Walmart to start selling unlabeled insecticide-laced GMO corn from Monsanto

Walmart to start selling unlabeled insecticide-laced GMO corn from Monsanto






America’s largest bio-agriculture company and the biggest retailer in
the country are joining forces, but a happy ending isn’t necessarily in
sight. Walmart will soon be stocking their shelves with GMO corn made
by Monsanto.

Millions of Americans shop at Walmart, but that doesn’t mean that
they all know what they’re getting as they check out in shopping centers
across the country. The retail giant says they won't advertise which of
their products are made with genetically modified organisms, or GMOs,
which could become a big problem very soon. Zack Kaldveer explains in an
editorial published by the California Progress Report this month that
Walmart will soon sell a special factory-made corn manufactured by
Monsanto, which while it will allow most of Americans more easy access
to affordable food, will also fill them with unknown insecticides: the
very GMO crop Walmart will be selling has been genetically engineered to
include chemicals right inside the corn.
Voters in California will decide later this year if retailers on the West Coast will be
legally bound to correctly label all foodstuffs sold in shopping centers
that are made from lab-alerted, genetically modified foods.
Notwithstanding that ruling, one of the largest retailers in the world
says that they won’t worry about advertising their GMO foods as the
product of scientists in the meantime because, simply, they don’t see
enough of a reason to do as such. "After closely looking at
both sides of the debate and collaborating with a number of respected
food safety experts, we see no scientifically validated safety reasons
to implement restrictions on this product," company representative Dianna Gee tells the Chicago Tribune.
Critics of that stance say that the explanation is flawed, though. With GMOs
still being a relatively new science and industry, the true safety of
foods made in labs has not been thoroughly tested because the
long-lasting effects have yet to be analyzed. That’s why people in
California are rallying to pass Proposition 37, a legislation that will
require that products sold in the state are labeled as GMOs if they fit
the description. "How would you ever know if there are adverse health effects?" Michael Hansen, a senior scientist at Consumers Union, the policy arm of Consumer Reports, adds to the Tribune. "There
has been a doubling of food allergies in this country since 1996. Is it
connected to genetically engineered foods? Who knows, when you have no
labeling? That is a problem." Monsanto, one of the biggest biotech companies in the world, isn’t that okay with efforts to pass the bill, though. They have so far donated hundreds of millions of dollars
towards a campaign established to stop the bill, No on 37. But in the
latest incident to unfold in the saga, Monsanto isn’t exactly offering
suggestions to come to a compromise either.
According to the New York Times, Monsantor Director of Corporate Communications Phil Angel said, ''Monsanto
should not have to vouch for the safety of biotech food. Our interest
is in selling as much of it as possible. Assuring its safety is the
FDA's job.'' The FDA, on the other hand, disagrees.
California Progress Report reveals that, on the record, the Food and
Drug Administration insists, “Ultimately, it is the food producer who is responsible for assuring safety.”
Now unless the Proposition 37 passes, Walmart says that they will not go
out of their way to inform their customers as to what exactly they are
getting either, leaving millions of Americans to shop at the country’s
most popular store without being aware of what risks are at hand.
Opponents of the effort to label foods insist that passing Prop 37 will leave
America’s agriculture and food shopping economy in shambles because it
will scare consumers, though. "Prop. 37 leaves consumers with the incorrect impression that there is something wrong with GE crops, when that is not true,” No on 37 spokesperson Kathy Fairbanks tells the Associated Press.
Walmart agrees, and now plans on letting all GMOs go onto their shelves
unlabeled at the 4,000 or so stores across this country. With Walmart
growing from having 6 percent to a full quarter of nationwide grocery
sales in just a decade and a half, though, a win for them can eventually
mean a loss for anyone in America who is concerned with what’s going
into their bodies. “It’s an epic food fight between the pesticide companies and consumers who want to know what’s in their food,” Yes on 37 media director Stacy Malkan tells the Associated Press

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GMO's are dangerous for human consumption. You ought to research it a bit.

GMO Education
http://www.responsibletechnology.org...the-ge-process

What is a GMO?

A GMO (genetically modified organism) is the result of a laboratory
process where genes from the DNA of one species are extracted and
artificially forced into the genes of an unrelated plant or animal. The
foreign genes may come from bacteria, viruses, insects, animals or even
humans. Because this involves the transfer of genes, GMOs are also known
as “transgenic” organisms.

This process may be called either Genetic Engineering (GE) or Genetic Modification (GM); they are one and the same.

What is a gene?

Every plant and animal is made of cells, each of which has a center
called a nucleus. Inside every nucleus there are strings of DNA, half of
which is normally inherited from the mother and half from the father.
Short sequences of DNA are called genes. These genes operate in complex
networks that are finely regulated to enable the processes of living
organisms to happen in the right place and at the right time.

How is genetic engineering done?

Because living organisms have natural barriers to protect themselves
against the introduction of DNA from a different species, genetic
engineers must force the DNA from one organism into another. Their
methods include:

Using viruses or bacteria to "infect" animal or plant cells with the new DNA.
Coating DNA onto tiny metal pellets, and firing it with a special gun into the cells.
Injecting the new DNA into fertilized eggs with a very fine needle.
Using electric shocks to create holes in the membrane covering
sperm, and then forcing the new DNA into the sperm through these holes.

Is genetic engineering precise?

The technology of genetic engineering is currently very crude. It is not
possible to insert a new gene with any accuracy, and the transfer of
new genes can disrupt the finely controlled network of DNA in an
organism.

Current understanding of the way in which DNA works is extremely
limited, and any change to the DNA of an organism at any point can have
side effects that are impossible to predict or control. The new gene
could, for example, alter chemical reactions within the cell or disturb
cell functions. This could lead to instability, the creation of new
toxins or allergens, and changes in nutritional value.

But haven't growers been grafting trees, breeding animals, and hybridizing seeds for years?

Genetic engineering is completely different from traditional breeding and carries unique risks.

In traditional breeding it is possible to mate a pig with another pig to
get a new variety, but is not possible to mate a pig with a potato or a
mouse. Even when species that may seem to be closely related do succeed
in breeding, the offspring are usually infertile—a horse, for example,
can mate with a donkey, but the offspring (a mule) is sterile.

With genetic engineering, scientists can breach species barriers set up
by nature. For example, they have spliced fish genes into tomatoes. The
results are plants (or animals) with traits that would be virtually
impossible to obtain with natural processes, such as crossbreeding or
grafting.

What combinations have been tried?

It is now possible for plants to be engineered with genes taken from
bacteria, viruses, insects, animals or even humans. Scientists have
worked on some interesting combinations:

Spider genes were inserted into goat DNA, in hopes that the goat
milk would contain spider web protein for use in bulletproof vests.
Cow genes turned pigskins into cowhides.
Jellyfish genes lit up pigs' noses in the dark.
Artic fish genes gave tomatoes and strawberries tolerance to frost.

Field trials have included:

Corn engineered with human genes (Dow)
Sugarcane engineered with human genes (Hawaii Agriculture Research Center)
Corn engineered with jellyfish genes (Stanford University)
Tobacco engineered with lettuce genes (University of Hawaii)
Rice engineered with human genes (Applied Phytologics)
Corn engineered with hepatitis virus genes (Prodigene)
Potatoes that glowed in the dark when they needed watering.
Human genes were inserted into corn to produce spermicide.