA, DNA, proteins and genes. And these changes can migrate and hybridize with non-GMO foods when the wind blows seeds from GMO plants into fields planted with non-GMO plants.
Altered Genes (transgenes) from GMO foods may “horizontally transfer” to humans or other organisms including the gut bacteria in humans that control much of our physiology.
Studies of rats fed GMO potatoes demonstrated adverse effects on every organ in young rats. Most changes occurred within 10 days. Disruption of organ growth, immune suppression and damage to organs of the immune system, thickening of the stomach and intestinal lining were noted.
Monsanto’s own data show that GM soybeans contain up to seven times the level of a natural allergen (trypsin inhibitor which also impairs protein digestion) and a doubling of soy lectin which impairs nutrient absorption. These were unintended consequences of the GMO process.
Monsanto’s MON810 Bt corn has 43 genes significantly altered in levels of expression. One of these genes which is normally switched off in non-GMO corn is switched on in the GMO version and it produces an allergenic protein.
Glyphosate is the major antibiotic in Roundup (yes Roundup is classified as an antibiotic). I have discussed the great hazards of glyphosate before. On October 24, 2017 JAMA published a study of the increase in measurable levels of glyphosate in humans.
The researchers compared urine excretion levels of glyphosate and aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA) in 100 people living in a Southern California community who provided samples during five clinic visits that took place between 1993 to 1996 and 2014 to 2016.
“What we saw was that prior to the introduction of genetically modified foods, very few people had detectable levels of glyphosate,” . “As of 2016, 70 percent of the study cohort had detectable levels.”
In July 2017, glyphosate was listed as a carcinogen by California.
A 2014 review concluded that:
Evidence is mounting that glyphosate interferes with many
metabolic processes in plants and animals and glyphosate residues have been detected in both.
Glyphosate disrupts the endocrine system and the balance of gut bacteria, it damages DNA and is a driver of mutations that lead to cancer.
There are many reasons to follow an organic, GMO-free, whole foods ancestral diet. Contamination with Roundup presents yet another compelling reason to choose your food wisely.
Some folks prefer videos to research articles, so below you will find both.
Here are a few links that will take you to articles related to this topic and quoted above.
Survey Reports Improved Health After Avoiding Genetically Modified Food
Environmental and health effects of the herbicide glyphosate. – PubMed – NCBI
Aluminum and glyphosate can synergistically induce pineal gland pathology: connection to gut dysbiosis and neurological disease
GMO crops increase pesticide use
The high cost of pesticides: human and animal diseases
Is roundup the toxic chemical that’s making us all sick
Scientists Back Up WHO’s Classification of Glyphosate as “Probably Carcinogenic”
Food for thought: Are Herbicides a Factor for the Increase in Allergies and Autism?
Glyphosate, pathways to modern diseases II: Celiac sprue and gluten intolerance
Glyphosate, pathways to modern diseases III: Manganese, neurological diseases, and associated pathologies
Glyphosate, pathways to modern diseases IV: cancer and related pathologies
Glyphosate pathways to modern diseases V: Amino acid analogue of glycine in diverse proteins
GMOs, herbicides, and public health
Glyphosate induces human breast cancer cells growth via estrogen receptors
Glyphosate‐based pesticides affect cell cycle regulation
Glyphosate-based herbicides are toxic and endocrine disruptors in human cell lines
Environmental and human health impacts of growing genetically modified herbicide‐tolerant sugar beet: a life‐cycle assessment
Unidentified inert ingredients in pesticides: implications for human and environmental health
The possible link between autism and glyphosate acting as glycine mimetic—A review of evidence from the literature with analysis
Eat organic fruits and vegetables, avoid GMOs, enjoy better health.
Dr. Bob
Practical Evolutionary Health 
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