Sunday, July 17, 2011

After 900 Miles, One Question Remained Unanswered

Question:  Do the Bio-Engineers responsible for Genetically Modified Corn buy Organic Milk ?

Now for a little back story on how the question popped up in my head.. Last week, I took my two boys on a road trip to Idaho to visit some family and get out of L.A. for a little while. We opted to drive this time so we could enjoy the Eastern Sierras and all of the expansive views and interesting towns they have offer along the way. Each way the trip is roughly 900 miles with pretty long distances between most of the little towns.

On the return trip from Boise while driving through the wide open and desolate grasslands of South East Oregon, I picked up an A.M. radio station that I was able to listen to for a couple of hours until just a little past somewhere outside of Winnemuca, NV. The topics on this particular radio program ranged from alien abduction to genetically mutated goats (I kid you not) and pigs with human hearts rather than humans with pig hearts. One of the callers on the show really sparked my interest, because he was speaking about Genetically Modified Crops, a subject in which I have a lot of interest. As he was speaking about the possibility of a termination gene possibly wiping out all of the native grasses and weeds in North America and turning the country into a big dirt mound, the radio host asked a really good question that I had often wondered myself but never had the time to learn about. The question was - "How do they make a corn plant or soybean plant resistant to Roundup?" The answer given to the question was that scientists modify the DNA allowing the plant to absorb herbicide, rather than be destroyed by it.

For those of you that aren't aware, Roundup is a herbicide that kills everything, not just "weeds". If there were to be a family tree of Herbicides you could say that Roundup has a cousin that goes by the name of DDT, and another cousin named Agent Orange- you may have heard of them. Nasty stuff.

The radio had turned to complete static and there was nothing else I could pick up. My boys were fast asleep and we had a couple of hours until we arrived in Reno to stay the night.  As the miles were stacking up, I started to wonder about the pesticides and herbicides that accumulate inside of plants and how much Roundup is inside each little kernel of corn. I was wondering how things may or may not might have been different in our lives if we didn't give our kids organic milk or watch what they eat. As a parent I am now much more hyper sensitive to the potential and actual harms that things like pesticides and herbicides in our diets can cause. My mind kept circling back to the word "proof". There was really no way to "prove" all of the points about organic foods being more beneficial to your health.. or was there?
I thought that the scientists behind the creation of the Genetically Modified Corn must know of all of the possible health repercussions caused to humans by eating foods created with or made by GM corn. And corn is a major part of a Dairy Cow's diet, and Toxins pass from the corn through the cow into the milk and then into our bodies. Sooooooooo, if this stuff is actually bad for us than what do those responsible for creating it do to avoid it ?
Which brings us to my question that goes unanswered for now, and that is.. Do the scientists responsible for Genetically Modified Corn buy Organic Milk ?

My guess would be yes.

1 comment:

  1. Great info! I use organic coconut milk, it is non-GMO and plant derived. I buy mine from OrganicMarketOnline.com, check it out at http://www.organicmarketonline.com/natural-value-coconut-milk/organic-coconut/gy260

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