Hello DietDetective readers, I’d like to start by thanking you all for the invitation to join you in talking about the very complicated issues surrounding our diets.  Some days it feels like you need three Ph.D’s and a calculator to select a snack.  There’s so very much information and the more you hear the more confusing it seems to get.  Ugghh

It would be nice for me to go back to the 1950's for a day.  The supermarket in town was smaller than the Starbucks we have now and local dairies supported them both.  Reusable glass bottles kept the milk pure.  Inside the store the choices were fresh, frozen or canned.  Cereal options were a mix of wheat, oat, corn and bran.  Pick a shape, with or without sugar and raisins and that’s where the selection ended until two scoops of raisins came along. 

Now the information and options for cereal alone are endless, and shopping, especially if you’re trying to feed a family is more stressful than a root canal.  It should not be that way and hopefully, together we can sort through much of what the food industry promotes on their behalf, from what the regulation allows and independent medical experts view as safe.

My specialization is the legislation, politics, science and spin surrounding genetically engineered foods. It’s a mouthful to say and even more to swallow.  What could be less appetizing then a blend of toxic food facts and politics?  Not very much, which is unfortunate since so much of the food is knee deep in political, you know what, now,

By the end of WWII there were strong ties between the largest food producing companies and Uncle Sam.  Feeding the troops required vast production methods and the larger companies like Kellogg’s and ADM benefited tremendously.  They continue to enjoy benefits of government programs, subsidies and partnerships. 

Other war contractors, like Dupont, bought vast amounts of soybeans for manufacturing explosives. They looked for markets to get profit from the leftover soy protein and soy meal.  Using a technique from the Nazi science experiments, they removed the offensive smell and taste from the soy waste and began to use it as animal feed and extenders in feeding the troops.  Soy was the agricultural gold, banging home the per acre profits. There is still, an inexhaustible appetite by agribusiness, for planting soy. 

By the time Nixon was in the White House, soy was approved for use as binder in cereal boxes.  It required destroying a longstanding, consumer protection called the Delaney Clause.  The clause prohibited and food item from being compromised by a suspected carcinogen.  Industry lobbyists chipped away at that until 1994 when Monsanto was allowed to begin their population wide feeding experiment with rBGH, genetically modified, bovine growth hormone. 

The World Health Organization expert committee and 101 Nations voted unanimously to ban the rBGH because of the dreadful health effects for the cows and the increased risks of cancers, diabetes, and more that were shown to be caused by the Monsanto milk elevating the IGF-1 hormones.  The only benefit to the product, marketed as Monsanto’s Trademark Posilac, was that the cows could be milked non stop for years, producing a bit more milk per day.  The dairy industry was and continues to be plagued by an oversupply.  No one needed or wanted more milk.  Treated cows have high rates of infection requiring antibiotics, that pass to the milk and on to resistance and base line dosing in consumers. 

Not only has Congress stood behind the policy of allowing questionable food treatments to exist, they have refused to aid consumers in any way to legally identify ingredients, protecting the rights of secret corporate policies over consumers right to know.

That’s probably enough for anyone to swallow at once.  If you do have some general questions about the genetically engineered foods you’d like to pursue right now there are pages of resources and references that will point you to groups offering a full spectrum of fantastic insights for every interest level and age and if not just ask.  Enjoy and eat well!

 For more information: http://www.roundupreadynation.com/

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