Bio-engineered Foods

[Kritters]

While researching bio-engineered cotton, I came upon this site. What I find interesting in the other links I found from googling, is that cotton and other plants/foods are being engineered in most cases to be resistant to something. That something seems to be listed in what is coming out of our bodies.

Nancy....check this out.........first on the list of modified foods. why would they engineer this?

and Jo................did you do any research on the white fly? It's resistant to BE cotton.

mbox-26: Bio-Engineered Foods

HOW TO SHOP TO AVOID GENETICALLY ENGINEERED FOODS:
FOODS TO AVOID OR BOYCOTT:
SPECIFIC BRAND NAME PRODUCTS TO BOYCOTT:
THESE COMPANIES USE GENETICALLY ENGINEERED INGREDIENTS IN SOME OR ALL OF
THEIR PRODUCTS:
Coca Cola (corn syrup and/or Aspartame), Fritos (corn), Green Giant Harvest
Burgers (soy), McDonald's French Fries (potatoes), Nestle's chocolates
(soy), Karo Corn Syrup (corn), NutraSweet (Aspartame), Kraft Salad
Dressings (canola oil), Fleishmann's margarine (soy), Similac Infant
Formula (soy), Land o Lakes butter (rBGH), Cabot Creamery Butter (rBGH).
AVOID ALL OTHER CONVENTIONAL (NOT CERTIFIED-ORGANIC) TOMATOES, POTATOES,
CORN, SOY, CANOLA OIL, COTTON SEED OIL, AND YELLOW CROOK-NECK SQUASH:
TOMATOES: Genetically engineered with bacteria-derived kanamycin resistance
genes, Antisense backwards DNA, antibiotic marker genes, viruses, and DNA
of flounder and North Atlantic shellfish. This and the following
genetically engineered foods have antibiotic marker genes used to
facilitate the genetic engineering process. They can cause allergies and
autoimmune disease.
POTATOES: Genetically engineered with wax moth insect DNA; genetically
engineered to produce its own pesticide internally with the DNA of bacillus
thuringiensis bacteria.
CORN: Genetically engineered to tolerate high quantities of the chemical
pesticide glufosinate, and genetically engineered with a virus and the DNA
of the bacteria bacillus thuringiensis.
SOY: Genetically engineered and DNA-altered by Monsanto with bacteria;
capable of tolerating heavy doses of Monsanto's Roundup brand chemical
pesticide (glyphosate).
YELLOW CROOK NECK SQUASH: Gene-spliced with two experimental viruses and
arbitrary marker genes, capable of causing unpredictable and unexpected
effects.
CANOLA OIL: Genetically engineered and DNA-altered with California bay
turnip and various viruses and bacterium in order to produce high
quantities of lauric acid.
COTTON SEED OIL: Genetically engineered and DNA-altered with Arabidopsis
bacterium, and viruses to be able to withstand large applications of the
chemical pesticide bromoxynil. Bromoxynil causes birth defects in human
beings.
PAPAYA: Some have been genetically engineered.
AVOID ALL PRODUCTS DERIVED FROM THE ABOVE NON-ORGANIC ITEMS
As of the beginning of 1997, these products will have been genetically
engineered and on the market as a percentage of the total conventional food
supply. Since they are sold unlabeled in the conventional market, there is
no way to tell specifically which tomatoes, potatoes, corn, soy, etc. have
been actually genetically engineered. If you live in a nation which may
receive imports from the U.S. and Canada, you should also avoid these
non-organic foods as a safety precaution. Your own nation or another
exporting to yours may be doing genetic engineering. Eat only organic food
if possible. Even if you buy seeds to grow your own food, buy only organic
seeds.
AVOID EATING IN NON-ORGANIC RESTAURANTS
Unless the restaurant management makes it clear in writing that they are
committed to using only non-genetically engineered foods and products,
avoid eating out as much as possible. Since genetically engineered foods
are not labeled, they also have no idea which of their tomato, potato,
corn, soy, canola, yellow-crook-neck squash products may be genetically
engineered.
READ LABELS CAREFULLY: BE CAREFUL WITH ALL PROCESSED FOODS
WATCH OUT FOR CONVENTIONAL, NON-ORGANIC CORN AND SOY, BECAUSE THEY ARE IN
SO MANY PRODUCTS:
Avoid corn syrup, fructose, and fructose corn syrup in almost all beverages
and sodas (even health food brands), and in almost all sweet products,
yogurt, and aspirin. Avoid corn oil, corn starch, corn meal, baking soda,
baking powder, glycose syrup; Avoid soy; soy flour in baked goods; pizza,
cookies, cakes, pasta; fillers in meat products, (for example Big Macs)
vegetarian meat substitutes, (for example tofu, tofu burgers, tofu hot
dogs) soy milk, infant formula, baby foods; diet and protein shakes,
protein bars; chocolate and candy bars; margarine; ice cream; pet food; soy
oil in salad dressings & snack chips; soy sauce; lecithin and soy lecithin.
In all, well over 30,000 products!
AVOID rBGH MILK & DAIRY PRODUCTS (apologies to strict vegans):
Monsanto's genetically engineered bovine growth hormone (rBGH), marketed
through veterinarians and injected into dairy cows, causes increased milk
production and horrible mastitis. These cows then require constant medical
supervision and continuous high doses of antibiotics. Their milk contains
high levels of pus. The cow's milk and dairy products made from this milk
also contain rBGH, bovine growth hormone. This hormone increases cancer
risk in human beings.
AVOID ASPARTAME:
This is known as the artificial sweetener Equal or NutraSweet and is made
up of three chemicals and a genetically engineered enzyme. It has been
implicated in many diseases. It breaks down into formeldahyde in the body.
EAT ONLY ORGANIC RENNETLESS CHEESE (apologies to strict vegans):
Most non-organic cheeses are made with a genetically engineered rennet
called chymosin.
AVOID DOUGH CONDITIONER:
This is a code word for a combination of genetically engineered enzymes and
other components, found in cheaper breads and baked goods.
OTHER GENETICALLY ENGINEERED ADDITIVES AND ENZYMES
Avoid Amylase (used in making bread, flour, whole wheat flour, cereals,
starch), Catalase (used in making soft drinks, egg whites, liquid whey) and
Lactase.
"Genetic engineeers are taking genes from bacteria, viruses and insects and
adding them to fruits, grains and vegetables," said Dr. Rebecca Goldburg,
an Environmental Defense Fund senior scientist. "They are producing foods
that have never before been eaten by human beings. Consumers should not be
guinea pigs for untested food substances."
The Agriculture Department is expected to release national standards for
organic foods this year, and there is concern among organic farmers and
processors, consumer advocates and some scientists that the department will
override the recommendations of the National Organic Standards Board, which
voted to prohibit genetically engineered foods from being labeled organic.

Following is a list by Genetic ID of Fairfield, Iowa, of genetically
engineered foods that have been approved by the federal government, that
await approval or that are under development. An asterisk marks foods that
are for sale.

Abalone*
Alfalfa
Apples
Asparagus
Barley
Beets
Broccoli
Canola (rapeseed oil)*
Carrots
Catfish*
Cauliflower
Cheesemaking enzymes (chymosin)*
Chestnuts
Chicory
Corn
Cotton (cottonseed oil)*
Cucumbers
Flaxseed
Grapes
Kiwi fruit
Lettuce
Melons
Papayas
Peanuts
Pepper
Potatoes*
Prawns*
Raspberries
Rice
Salmon*
Soybeans*
Squash
Strawberries
Sugar cane
Sunflowers
Sweet potatoes
Tomatoes*
Walnuts
Watermelons
Wheat


Kritts

[Jo]

Hi Kritts,

In that link it listed abalone as a genetically engineered food that has been approved by the federal government, and is for sale!

I'll dig up my BT cotton research, I know moths was in there...ummm. Will get back to ya.

Mucho respecto
Jo xxxx

[Kritters]

mucho respecto backatcha.
xoxo
Kritts

[Kritters]

Hey Jo,
Looking forward to hearing what you have to say...;-)
xo
Kritts

[sad4sara]

There is nothing left. Geez. So we have a aweful disease AND we have to DIEt....shoooooot.
I suppose cheese in a can is out?
and coffe ?

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Resistance Genes In Our Food Supply

"ScienceDaily (May 23, 2007 ) — Could the food we eat be contributing to the continuing rise of antibiotic-resistant infections? Harmless and even beneficial bacteria that exist in our food supply may also be carrying genes that code for antibiotic resistance. Once in our bodies, could they transmit the resistance genes to disease-causing bacteria?

The culprit is a process known as horizontal gene transfer, in which bacteria in close proximity to each other can share genetic information, including genes that code for antibiotic resistance. Horizontal gene transfer between disease-causing bacteria in the hospital setting has already been recognized as an important avenue for the exchange of antibiotic-resistance genes among pathogens.

In a study published last year, she and her colleagues tested a variety of ready-to-eat food samples including seafood, meats, dairy, deli items and fresh produce purchased from several grocery chain stores. With the exception of processed cheese and yogurt, antibiotic-resistance gene-carrying bacteria were found in many food samples examined.,

The problem is not just confined to the food supply. Recent studies have shown antibiotic resistance genes in bacteria in the digestive tract of young infants. Since these children were still breast- or formula-feeding and had not eaten solid food yet, they must have acquired these genes somewhere other than the food supply. This suggests that resistance genes from the environment might have played an important role, says Hua.

"Antibiotics and the contamination of the environment is a medical problem, an agricultural problem and a human problem. Everybody plays a role in it. They also have a stake in it," says Roberts."

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Antibiotic Resistance Found In Poultry Even When No Antibiotics Were Used

"ScienceDaily (Mar. 8, 2007 ) — A surprising finding by a team of University of Georgia scientists suggests that curbing the use of antibiotics on poultry farms will do little – if anything – to reduce rates of antibiotic resistant bacteria that have the potential to threaten human health.

Dr. Margie Lee, professor in the UGA College of Veterinary Medicine, and her colleagues have found that chickens raised on antibiotic-free farms and even those raised under pristine laboratory conditions have high levels of bacteria that are resistant to common antibiotics.

They found that even birds raised in the pristine laboratory conditions had levels of antibiotic resistance levels comparable to what was seen on farms that used antibiotics.

Lee stresses that for consumers, the advice on poultry is the same that it’s always been. Cook meat thoroughly and use proper food handling and preparation techniques – washing your hands regularly and keeping other foods away from raw chicken, for example – to minimize the risk of illness."

[-----------]

Flies May Spread Drug-resistant Bacteria From Poultry Operations

"“Flies are well-known vectors of disease and have been implicated in the spread of various viral and bacterial infections affecting humans, including enteric fever, cholera, salmonellosis, campylobacteriosis and shigellosis,” said lead author Jay Graham, PhD, who conducted the study as a research fellow with Bloomberg School’s Center for a Livable Future. Our study found similarities in the antibiotic-resistant bacteria in both the flies and poultry litter we sampled. The evidence is another example of the risks associated with the inadequate treatment of animal wastes.”

“Although we did not directly quantify the contribution of flies to human exposure, our results suggest that flies in intensive production areas could efficiently spread resistant organisms over large distances,” said Ellen Silbergeld, PhD, senior author of the study and professor in the Bloomberg School of Public Health’s Department of Environmental Health Sciences."