OMG GMO
God makes all things good; man meddles with them and they become evil.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
When we first acquired our chickens we went off to the local agricultural suppliers to buy chicken food. No problem. £7 a bag! It was only when we got home and read the label we realised it contained genetically modified corn and maize. Isn’t this banned in the UK? Obviously not. We returned it only to be told that this major agricultural outlet couldn’t supply Non-GMO food. They suggested we try the pet shop. (We have since found good Non-GMO suppliers and, of course it is £12 a bag).
It slowly dawned on us that that probably all of the meats we buy at the supermarket and the dairy produce have come from animals fed genetically modified food (unless it says organic). Why should that concern you?
Modified corn’s DNA is equipped with a gene from soil bacteria called Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) that produces the Bt-toxin. It’s a pesticide; it breaks open the stomach of certain insects and kills them. It is inside the corn itself that these animals consume and it accumulates in them and in you as you eat the animals or their products.
In a survey, Bt toxin has been detected in the blood of 93 percent of pregnant women tested; 80 percent of babies; and 67 percent of non-pregnant women. Mounting evidence shows that the Bt-toxin produced in GM corn and cotton plants is toxic to humans and mammals and triggers immune system responses. You will find plenty of scientific papers saying GM foods are safe but this is another area where big money is involved and that means scientists are recruited to defend the indefensible and ensure their money train doesn’t come to a halt.