A Genetically Modified World – Part 2

TimeWatch Editorial
November 1, 2015

I am not a biologist. I have no experience whatsoever when it comes to the recognition, removal or transference of genes. Yet there are serious questions that should be answered. If these Genetically Modified Organisms are as wonderful as their manufacturers claim they are, why are laws being passed to enforce their usage? I hear you say, there are no such laws!! Well, let’s see. If a law has been passed that prevents the States from insisting that all GMO foods be clearly labeled, then clearly this automatically removes the customer’s choice and enforces its usage.

Lydia Wheeler and Cristina Marcos on July 23, 2015 informed us in an article published in The Hill the following:

“The House on Thursday passed hotly contested legislation that would keep states from issuing mandatory labeling laws for foods that contain genetically modified organisms, often called GMOs.

The Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act of 2015, which passed 275-150, would instead create a federal standard for the voluntary labeling of foods with GMO ingredients.

Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-Kan.), who authored the bill, called mandatory labeling laws — which have already passed in Vermont, Connecticut and Maine — unnecessarily costly given that GMOs have been deemed safe by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).”

So because the Food and Drug Administration “deems” something safe, does that mean I no longer have a choice as to whether I want to eat it or not? Just imagine the number of products that received a passing grade by the ‘Various Authorities’ that are supposed to evaluate their safety, only to discover that years later, they were dangerously flawed. Let’s just take a look at the automobile industry.

There is this Japanese airbag company that apparently failed to correct an issue with their product, until problems began to arise with car safety. Ironically, the airbag is not something that you are necessarily aware of until in a crisis, and therefore you assume that “it is deemed safe.” Suddenly, however when you need that airbag most, is when it not only fails to deploy properly but in some cases is the cause of deaths and injuries.

The website Auto Cheat Sheet says that: Mazda has recalled 273,846 vehicles, Mitsubishi recalled 166,000, Subaru has had recalls for Outback trailer hitch assembly issues, Takata airbag defects, and problems with brake lines to total 677,810 automobiles brought back in for corrective measures, BMW has issued recalls for over 600,000 vehicles with the airbags installed, Nissan has already issued recalls affecting a potential 1,489,662 vehicles. This is merely a fraction of the total global recall. Even if this situation was a genuine accident and there is no professional fraud, at least one retains the choice in the future to purchase, or not purchase one of these vehicles that use the product that caused the problem. This choice would be retained, even after the product was fixed.

But imagine a scenario in which a law was passed which said that car companies could not be made to inform which airbag product they were using, since the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration “deemed that all airbags were safe.” I would certainly find that troubling. Yet, we are asked to “trust” the judgment of the Food and Drug Administration. Remember, in the 1930s and 1940s, smoking was the norm in the United States. In 1946, R. J Reynolds Tobacco Company initiated an advertising campaign for Camels, centered on the memorable slogan, “More doctors smoke Camels than any other cigarette.”

These GMO plants and meat products have had their DNA artificially altered by genes from other plants, animals, viruses, or bacteria, in order to produce foreign compounds. These genetic alterations occur in a laboratory and are not found in nature. The World’s Healthiest Foods website defines Genetically Modified Organisms as “any food product that has been altered at the gene level. Genetically modified foods are also frequently described as "genetically engineered", "genetically altered" or "genetically manipulated." Here’s hoping that we are spared before the first airbag explodes.

Cameron A. Bowen