Genetically modified food is called a non-issue in Sweden, considered being fenced by the law. A dangerous attitude that could lead to flooding store shelves of GMOs before consumers have time to take a stand. The Swedish Board of Agriculture, Arla Foods and Findus, together with the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, are already underway.
By Ulla Gabay, journalist, author and lecturer
Text and photo: Ulla Gabay. Ulla is a journalist, author and lecturer from Gothenburg. Focusing on industrial food’s impact on health. In October 2014 she released the book HEALTH TRAP – the environmental bomb in the stomach.
Biotechnology is exciting and can help mankind in several areas. But to unleash the genetically modified food may currently be likened to clean roulette. Authorities to assess the security are referred to the industry’s own studies. And patent protection provides few opportunities for an independent review in advance. So the consensus, saying that GM food is safe, comes from within the industry itself. In the current situation no one can answer how it affects us in the long run. Even less what happens to future generations.
Independent researchers challenging the consensus are quickly knocked out in the cold. Arpad Pusztai, the world’s leading scientists around the plant protein lectin, is a famous example. In 1998 the British government assigned him to develop a security protocol for the study of genetically engineered plant products. Pusztai was charged with 27 study documentations from companies, applying for a license. At his own studies in rats, however, Pusztai found that a GM potato up for approval caused liver damage, inflamed organs and precursors of cancer. After appearing in the media with the results, Pusztai overnight lost his employment since 36 years as a researcher at the Rowett Research Institute, Aberdeen.
Big bucks in the pot
The Swedish Board of Agriculture wrote in 2009 in their report GMO on the feed market, ”The slow process in the EU to approve new GM events means a cost disadvantage visavi the rest of the world for EU producers of animal products.” Moreover the same department in 2012 approved a request from biotech giant Monsanto for field trials of GM sugar beets.
Other companies in GM action in Sweden are Arla Foods and Findus. In their production of cheese Arla now, contrasting the use of natural rennet retrieved from calf stomachs, wants to expand the use of artificial rennet produced by bacterial genes. And Findus, with the help of the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, has set out to prevent pea root rot, using genome from a wild pea mixed with an industrial one.
A similar project in Australia in 2005 was terminated even though the peas proved resistance to insect pests. The GM protein induced, simultaneously caused allergy in mice, according to a report in New Scientist.
In the US, where GM food – Frankenfoods – represent upwards of 70 percent in supermarkets, consumers are struggling to at least get it labeled. It is being compared to the release of trans fats. It took some 30 years before the effects of that appeared in obesity, chronic disease and premature death.
The toxicologist with EPA Suzanne Wuerthele says:
“We are confronted with the most powerful technology the world has ever known, and it is being rapidly deployed with almost no thought whatsoever to its consequences” / Source: ”Busting Myths About GMOs”
Anyone who wants to check the consequences can start by reading the environmental activist Vandana Shiva’s article about Monsanto destroying farming in India ”The Seeds of Suicide”. Shiva has been named one of the world’s most influential women by Forbes and received the Alternative Nobel Prize Right Livelihood Award.
Environmental lawyer Andrew Kimbrell, by The Guardian named one of 50 people in the world who can save our planet, believes that humanity is now at a critical crossroads. Where we must choose natural diet for the protection of both health and biodiversity.
By Ulla Gabay
Jag tror & hoppas på att ökologisk led farming kan få stopp på skiten, att öko mat blir billigare så folk väljer det istället. Bara det att man kan spåra giferna i urinen, cancerrisken & att det är det största hotet mot biodiversiteten borde få upp folket ur soffan, men nä.
https://www.facebook.com/theConsumedmovie Film i ämnet. Hoppas den får Genomslag.
http://www.naturalnews.com/053458_GMO_foods_FDA_approval_gene_transfer.html
Självgranskning fungerar dåligt…
Lyssna alltså inte till vad dom säger utan hur dom gör själva…
http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/gm-foods-not-served-in-monsanto-cafeteria-1.173403
1. Ärtorna i fråga är inte GMO.
2. Angående löpe: föredrar du löpe från slaktade kalvar? Ska alltså någon behöva dö för att du ska njuta av en ”naturlig” ost?
3. Ta själv reda på självmordsstatistiken för bönder i Indien. Det går utmärkt enkelt att göra via Indiens officiella statistikmyndighet. Så kan du med egna ögon se att Vandana Shiva ljuger.
4. Läs vad WHO och andra expertorgan säger om GMO. Det finns en vetenskaplig konsensus kring att GMO-grödor är säkra. Forskarna är mer eniga om den saken, än kring frågan om växthuseffekten beror på människan.
5. Den viktigaste punkten till sist. Ta reda på vad människor i fattiga länder har att vinna på modern jordbruksteknik. Fråga sedan om din (obefogade) oro ska väga tyngre än deras överlevnad.
Att förbjuda ekomärkningen borde inte bara vara olagligt utan alla försöka till sådana aktiviteter borde ge spöstraff.
DESPITE protests from the population POLITICIANS decided to go for it anyway.
There can not be a clearer example of how politicians do NOT represent the general population. They represent their masters; bankers and megacompanies.
The only way to end this is to break the rule of those in real power. Yet I do fear there is a serious lack of care, interest or will to fight with the vast majority.
Ingen GM/GMO i mitt kylskåp, tack.
Problemet är att tex Monsanto vill ta bort märkning av både GM-mat och ekomat, så att vi inte ska ha en chans att veta eller välja vad vi köper.
Snacka om mat-diktat…
Förbjuds ekomärkning sänker GM-industrin ekoproducenternas konkurrenskraft. Det borde vara olagligt.
Fy fan för GMO.
Most people don´t have a clue what the foodcorporations are doing, and eat whatever they will be served in the stores. We who knows and have the inofo must act, and put pressure on the politicians and government to reject this toxic stuff! I have kids and i´m really worried over all the pecticides and GMO-garbage they gonna eat in schools and….everywhere. Tell your friends the danger with they serve us. Politicians onlyy act if the grassroots are awake and demand this! Politicians are only in i for the money, and are turning sails by the wind. Don`t think they will do anything good. They are not able to think …. It`s possible people only wake up when they get cancer or some neurological disease- But we can only hope that a lot of people understand the importace of what they eat, and the road the politicians och big corporations as Monsanto (and others)want us to follow, leads to a catastrophy. Do something now!
Dem olika partierna som gjort det möjligt vill jag ha åtalade och fängslade för all framtid..
Såna människor bryr sig bara om sina feta plånböcker och den möjligheten att dem kan undvika GMO produkter medan andra luras till att tro att det inte finns GMO i produkterna som finns på butikshylla !
”The betrayal of the Swedish Green Party (”Miljöpartiet”) is massive. They are a party in government, anti-GMO is one of the most important issuse for the green movement, but still they allowed the Social Democrats to push this through.”
They like all other politicians rotten to the core.
Hi. I have been witnessing the use of psychotropic drugs and toxins prepared in food in an industrial scale in factories but also in individual based drugging and intoxication campagins. This happens for strategic political purpouses and totally inocent individuals are getting hurt or killed. The GMO is just a continuance of the earlier scilent genocidal activities and is a big problem obviously and is needed to be adressed with the right methods from the right angles with the right perspective of the problem and the process through the whole problemsolving. What you all need to understand is, that it is not about the money anymore. They are only in it for the possibilities and opportunities to continue the allready existing and long turm genocidal project executed with the tools of drugs and toxins. My advice is only one and one only. Do not sitt and wait for sugarman. Because he aint gona come. Defend your selves and your friends. Attack is the best defence. LOVE, Gustav ( P.S. You have the right to defend your selves with the help of military equipment and resources to protect your lives according to the rules and regulations of both written laws and the non spoken laws of moral and ethics. I recommend you to prepare all the documents needed for a process to be used after your defence attack. This will make the defence attack legitimate and moraly and ethically correct according to all existing rules, written and unwritten, spoken and unspoken.) Good luck now, bye bye then!
Stop GMO ….JAG KOMMER INTE ATT KÖPA DESSA VAROR, JAG ODLAR OCH FÖDER UPP ECO ISTÄLLET …
ALLAS SKÖLDKÖRTLAR KOMMER ATT SLUTA FUNGERA, VÅRA HORMONER KOMMER ATT SLUTA FUNGERA, JORDEN KOMMER ATT SLUTA FUNGERA
DET HANDLAR BARA OM PENGAR
INDIANERNA KOMMER ATT FÅ HELT RÄTT
DE SA EN GÅNG:
NÄR MÄNNISKAN FISKAT DEN SISTA FISKEN UR HAVET
SKJUTIT DET SISTA DJURET PÅ JORDEN
FÖRST DÅ KOMMER MÄNNISKAN ATT FÖRSTÅ ATT MAN INTE KAN ÄTA PENGAR
The betrayal of the Swedish Green Party (”Miljöpartiet”) is massive. They are a party in government, anti-GMO is one of the most important issuse for the green movement, but still they allowed the Social Democrats to push this through.
They want you to think it’s about money but it’s really about killing you slowly.
They do so only to support the society of greed. Probably not understanding how it will chase away job opportunities and close down farmers for the ones involved in brands like KRAV and Ekologiskt and will make it impossible for anyone who want to grow their own food within the borders of Sweden. And as if this would not be enough, notably the use och herbicides will increase as herbicide resistant weeds are let loose and so will the amount of genetically enhanced fertilizers and pesticides, thus there will be very few ecosystems that will survive the GM treats.
Det kommer snart inte att gå att bo i Sverige om man inte vill vara en lycklig bankslav och ett reningsverk för kemiindustrin. Kanske i en GMO-skyddad zon, om de kommer att klara av att stå emot.
GMO science fraud shattered by stunning investigative book worthy of Nobel Prize – ”Altered Genes…”
The book: Altered Genes, Twisted Truth – How the Venture to Genetically Engineer Our Food Has Subverted Science, Corrupted Government, and Systematically Deceived the Public by Steven Druker.