The Future of American Agriculture: Genetically Engineered Arrogance and the Threat of the Anti-Life Sciences
Sep 19th, 2011 | By David | Category: Agri-Giants and GMOs, Food, Top Headline | Print This Article
Big agriculture and the life sciences industry have developed a symbiotic relationship that has proven fruitful – and profitable – for both sides. The result has been a flood of genetically engineered seeds, animals, and food crops that have entered the food chain since the 1980s, forever revolutionizing the way that farmers produce food for animal and human consumption. Not content to rely on the carefully crafted handiwork of the Creator, scientists working in the tradition started by Dr. Frankenstein so many years ago have total faith that they can improve on the Lord’s work and produce food sources that are superior to the plants and animals that have been feeding billions of humans throughout the ages.
But as we might expect from such hubris, things have proven to be far less fantastic than advertised. Numerous questions have been raised about the safety and reliability of all these genetically altered food products, and this has included concerns about how the introduction of bio-engineered crops into the real world might impact the evolutionary pathways of other life forms. Now, a situation has arisen in the cornfields of Iowa that underscores the kind of threat that accompanies the release of man-made creations into the natural environment.
Fields of Dreams, or Fields of Nightmares?
One of the ways that the so-called “life sciences” corporations responsible for providing the raw materials for our food supply try to improve on nature is by creating seeds that grow plants capable of producing their own poisons to protect against damage from insects and other small living things. In Iowa, one popular brand of genetically engineered corn is supposedly resistant to rootworm damage because of its ability to synthesize biochemicals toxic to this destructive insect. However, rootworms resistant to the effects of this toxin have now been found in four cornfields by an entomologist from Iowa State University. No one doubts that this is only the beginning, and that this new type of rootworm will quickly expand to other fields, as nature always prefers mutations that confer survival advantages.
Throughout the Farm Belt, farmers have been rapidly embracing bio-engineered food crops with the capacity to kill potential predators through “natural” means. In addition, herbicide-resistant crops have been heavily promoted by the life sciences industry and adopted by farmers en masse. These plants can withstand high levels of herbicide without suffering damage, allowing farmers to use heavy amounts of weed killers to rid their fields of unwanted invaders. The promulgation of these toxic stews in the farm fields of America has become a part of the new methodology for producing bountiful crops, replacing the old pattern of frequent crop rotation as a way to help preserve the land and the vitality of the soil. When soil is able to maintain its natural rich density of life-giving nutrients, it allows farmers to grow healthier plants with natural resistance to predators (insects and harmful microbes tend to attack nutrient-deficient plant life first). Unfortunately, this old common-sense approach to agriculture has largely been abandoned in favor of an industrial-style approach that uses scientific trickery combined with relentless mechanical exploitation designed to overwhelm nature and force it to produce despite of itself.
Nature Takes its Revenge
At first consideration, the problem of predator adaptations like that of the Iowa rootworm may not seem like an especially serious problem. But what must be realized is that this process of evolutionary change spurred on by man’s reckless disregard for the dictates of God and nature is not something that can be expected to stop. More than twenty million acres of farmland in the Midwest and South are now plagued by superweeds resistant to all herbicides, thanks to the widespread use of herbicide-resistant crops by farmers in these parts of the country. Super predators like the rootworms that are currently poised to march across the cornfields of Iowa will also keep evolving, and they will keep infesting more and more acreage because that is nature’s way – superior life forms are the ones that thrive, spread, and survive.
Even though invaders and pests that can be destructive to plant life have been around since the beginning of time, the delicate balance of nature given to us by the Creator has always had mechanisms available to make sure that things never stayed too far out of balance for too long. But in the dialectic between biotechnology and evolutionary change, things only move in one direction: insects and microbes evolve to resist the defenses of genetically engineered plants, and scientists then respond by creating new crops capable of combating the ravages of the new superbugs and superweeds – which then mutate again to become even stronger in their resistance, causing still another response by scientists, and so on ad infinitum. As this one-way process plays itself out, it is a distinct possibility that destructive life forms may eventually evolve that are so hardy, fertile, and resistant to the advances of genetic science that they will be capable of wiping out crops broadly and indiscriminately across the globe, leading to massive food shortages and waves of mass starvation.
Or, alternatively, life scientists who have given themselves permission to play God may accidentally create something cataclysmic and apocalyptic all on their own. And the scary thing about this possibility is that it is not theoretical – it has actually already happened.
Klebsiella Planticola: The Real-Life Frankenstein’s Monster
In the early 1990′s, a European biotechnology corporation was all set to release a genetically modified version of a common plant bacteria called klebsiella planticola, which normally helps break down dead organic material so it can be re-absorbed into the soil. The new strain of this microbe was genetically altered to create two useful substances from undifferentiated dead biomass: alcohol and organic fertilizer. The new microbes would be spread on cropland after harvest, and the products they produced from dead and dying plants could then be collected and sold on world markets.
There was only one problem with this scheme. The genetically modified klebsiella planticola, unlike the natural version, did not terminate after finishing its work. On the contrary, the new microbe survived the fermentation process it instigated in order to create alcohol from raw plant material, and if it had been released into nature as a part of fertilizer, it would have immediately attacked any plant life growing in adjacent soil, setting off a process of alcohol fermentation that would inevitably lead to the death of that plant life. As the new bacterium divided and multiplied, it would then have continued to spread from plant to plant, from field to field, from forest to forest, and so on, until it had wiped out every living plant on the face of the earth. If this genetically-engineered form of klebsiella planticola had actually been released into nature, it could have literally scoured the surface of the entire planet unless scientists had been able to come up with some kind of miracle to stop it.
What is most frightening about this situation is that this apocalypse microbe had actually been approved for use by regulatory agencies responsible for monitoring the creation of new geneticallyaltered life forms. It was only because of a fortuitous and random review of this new form of klebsiella planticola by a professor at Oregon State University that its potentially devastating effects were discovered before it could be released onto the market.
Heeding the Warnings
The story coming out of the Iowa cornfields is only the latest piece of evidence that reveals the dangerous road that we have embarked upon. God created nature in a way that was perfectly balanced and capable of meeting the needs of all creatures great or small, without the need for arrogant intervention by men and women convinced they know better. If we are not careful, we are ultimately going to genetically engineer ourselves right out of existence.
©2011 Off the Grid News
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The arrogance of man to play God in Creation will be the apocalypse that destroys mankind..
Truly terrifying.
I work at a large retail plant nursery in NW Washington. Each year there are many “new” improved plants introduced for sale. They are also patented—- as are all the seeds Monsanto can get its hands on. The seeds will not produce plants that have viable seeds. BUY HEIRLOOM NOW!!!!!! Pray and know that we as Gods children are overcomers. Jesus prevails.
One more proof that MONETARY PROFIT/POWER has become more important than life itself. It isn’t “money” that is the root of all evil, but rather “the love of money”.
Is it me, or does it seem to other folks that this is only a part of what appears to be a Grant Scheme that will one day destroy us? Seems too organized and pointed not to be. It is becoming obvious that those in monetary/financial positions of power (banking systems) are in control now, not governments of countries.
God will one day have the last word. The processes by which we reach that point are unfolding. May God forgive our arrogance, for as Jesus said on the cross, “they know not what they are doing.”
This is very much as the end times prophecies say.
I wonder how many of these farmers that have bought into the GMOs are christian, and there for are going against the will of their God?
Would this be terrorism in another form? I kown they most do not allow GMOs into their lives.
u interchange creator and evolution? u cant have both, evolution is the worst science out there, actually it isnt science its lies! so where do u sit on the fence? i subscribed to this because of your godly stance, clearly i was mislead!
You may have mis-understood what was meant by evolution in this article. All species change over time as they adapt to their environment. Often times adaptation is accidentally referred to as evolution, when all that is meant is that species adapt.
there arer 2 types of evolution, macro and micro. Micro-evolution, which most all christians agree with is simply simple changes that aid a creature or plant with survivability, such as moths which tend to change color to adapt to the environment they live in, thus enough survive birds and the like, that their particular insect group survives. They NEVER change into something else, it is merely limited adaptability provided by God for their survival. Macro-evolution, in which we supposedly have species change from one to another is a joke.
I hope that news like this will continue to be spread. I think the trend to have family/local/community farms is growing. Someone mentioned before to grow only heirloom seeds, as all the GMO’s are going to be the end of us. Mankind is so arrogant! I think that this will be just one piece of the puzzle that will be our un-doing. I pray to stand tall and not deny the truth. It begins with each of us telling the truth. God created this wonderful world, and we’ve definately “strayed”. The more we try to control everything, engineer every “negative” out of our lives, the more out of balance we become. (i.e. too many anti-biotics have only created super bugs, etc) The fact is there is a life cycle for a reason! Perhaps, all this is happening to get us back into the Garden..of Eden that is!
I have gardened organically for years by the Bible standardsof which one verse tells us not to “mingle seed.” Leviticus 19:19a:”Ye shall keep my statutes. Thou shalt not let thy cattle gender with a diverse kind: thou shalt not sow thy field with mingled seed:….”
Someone gave me some free hybrid seed and when I used it in the garden I noticed that some of those hybrid seed plants would attract bugs. Then I would have to deal with the bugs by picking them off. I am now using heirloom seeds and since the plants are stronger I get better results and would reccommend using heirloom seed. You, of course, must use other good garden principles along with them for a good garden harvest. (Watering properly, weeding, keeping the garden clean, organic fertilizer, harvesting at peek times, etc.) A good garden does take work (which is one ingredient when left out results in garden failures), but is worth the wonderful harvests every year.
I also pray over my garden every year and quote these promises of God from Psalm 91:3: “Surely He shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence” and Psalm 91:10: “There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.” By applying and having faith in these two scriptures I have never had to use any poisonious sprays in my gardens since 1984 and I have always had an abundant harvest to feed my family and plenty to give away as well.
We should also pray against these evil GMO seeds from spreading and spreak out our objections to their use. Some farmers are just ignorant and do not know the danger of using them. I am thankful “Off The Grid” is educating people of this danger.
reply to weapon4
I am certain that someone else could explain this more scientifically than I, but the “evolution” referred to above surely refers to microevolution–small changes that occur due to exposure to environmental factors such as pesticides and herbicides. For example, we now have MRSA (methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus). We have created superbugs by the indiscriminate use of antibiotics.
This is not referring to evolution as taught in the schools–change from one species to another, from ape to man as you may be thinking. Microevolution occurs all the time. This is the survival of the fittest. When some plants or animals are more resistant to invasive diseases, etc., they survive, often carrying that resistance with them to pass on to future generations, while the weaker ones die. I believe this in no way speaks against God, our Creator. I believe in a literal 6 days of creation. It is when man thinks in his miniscule brain that he can play God that the trouble arises. Genetic engineering and embryonic stem cell research are such examples.
@Believer:
Well said.
I been watching GMO thing now for some time and ihave one question where have all the people of this country had there heads ? wecan no more blame bankers than the man in the moon,just look at the giant houses we build they are houses not homes. where did these evil bankers come from? We the people must accept responsability for what WE have created in our image. We as a people have brought this on ourselves and now wedo not like what we created. I remember the late 50′s and 60′s all you herd was go to collage be better than your parents, now we are short on tradsmen we import our big thinkers from India our workers from Mexico .We have greedy self centerd lazy people that know all the answers,sadley the were never tought to understand the questions.
I recently read an article by Paul Mcguire that he has information that research is being done on creating what is called “Transhumans” which is mixing the DNA of humans, animals and Nephilium (the product of humans and demons producing children together-its in the Old Testament – Genesis 6, – and produced the giants of the Old Testament), to produce a super race. It was his opinion that this was the reason God destroyed man in the flood because of the mixing of the DNA of humans and demons and that where God said Noah was perfect may have mean’t that his family line DNA was pure and not defiled by this mixing. He didn’t know where they were getting the DNA of the Nephillium. If anyone is interested in reading it put in paul mcguire and his website will come up. Its a scary article if it is really going on. God said that before the return of Jesus it would be like it was in the days of Noah – Matthew 25:35 – 39. This article is about the mixing of seed. God said that seed produces after its own kind in Genesis. How far will God allow this to go before He stops it?
Please everybody we must not be 1 tracked minded. I dont believe in God. But I believe we are kind loving creatures. Lets focus on the goal of making a great place to live for our children. Believers and nonbelievers can coexist without hatred. I do it everyday.
Question for anyone out there with info on corn anomalies. I bought an heirloom corn seed variety called “Howling Mob” for the 2010 garden season but didn’t get around to planting it until this year. Some of the ears developed with only silk and no husks. Others didn’t even have silks only bare cob, but most developed normally. On a few of the tassels, there formed 4 small ears at the base of the tassels with a small row of corn kernels. This is very strange. I wondered if the seed may have been contaminated with GMO cross-pollination. If anybody has information on this I’d love to know. I’m contacting the seed company about the matter as well.
I do understand that the recombinate DNA does not remain stable inside the nucleus is successive generations and “floats” around replacing itself in new areas. This is my hypothosis.
thats the reason i use organic compost for my raised bed gardens and have a bunch of heirloom seeds we buy as much of our foods as we can from local farms we raise our own chickens for fresh eggs and next year we will be raiseing our own pigs for pork one of our friends told us about a farmer that sells feild raised beef animals he buys one from him every year and they are all organic fed and priced really reasonably my wife and i have been learning to can our own foods trying to find ways to save as much money as we can but this being our second year canning it isent a really cheap start up buying jars and lids but now every time we pick up a case of jars we pick up 5 boxes of lids so we are getting a good supply of the lids abd jars our goal is to put up 4 cases of quart jars a month and the same with the pint jars the half pint jars we use for our jams and jellies we are only putting up a half case of them a month im thinking about adding to the pint and quart jars for stuff like pickles and meats but i dont trust the fda or any goverenment office they are all under control of the big money corporations like monsantos and the pharmacies not for whats safe for the people but we are almost as bad as they are cause we keep buying the garbage they pass of as food to give them bigger profits to sell us more of it we should all have something for a food garden even if its only a few 5 gal buckets with some tomatoe plants its a start the more of us that take controls of our own foods the healthier we will be besides the food you raise and grow just is better and you know its fresher and whats in it
Dear concerned friends.
This is not about religion. This is simply about greed and control. $Billion corporations can buy anything they want without exception and with out conscience. While you and I and the planet are sick and dying they, as a calculating group have and are investing in remote places all over the world to live. Miles away from the destruction they have caused – eating only heirloom everything flown in from anywhere in the world that is safe and remote from GMO contamination, all the while selling GMO to all of us and raking in more money than they can ever spend. These vultures are not dumb. They know exactly what they are doing. We can’t stop them, they are too big and powerful. The only thing we can do is to tell everyone we meet the truth about what is going on. Most won’t believe it, but at least the info has been planted in their head – more open to concern.
For a long time now, I have seen and heard about the growing epidemic of allergies. Allergies to peanuts ( peanut butter, a staple food for people for thousands of years). Wheat, another staple around the world for thousands of years. My friends little son is allergic to tomatoes! Unheard of 60 years ago. The allergy list gets longer every year. It is unbelievable that no one is questioning or seeing a correlation here with GMO.
Our DNA may see GMO food as alien to the body and perhaps reacts to it as poison. Eating a tomato with the genes of a salmon has never been eaten on this planet before – but it is now, and what is it doing to our DNA when we eat it? I would be happy to have this published. We need as answers.
Let’s all work peacefully together regardless of our positions on religion and God.
Your comments are correct, from the information that I have read….The agenda of the
“elite” is to kill off 85% of the people on the earth, and they go to their underground bunkers should nuclear devastate the earth. The good news is that the “earthquakes” in August recently that shook the eastern part of the US was really the result of a group destroying 2 of their underground bunkers….one under Washington, and one under Colorado…(Denver Airport) What a lot of people DON”T realize is that most of the packaged food that they are buying and feeding their families contains GMO food, especially corn, soybeans, and wheat. This is very bad for the human body, and probably the major reason for autoimmune diseases that people are getting. Between their vaccines (eugenics) and GMO pollution of our food, they are destroying the health that people were originally given by God, because the human body has the miraculous ability to heal itself when given the right elements. There is good articles on this on the website called livehealthyforless.com Monsanto is buying up huge tracts of land everywhere to grow these GMO crops on including in Hawaii, the forests of the US etc. and what this does is…it does cross pollinate with good non gmo crops and ruins them. It’s bad for the animals that eat this GMO grain, and not even natural for cows to be fed all these grains, they are supposed to eat grass,as they have more than one stomach to digest it. That is why they are having to give them antibiotics because it causes diseases in the cattle, also the GMO’s are killing some of the animals. I hope people will think hard about what they are buying and putting into their bodies, especially their little children’s bodies. God Bless and Kind Regards
Very interesting. I’ve heard these things before on the radio show. I am disabled with heart failure, live in apartment, with no automobile; I buy food at supermarkets but only buy fresh meats and vegetables, and try to avoid processed foods when I can. my health is not the best lately. thank you for this information, I will try to make better choices and avoid foods that have GMO issues associated with them. I cook with Safflower oil and avoid soybean oil and Canola oil due to GMOs. However, I like mayonaise and haven’t found any made without Soy or Canola oils. Discretionary shopper and I read Labels before I buy anything. I recently purchased Krill oil capsules and Vitamin D supplements from Dr. Newton’s Naturals and recommend them Highly. I really noticed an improvement in my health. I hope I have helped someone else by this testimonial. I am a Bible believing Christian; and I agree that God didn’t make any mistakes when HE designed the food we should eat. I appreciate your similar beliefs and your article; bless you!
Hey Hugh,
Don’t sweat the small stuff like the negligible amount of soy or canola oil in your mayo. Sounds like you’ve taken care of the big stuff regarding your diet. Sorry to hear about your current health status. I’ve been studying nutrition and alternative health treatments for a few years and have helped a few people resolve some heart issues. If you have any questions concerning your condition as it pertains to natural remedies I will be happy to help.
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