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February 17, 2005Tainted MaizeLet them eat corn, eh? Just yesterday it was reported that modified corn never approved for human consumption is being handed out as U.N. food aid to Guatemala. (See article below.) Why is genetically modified corn such a danger? Well, for one thing, in Guatemala small farmers save a portion of the corn from each harvest for the next planting season. So the corn is not only eaten as food, and sold in the market for income, but it also stored as seed for the next planting season. Another worry is that the genes from the "Frankencorn" are easily passed to the native corn species by wind-blown pollen. “We don’t know to what extent these genetically modified plants could just take over and cause other species of corn to die off,” according to a NAFTA research panel, “but that possibility is out there.” Which spells serious trouble for the 20,000 varieties of corn in Mexico and Central America, and the millions of farmers that depend on them for their livelihoods and sustenance. As the continued StarLink contamination shows, it is very difficult to eliminate all traces of any type of grain once it has been mixed in with others. "It's hard to put the toothpaste back in the tube," said Iowa Assistant Attorney General Steve Moline. And then there is the very reassuring comment from the mad scientists pushing this stuff: "no health risks have been proven." What an interesting way of looking at the issue. I would have thought it wiser to prove that genetically-modified foods were 100% safe BEFORE allowing them on the market! According to a 1993 article: The StarLink corn variety, engineered to produce its own pesticide, was supposed to be limited to animal feed and industrial use out of fear it might cause severe allergic reactions. Yummy. Want some tortillas, my friend? Group says U.N. doling out banned foods AP, Guatemala City - Environmental groups said Wednesday that they have discovered that banned genetically modified food — including a variety of corn forbidden for humans in the United States — is being handed out in U.N. food aid to Central America and the Caribbean. A study backed by Friends of the Earth found that samples of World Food Program shipments collected in Guatemala included StarLink, a corn long ago pulled from the market in the United States because of concerns it could cause allergic reactions. Discovery of StarLink corn in consumer products in the United States prompted several high-profile supermarket recalls of cornmeal, corn dogs, taco shells, soup and chili mixes in 2000 and 2001. The study looked at 77 samples of imported corn in aid shipments or sold on the open market. Eighty percent was reported to include genetically modified material. The grain sent to Guatemala was intended for human consumption in products like tortillas, members of the Central American Alliance in Defense of Biodiversity said at a news conference in Guatemala. In Rome, World Food Program spokeswoman Anthea Web said that "we have found absolutely no evidence there is any health safety issue" with genetically modified foods. Wagner Ochoa, a Friends of the Earth activist in Guatemala, said that several recipients of the food aid have complained that the corn "has a funny taste". "Many of the people we have asked say that when they have corn of their own to eat, they feed the corn they get from the WFP to their chickens or pigs, because it's in bad condition," he added. Ochoa said the WFP delegation in Guatemala imported 22,000 tons of corn last year, at a cost of 72 million dollars. "There are regions in our countries with a surplus of corn and other grains, which means food could be purchased here, with guarantees that it has not been contaminated by transgenics," said the activist. StarLink Logistics says on its Internet site that it is working to direct any remaining corn containing the questioned protein to animal feed and nonfood uses. Posted by elcanche at February 17, 2005 03:28 PMComments
Didn't you consume some tortillas a couple of weeks ago? In fact, you made everyone drool over a wonderful looking dinner. Yes? Even some of the organizations that are suppose to help--hurt. Why? Posted by: Carol at February 23, 2005 11:40 AM |
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