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The Truth about GMOs Plant Pathologist Don Huber Reveals the Risks


by Melinda Hemmelgarn A


t least 70 percent of processed foods in supermarkets


contain genetically modi- fied (GMO) ingredients, mainly from corn, soy, canola, sugar beets and cottonseed oil. Yet the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not require GMO food labeling, despite overwhelming consumer support for their “right to know.” Genetic engineering goes beyond traditional plant breeding because it al- lows scientists to cross species barriers and insert a gene from one organism into another that would not normally occur. Examples include inserting bac- terial DNA into a plant to effect traits such as pest or herbicide resistance. Plant Pathologist and Purdue University Professor Emeritus Don Huber, Ph.D., speaks out internationally about the risky business of biotechnology.


We are told we need GMOs to “feed the world,” but will GMOs provide affordable food for the masses, as Monsanto ads tell us?


There is nothing in the GMO process that has added any new yield potential to any crop. All of the yield increases achieved in the past 15 years have been through traditional breeding programs. When Professor Karen McAfee, an economist at Yale University, analyzed the GMO claim, she found that the only entity that benefited was the biotechnol- ogy industry (Geoforum report). Nutri- tional quality has suffered, food safety has been compromised by the toxic enti- ties involved in the genetic engineering process and farmers’ production costs


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have increased signifi- cantly, while quality and harvested yield potential have decreased. What we see in practice are failed promises.


What is the risk and potential harm to people and the planet due to GMOs? There are two serious risk factors involved in cur-


rent genetically engineered plants. The first is an increase in plant, animal and human diseases plus pests associated with GMO crops, reported by sources as diverse as the European Journal of Agronomy, Earth Open Source and the University of Leipzig, in Germany. The second is abusive use of the chemical products that the herbicide-tolerant GMOs have been developed to toler- ate; supporting studies include research published in the European Journal of Agronomy and the Fluid Fertilizer Foundation’s Forum.


For example, glyphosate in many weed killer formulations is used exces- sively both on Roundup-ready crops and as a single chemical for general weed control. This has resulted in super weeds, super pathogens, compromised natural biological controls and devastated com- ponents of the soil biology responsible for nutrient availability and function. Recent research from institutions around the world, including the UK’s King’s College and Leipzig University, is now showing a link between GMO crops and/or the products they pro- duce or tolerate and increased inci- dence of mutations, chronic fatigue syndrome, Parkinson’s disease, aller- gies, birth defects, cancer, reproduc- tive failure and other health effects. It


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