GMO food linked to health deterioration

The new study from Brazil revealed that Bt toxins are capable of targeting mammalian cells, particularly the erythroid (red blood) cells, resulting in red blood cell changes indicative of significant damage.

by Mary Budinger —

A new study has found that the Bacillus thuringensis (Bt) pesticides in genetically engineered (GE) crops may contribute to blood abnormalities, ranging from anemia to blood cancers, such as leukemia. While Bt has been used since the late 1960s in agriculture as a topical insecticide, it was only after the mid-’90s with the advent of recombinant DNA biotechnology that these pesticide genes were inserted into plant DNA. Today, these modified genes are commonly found in the U.S. food supply and in our bodies.

The new study from Brazil revealed that Bt toxins are capable of targeting mammalian cells, particularly the erythroid (red blood) cells, resulting in red blood cell changes indicative of significant damage. The study also found that Bt toxins suppressed bone marrow proliferation, thus creating abnormal lymphocyte patterns consistent with some types of leukemia. The researchers concluded that it is premature to consider GE toxins to be safe in mammals.

Another recent study links glyphosate — best known as the chief pesticide in Roundup® — to a wide range of human health problems and diseases, including Parkinson’s, infertility and cancer.

Glyphosate residues enhance the damaging effects of other food-borne chemical residues and toxins in the environment to disrupt normal body functions and induce disease, according to researchers Stephanie Seneff from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Anthony Samsel, a retired science consultant and a member of the Union of Concerned Scientists.

“Negative impact on the body is insidious and manifests slowly over time as inflammation damages cellular systems throughout the body,” the study states.

Monsanto is the developer of the Roundup herbicide, sprayed over millions of acres of crops and used as a popular household weed killer. Many environmentalists, consumer advocates and plant scientists worldwide have warned that the heavy use of glyphosate is causing problems for plants, people and animals.

Sources: Journal of Hematology & Thromboembolic Diseases, May 2013 and Entropy (Special Issue), “Biosemiotic Entropy: Disorder, Disease, and Mortality,” April 2013.

Mary Budinger is an Emmy award-winning journalist who writes about integrative medicine.

Reprinted from AzNetNews, Volume 32, Number 6, December 2013/January 2014.