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Geneticist David Suzuki SaysHumans “Are Part Of A Massive

Experiment” November 25, 2013 by Arjun Walia. 14 Comments.

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We are doing our part to try and spread the word

about GMOs, (genetically modified organisms) but we‟re not the only ones. Multiple public figures,

scientists and researchers have been speaking out about GMOs for a number of years. For

example, not long ago a former Canadian Government Scientist at Agriculture Canada, Dr. Thierry

Vrain (one of many) spoke out against GMOs. Another prominent public figure, Geneticist David

Suzuki has been a long time advocate against GMOs, and has been speaking out about how they

can be hazardous to human health as well as the environment. Below, I‟ve provided a video

example of Suzuki explaining why he feels the way he does about GMOs. Public figures with a wide

audience can have a great impact on the consciousness of the masses, they are great „tools‟ for

waking more people up to the reality that GMOs can be harmful to human health as well as the

environment. It‟s time to pay attention, do your own research and to question what you‟ve been told.

We can no longer trust branches of the government that deal with food and health, we must not

take their word for it, it‟s better if you actually look into it yourself rather than blindly believing what

your are told.

It doesn‟t seem to be much of a debate anymore, it‟s clear that GMOs can indeed be harmful to

human health. There is a reason why a majority of countries around the world have permanently

banned GMOs, so what‟s taking North America so long? One reason might be the fact that biotech

corporations like Monsanto seem to be above the government and influence policy, but thankfully

these things are changing. Big Island, Hawaii has recently banned all GMO products and bio-tech

company products. Various bills calling for moratoria on GE food include Vermont, North Dakota,

Boulder, Colorado, San Francisco and more.

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This large movement against GMOs is not based on belief, multiple researchers and scientists all

around the world have shown that GMOs can be harmful.  Here is a study that shows how Bt toxins

found in Monsanto crops can be damaging to red blood cells, and potentially cause

leukemia. Here is another one that shows how GMO animal feed caused severe stomach

inflammation and enlarged uteri in pigs. There have been multiple studies linking GMOs to cancer,

and a range of other diseases. Scientists all over the world have come together to show their

support for the ban of GMOs.

Along with GMOs come the pesticides, which have been linked

to cancer, parkinson‟s, autism and alzheimer‟s, to name a few.

As you can see, alternative media outlets are not the only ones doing their research. Most who

investigate this topic, and do the research for themselves will come to the same conclusions. This is

what David Suzuki and many others have done as well.

By slipping it into our food without our knowledge, without any indication that there are genetically

modified organisms in our food, we are now unwittingly part of a massive experiment.

The FDA has said that genetically modified organisms are not much different from regular food, so

they’ll be treated in the same way. The problem is this, geneticists follow the inheritance of genes,

what biotechnology allows us to do is to take this organism, and move it horizontally into a totally

unrelated species. Now David Suzuki doesn’t normally mate with a carrot and exchange genes,

what biotechnology allows us to do is to switch genes from one to the other without regard to the

biological constraints. It’s very very bad science, we assume that the principals governing the

inheritance of genes vertically, applies when you move genes laterally or horizontally. There’s

absolutely no reason to make that conclusion.

Below is an article written by David Suzuki and Faisal Moola. At the beginning concerns with the

210 release of the super-genetically modified corn called „SmartStax,‟ are mentioned which has

now shown to be harmful to human health and banned all over the world. This article was written in

2009, but still has some good information.

By David Suzuki with Faisal Moola

In gearing up for the 2010 release of its super-genetically modified corn called „SmartStax‟, 

agricultural-biotechnology giant Monsanto is using an advertising slogan that asks,  „Wouldn‟t it be

better?‟ But can we do better than nature, which has taken millennia to develop the plants we use

for food?

We don‟t really know. And that in itself is a problem. The corn, developed by Monsanto with Dow

 AgroSciences, “stacks” eight genetically engineered traits, six that allow it to ward off insects and

two to make it resistant to weed-killing chemicals, many of which are also trademarked by

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Monsanto. It‟s the first time a genetically engineered (GE) product has been marketed with more

than three traits.

Canada approved the corn without assessing it for human health or environmental risk, claiming

that the eight traits have already been cleared in other crop seeds —  even though international

food-safety guidelines that Canada helped develop state that stacked traits should be subject to afull safety assessment as they can lead to unintended consequences.

One problem is that we don‟t know the unintended consequences of genetically engineered or

genetically modified (GM) foods. Scientists may share consensus about issues like human-caused

global warming, but they don‟t have the same level of certainty about the effects of genetically

modified organisms on environmental and human health!

A review of the science conducted under the International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge,

Science and Technology for Development in 2008 concluded that “there are a limited number of

properly designed and independently peer-reviewed studies on human health” and that this and

other observations “create concern about the adequacy of testing methodologies for commercial

GM plants.” 

Some have argued that we‟ve been eating GM foods for years with few observable negative

consequences, but as we‟ve seen with things like trans  fats, if often takes a while for us to

recognize the health impacts. With GM foods, concerns have been raised about possible effects on

stomach bacteria and resistance to antibiotics, as well as their role in allergic reactions. We also

need to understand more about their impact on other plants and animals.

Of course, these aren‟t the only issues with GM crops. Allowing agro -chemical companies to create

GM seeds with few restrictions means these companies could soon have a monopoly over

agricultural production. And by introducing SmartStax, we are giving agro-chemical companies the

green light not just to sell and expand the use of their “super crops” but also to sell and expand the

use of the pesticides these crops are designed to resist.

A continued reliance on these crops could also reduce the variety of foods available, as well as the

nutritive value of the foods themselves.

There‟s also a reason nature produces a variety of any kind of plant species. It ensures that if

disease or insects attack a plant, other plant varieties will survive and evolve in its place. This is

called biodiversity.

Because we aren‟t certain about the effects of  GMOs, we must consider one of the guiding

principles in science, the precautionary principle. Under this principle, if a policy or action could

harm human health or the environment, we must not proceed until we know for sure what the

impact will be. And it is up to those proposing the action or policy to prove that it is not harmful.

That‟s not to say that research into altering the genes in plants that we use for food should be

banned or that GM foods might not someday be part of the solution to our food needs. We live in an

age when our technologies allow us to “bypass” the many steps taken by nature over millennia to

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create food crops to now produce “super crops” that are meant to keep up with an ever -changing

human-centred environment.

A rapidly growing human population and deteriorating health of our planet because of climate

change and a rising number of natural catastrophes, among other threats, are driving the way we

target our efforts and funding in plant, agricultural, and food sciences, often resulting in new GMfoods.

But we need more thorough scientific study on the impacts of such crops on our environment and

our health, through proper peer-reviewing and unbiased processes. We must also demand that our

governments become more transparent when it comes to monitoring new GM crops that will

eventually find their ways in our bellies through the food chain.

Sources:

http://davidsuzuki.org/blogs/science-matters/2009/09/more-science-needed-on-effects-of-

genetically-modifying-food-crops/  

- See more at: http://www.collective-evolution.com/2013/11/25/geneticist-david-suzuki-says-

humans-are-part-of-a-massive-genetic-experiment/#sthash.uhVb0ixT.dpuf