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Holy cow! Food scientists have gone off the deep, DEEP end.
This time, scientists in New Zealand have actually cloned a copycat cow in an effort to produce milk with fewer allergens.
That’s right—scientists have actually produced a “Franken-Cow” in a wacko bid to produce allergy-free milk for our children. Never mind that this milk is hormonally-induced and genetically-modified. They’re still telling us it’s safe for human, even infant, consumption.
This all got started as a misguided attempt to eliminate the beta-lactoglobulin (BLG) whey protein in cow milk. As it happens, this is a minor protein to which many people are allergic. (This is not the substance responsible for lactose intolerance. That’s a sugar.)
Using a genetic engineering process called “targeted miRNA expression” (which alters the animals DNA), scientists at the University of Auckland, took a cell from a cow skin and altered the genes affecting a cow’s mammary gland to block the creation of BLG.
The researchers then “engineered” a cow with the changed genes that they named Daisy. Cute, right?
Since it takes two years for cows to lactate normally, the scientists gave Daisy artificial hormones so they could get milk from her right away. The result? Her milk had no detectable BLG, although it contained double the amount of casein.
Way to go, guys. Casein is a milk protein that can cause a severe food allergy in which the body’s immune system mistakenly thinks the protein is harmful and therefore attacks. It produces allergic (IgE) antibodies and histamine which can cause swelling of the lips, mouth, tongue, or throat, hives, nasal congestion, sneezing and chronic coughing.
The most serious reaction to casein allergy is called anaphylaxis, which can be life-threatening, especially in people who have asthma. This type of food allergy is the leading cause of anaphylaxis outside the hospital setting.
The problem is: We have no idea what the long-term effects of such profound messing around with an animal’s DNA might be. These scientists have no clue will happen to the animals, to the environment, and to our own health as a result of these Frankenstein-type experiments.
When will we stop trying to second-guess Mother Nature and our Creator – and apply our intelligence to living in harmony with this beautiful world, instead of destroying it with our greedy ambitions?
GMO (genetically-modified organisms) crops, such as soy and corn, have been secret ingredients in American diet since 1996. Most of us eat them on a daily basis. Yet no one has examine the long-term effects of this, and the FDA has turned a blind eye to the potential dangers.
While no one has a perfect picture of how GMOs affect our health or the natural world, more and more Americans are growing suspicious and concerned.
In 1993, Europe took the prudent stance of banning genetically-modified milk which contained the growth hormone rBGH. What was the FDA response? In the US, our ever-diligent FDA approved the sale of unlabeled rBGH milk, so none of us would even know we were drinking it.
Then, when consumer resistance grew, the FDA bowed to industry pressure and forced providers of hormone-free milk to put a disclaimer on their labels saying that no difference has been shown between the two types of milk.
It contains excess levels of Insulin-like-Growth Factor One (IGF-1) which some research indicates may increase the risk of breast and prostate cancer. And animals fed rGBH have been shown to have higher incidences of mastitis, lameness and reproductive problems.
This evidence eventually spurred Canada to join Europe in banning rGBH milk. In 1999, the Codex Alimentarius Commission, the United Nations Food Safety Agency which represents 101 nations worldwide, reviewed the ban, and ruled unanimously in favor of it.
Did you get that? Europe and Canada have banned genetically modified milk. The UN Food Safety Agency has ruled unanimously in favor of upholding this ban. And yet, in the US, genetically modified and hormone-laced milk does not even need to be labeled!
So why does big business inject cows with hormones?
Higher profits is the main reason. Cows injected with rGBH can increase their milk products by up to 15%.
There is, and always has been, a simpler, less horrific solution to “Franken-milk”: raw milk.
One of the main reasons people are allergic to milk is because the pasteurizing process destroys lactase enzymes, which help the body fight off allergies. These are the very same enzymes that make raw milk easier to digest.
But the dairy industry and FDA are making it harder — even criminal — for you and your children to drink healthy, fresh milk from your neighborhood farm. Farmers who distribute raw milk are actually getting thrown in jail, while genetically-modified, hormonally-induced milk from mutant cows is getting scientific funding.
And it isn’t just milk. Research from around the world is showing that GMO food products are adversely affecting our health.
Soy allergies in England rose by 50% the year after GM soybeans were permitted in the country. Research indicates that GM soybeans contain higher levels of allergens in them , compared to non-GMO soybeans.
Some scientists are discovering that GM wheat may suppress vital enzymes and lead to liver failure.
And new French research, just published this September, shows that corn, genetically modified with the pesticide Roundup, altered kidney function and disrupted the endocrine system of both male and female rats. The result? Cancerous tumors. Check this out…
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| On the left is a rat with tumors from eating Monsanto’s “Roundup-ready” genetically modified corn. On the right are the horrible tumors from drinking water with supposedly “safe” amounts of the weed-killer Roundup in it. |
In response to this disturbing study, Russia’s consumer-protection agency, known as Rospotrebnadzor, has announced a temporary ban on all imports of all GMO corn, pending further research.
We need GMO labeling on our food products
The Russians have it right. We can’t know what’s safe until there have been more serious long-term studies.
But big agribusiness, led by Monsanto, (the maker of many GMO products including GM corn and soy), is working fervently with our taxpayer-supported FDA, to keep the American public ignorant of what’s in our food. Unless you buy organic all the time, you have no way of knowing whether you are eating GMO crops or not.
But thereis something we can do to change this.
Right now, California citizens are waging a battle against unlabeled GMO food products. The measure will be voted on November 6th, so time is tight.
Unfortunately, if you don’t live in California, you can vote. But if you have friends there, you can educate them about why this is such an important issue.
Prop. 37 is important because if it passes in California, it could trigger a domino effect across the country. Monsanto and the other big food corporations are afraid of this, said their pumping hundreds of millions of dollars into various campaigns to defeat the measure.
You may not be able to vote in California, but you can support the pro-Prop. 37 movement. Click here to support the measure!
What is Proposition 37 — otherwise known as The California Right to Know Genetically- Engineered Food Act — asking for? Merely to have GMO food products clearly labeled so that consumers can make an informed choice.
Fifty countries around the world, which represent more than 40% of the world’s population, already have GMO labeling. This includes Europe, Japan, India and China. (Yes, China!) We deserve to have this right, too. Polls show that 90% of Americans want to know if our food is genetically- engineered.
Over 2,000 respected organizations around the US such as Consumer’s Union, the organization behind Consumer Reports, are fighting back for the elemental right for us to know what is in our food.
Agribusiness and complicit government regulatory agencies must hear that we won’t tolerate this threat to our health and safety. We must stop using tax dollars to fund ridiculous research that creates more poor Franken-Cows like Daisy, to produce milk that endangers our children’s’ health.
You can make a difference. If you live in California, please urge all your family, friends, and neighbors to vote yes on Prop. 37 — and to spread the word to all their friends and acquaintances
If you live elsewhere, please visit the California Right to Know Campaign to learn the facts and to lend your support. Other good guys in the fight include:
Alliance for Natural Health
Food Democracy Now!
The Non GMO Project.org
What have you done — or what will you do — to defend and preserve your right to know what’s in your food?
What advice, tips, or wisdom can you share with the rest of us?
Please add your comments here so we can all benefit. I look forward to reading your ideas.
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