Thursday, July 17, 2008

Debunking the Propaganda: Genetically-Modified Crops No Answer to World Food Crisis

To hear it as told by some folks, genetically-modified foods are the ultimate solution to the world food crisis.

As long as you turn your brains off.

Seriously. This is the best thing since sliced Frankenbread...right?? In fact, it might get so "improved" someday that all we'll have to do is pop open a tube of Engineered Foodpaste, and voila...no thought processes required whatsoever!

The hype is no accident...it takes marketing efforts of monumental proportions to pull off this sort of snow job. I'm sure it took some think tank a while to come up with "hey, I know! We can tout this as the solution to the world's hunger problem...that should help play down the whole GMOs-as-plague-and-pestilence angle, don'tcha think?"

Any worldwide "solution" should examine the power machines, special interests, and political fishhooks associated with anything with that big a marketing budget to back it up.



You just have to see this article at the Millions Against Monsanto site http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_13589.cfm

Genetically modified foods have been a hotly-debated subject of much controversy for some years now. Below are some of the claims widely used to manipulate the world markets towards full acceptance of GM crops -- but research is showing that the claims are quite a different story than reality--

The Propaganda states these things:

1. GM crops are becoming the norm.
However, the evidence is to the contrary.

2. GM crops produce increased yields.
Again, the evidence is to the contrary. In fact, there is proof they are decreased.

3. GM crops require the use of less pesticide.
Wrong. "Although there may have been some initial reductions, recent U.S. data suggest that herbicide use in GE crops is now significantly higher than it was prior to their introduction. Weeds that have developed resistance to the herbicide used with GE crops now infest several million acres, forcing greater herbicide use. Insect-resistant GE crops have reduced overall insecticide use somewhat, but on balance GE crops have not reduced our dependence on pesticides. "http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20080618/news_lz1e18gurian.html

4. GM animal feed is more cost-effective/cheaper.
Nope. It's rocketing skyward.

5. It is futile to try to enforce a European "zero-tolerance" policy for non-approved GMOs.
Wrong. The GM conglomerates want that to be the assumption, but it is far from reality.

6. GM crops are more drought-resistant.
False. There is no alternative to good land management. Genetic modification has so far not produced a commercial drought tolerant variety in any type of crop.

The article cited (above) contains the links to the different points above.

Aside from the horrific and irresponsibly-dodged health issues at the heart of GM seeds and crops, has no one considered the absurdity of the argument for****complete reliance on a few GM mega-conglomerates as the controlling forces to world wide food supplies??****

Um...hello?

Makes a person realize just what they have at stake here and why the claims that lack supporting evidence are simply bypassed by the propaganda machines. The GM companies represent big money worldwide. There has been much invested, so they stand to have much to lose...if anyone dares touch them. So far, they have painted themselves as the Providers of the People, the Innovators of the Global Solutions, blah blah blah. Their marketing alone is its own machine.

It is not difficult to remember a lesson from history...that propaganda is not quite the same thing as advertising...it's far more exaggerated and unaccountable; propaganda utilizes (often politically) a selective manipulation (or manufacture) of information, rife with ommissions of full disclosure, typically casting a dictator in a benevolent light as being the author of a "solution for the masses." Look at history's dictators..the benevolent fathers of their people...Stalin, Lenin, Castro, H--ler, Chairman Mao.

Show me where these benevolent dictators have solved the problems they claimed to address historically (other than by wiping out the population so history could be rewritten by their own revisionists)...and maybe then I'll be more willing to trust "Good Father Monsanto"

Until then, I'll just continue thinking for myself and forgoing the communal Koolaid and the microchip implant.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

No sh*t! When they're this excited and adding this much bull, ya gotta know they're snake-oil salesmen. Like our pharmaceutical companies. Uh, I just had a real reaction to a drug they wanted to "replace" the other drug I was taking because they're losing their patent. Uh, how about the crap the "man who passes as our leader" puts out? And he can't even get it grammatically correct!
Brenda

Unknown said...

You've done it again! Thanks for keeping me up to date with the evil ones! Another link coming your way! have a great evening!
Christina

Mrs. K's Lemonade Stand said...

I always think that money is behind things like this. Someone is hoping to make a fortune selling lame ideas and sadly, there will be people jumping on the band wagon thinking it is actually a solution.

Anonymous said...

Recently a doctor told me that in the 1950s a woman could go to the store, buy & eat ONE peach, and get her daily supply of Vitamin A and most of her C, in addition to other good stuff.

Now if you walk into your average store and want the same amount of nutrition, you have to eat 50 peaches.

Have you done any research or do you use "old" seeds? I've read that even most of the seeds you buy in stores are already GM. :-(

Anonymous said...

I always think anything that is that good/wonderful does not need to be over advertised and word of mouth will take care of things.

So as soon as I see to many adverts for something I know that sales are not doing well and they are having to push an item.