Over the last few days there has been a flurry of blogging activity about a study claiming “organ-toxic effects” in mice fed with GMO corn. The summaries of the study one sees are certainly scary, but if you read the original paper it is not nearly as clear as these commentators imply - in fact it is a really strange paper to read (seriously, have a look). Rather than go into the many legitimate questions about this research, I will simply refer you to a very lively, but technically sharp comment stream about it. Instead of getting into this fray I’d like to try to put this new “threat” into perspective.
Irony
It is ironic that at the same time this uproar is swirling around one bit of uncorroborated evidence for toxicity in corn, an extremely well documented toxin is occuring at unusually high levels in the 2009 US corn crop that is now entering the food supply. Yet there is no outrage, no activism, no calls for a ban, not even a mention on a “green blog” (until now). What am I talking about? If you had been following the specialized (but very public) press for farmers, grain traders and ethanol producers this fall and winter, you would know that there has been an exceptionally high level of contamination of the US corn crop this year with a toxic chemical called deoxynivalenol or “DON.” This contaminant is an epoxy-sesquiterpeneoid that is a “type B trichothecene.” It is a protein synthesisinhibitorwhich has the effect of increasing the brain’s uptake of tryptophan and thus to make more serotonin. It also irritates the gut.Animals exposed to it reduce their feed intake, sometimes severely, and they develop esaughageal stomach ulcers. It has potential chronic effects as well having been shown to be genotoxic in a chromosomal aberration assay with rat hepatocytes. The levels of this toxin are high enough this year that it has changed the balance of truck and rail traffic in parts of the Midwest as pork producers in particular scramble to avoid the toxin by shifting feed sources (swine are particularly sensitive to the toxin).
[Editor's Note: This is a guest post by Will Potter, author of Green is the New Red.]
The FBI labels the environmental and animal rights movements the number one domestic terrorism threat. Those activists have never flown planes into buildings, taken hostages or sent anthrax through the mail. So how did they make it to the top of the government’s list?
Here are 10 ways you can be labeled an eco-terrorist:
“Protests are part of a healthy democracy,” said Rochelle Rees, Gilchrist’s girlfriend. “The police are supposed to be protecting that but instead they are inhibiting it. It’s foolish of them since stomping on peaceful protest is the best way to make people more extreme and push them underground.”
Encouraged by reading about heroes who have taken direct action through non-violent resistance, I recently contacted the California’s North Coast chapter of Earth First! to volunteer my services. You can imagine my surprise when they explained to me that their top foe, the Maxxam Company, was recently taken over by the Humboldt Redwood Company and the Mendocino Redwood Company.
In direct contrast to its predecessor, HRC has committed itself to preserving the remaining old growth forest on its property. Now, North Coast Earth First! is focusing on introducing a bill that will ban clear cutting in all of California.
Research quickly revealed assembly bill 2926, a bill proposed by Sally Lieber last April but killed in committee after heavy opposition from timber lobbyists.
I checked the Humboldt Redwood Company’s web page but the site was under construction under the some sections like forest management and issues & policies. I also checked Mendocino Redwood Company after hearing about positive reformation from them too from NCEF.
The North American Earth Liberation Front Press Office has issued a statement against the proposed bailout for the ‘big 3’ automakers. In particular, the release voices their opposition to bailing out General Motors due to their resistance to improving fuel-efficiency.
“General Motors deserves bankruptcy,” said Jason Crawford, a press officer for the ELF. “Fully aware of America’s dependence on foreign oil and the horrific environmental impact of the Hummer—an 8,500-pound monstrosity that yields an average of 10-mpg—GM continued producing gas-guzzling, polluting vehicles.”
From our friends at ZapRoot: Farmers take it to the extreme to protect their crops. The Auto Alliance has jump on the green bandwagon. These Guys are Full of **it returns.
