Gaye Levy
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With all of the publicity given to the California ballot initiative on GMO labeling, I have seen little if nothing mentioned about an initiative in my little community that would ban GMO crops within the boundaries of our island county. And the truth is, while there are few places in the world that could remain effectively GMO-free, the San Juan Islands in Washington State is one of them.
If passed in November, an initiative measure in our county will prohibit the cultivation of crops, livestock and other organisms that have had genes intentionally modified in a way that did not occur by mating or natural recombination. We would essentially become a safe zone for non-GMO crops which in turn will preserve our ability to grow and control our food supply for years to come.
So why is this important and why is this being shared on a website that promotes prepping? I will get to that but first, a simplistic and easy to understand primer on GMOs.
A Brief Primer on GMOs
There are a lot of issues surrounding GMOs. Alas, many people recognize that they are “bad” but have not taken the time to learn why. Or perhaps they have taken the time but have had their eyes glaze over when faced with technical terminology or activist falderal.
Let me make things simple with a very brief explanation of what GMO’s are all about.
GMOs are organisms that have been created through through the gene-splicing techniques of biotechnology, allowing DNA from one species to be injected into another species. By taking the genetic material from one organism and inserting it into the permanent genetic code of another, numerous weird and obscene creations, such as potatoes with bacteria genes, “super” pigs with human growth genes, fish with cattle genes, and tomatoes with flounder genes have been created.
And that is just the tip of the iceberg.
These same creations are often bred with genes that not only allow them to tolerate weed killers but to also generate their own insecticides. These in turn are released into our environment, affecting our farmlands as well as our food supply. Did I happen to mention our health and the health of animals as well?
Examples of genetically modified crops, which have been commercially planted since 1996, include soy, corn, cotton, canola, sugar beets, alfalfa, papaya, summer squash, potato, tomatoes and sweet peppers. In addition, a genetically modified grass has recently been approved and the approval of genetically modified apples and salmon are pending.
With their ties to major corporations and the almighty dollar, the USDA, FDA and EPA are planning to fast track further approvals of GM crops, cutting the approval time down to just 18 months. GMOs, if you have not figured it out, are big business and a money scam pure and simple and for whatever reason, an alphabet soup of US agencies are in on it.
This is all happening in spite of a growing body of research indicating that GMO food products have adverse effects upon animal and human health. Scientists as well as whistleblowers within the GMO industry itself have produced evidence that GMOs are more toxic, allergenic and less nutritious than their natural counterparts. For a real eye-opening experience, take a look at the movie Genetic Roulette (available free online until October 31st and possibly longer). You will be sickened by what you see.
Why are preppers concerned about GMO crops?
Of course the problem, as it exists in most communities, including my own, is that contamination of traditional crops by genetically modified crops is generally acknowledged to be unavoidable since cross-contamination from nearby genetically modified crops can not be controlled. And so therein lies the need for entire communities to be GMO-Free, thus mitigating the effects of crop and seed cross pollination and contamination.
Do not underestimate this contamination issue because it presents a huge dilemma to those who prefer or who must grow their own food. Preppers, that group of motivated individuals seeking self-reliance and independence from big business and government controls, want to grow their food from heirloom type seeds that reproduce faithfully from one year to the next, thus insuring a steady stream of reliable seeds that can be harvested and planted in subsequent years.
Most preppers, myself included, cook their own food, bake their own bread, concoct their own DIY cleaning supplies and know how to build and fix things themselves. Added to that list is the growing of food – fruits and vegetables – in a sustainable and productive manner.
For all of us, it is important that we control the food that is produced in our gardens. We want our seeds to be viable and to reproduce themselves as nature intended. After all, we recognize that the time may come when our gardens become out a major source of sustenance. And that, over and above everything, is our concern.
Do we want fish or antibiotic laden tomatoes in our gardens. No. Do we want plants that create a chemical pesticide and then spread that toxin to other plants and perhaps to ourselves? No.
As far as I can tell, the only way to eliminate these issues is to grow non-GMO crops and to prevent our neighbors crops from contaminating our own gardens and fields. Which gets me to where I started at the beginning of this article; this is what we are attempting to do in my community.
The Final Word
There are those that will say that prohibiting and policing the growing of GMO crops is impossible. And yes, that may be true on a global scale. But still, as with our prepping activities, each step we take as individuals to stop GMOs becomes an important one.
Whether enforceable or not, I hope the rest of the world will keep their eyes on my little community at election time. In some small way, if we do become GMO free, we may help change the world.
Enjoy your next adventure through common sense and thoughtful preparation!
Gaye
Spotlight: If you are interested in learning more, for the next few days (and possibly longer), you can watch the for free online at the “The Institute for Responsible Technology” website: Genetic Roulette, The Gamble of our Lives.
Here is the trailer:
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7 Responses to “Why Preppers Should Be Concerned About GMO Crops”
gofoods.com and mother earth products (see in right column above! Yea, Gaye!) both pledge no gmos in their foods, and both send nice samples for only the cost of shipping.
Want to know about the long (and short) term hazards of chemicals? Just ask a Nam Vet
about Agent Orange.
I totally support your view against GMO foods. All packaged food I purchase I always read the labels to make sure there is no corn, soy or cotton ingredients. Unfortunately most packaged food do carry those ingredients. You also have to look at all survival food you purchase. I notice you have links to Wise food. Their products do contain GMO ingredients. There are some long term food suppliers that carry non-GMO food but you have to ask every supplier what is in their food. With no labeling laws in place in the USA it is buyer beware!
Thank you so much for this “Food for thought”. Yeah I went there. : )
I had no idea. It’s kind of funny but I used to think that those that paid for organic foods were nuts for paying the higher prices. Maybe they are on to something after all.
Thanks Survival Woman!!
My way of showing thanks will be to click on your links to do my shopping since you are kind enough to give us this information for free. Big fan here!! : )
So lets say I eat a tomato with flounder genes. What happens. Well, since I didn’t sleepwalk through chemistry and biology in school, 100% of the food is broken down into it’s smallest molecules. That is the various proteins are broken up into individual protein molecules, the fats and carbohydrates too etc. This all happens in the stomach and the small intestine and once the food is broken up into tiny molecules it can be absorbed through the intestine walls. The proteins are used to build muscle and tissue, the fat is used for energy or stored, the carbohydrates are all converted to glucose and used to fuel your muscles and brain and any excess is converted to fat and stored. So how does it matter if the tomato had a flounder gene? And if it did matter somehow what happens when I eat flounder (which I assume is chock full of flounder genes)? This sillyness known as GMO derangement syndrome is pure pseudo-science. Is it possible that someday science will combine different plants and make something bad (like poison ivy or death cap)? Sure. Have they done it yet with GMO? No. So why the angst?
The bt genes are a real concern. bt was used as a natural insecticide in organic gardening. Some bright person decided if the poison was safe for human consumption when applied to the crops then it ought to be just as safe if the crop produced that self same poison. Never mind that the poison on the outside breaks down in a matter of days and can also be washed off. So now we have crops engineered to produce their own insecticide – a poison which we now ingest every time we eat a bt modified plant.
Oh and the flounder genes can be deadly to someone allergic to fish. When you eat a tomato you arent expecting those fish proteins. and when you dont know about which tomatoes have it you could be playing russian roullette.