Genetically modified foods are bad news for health and many informed nations are aware of the dangers and are rejecting them.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouF_-hlEZW4

http://truthisscary.com/2012/11/video-kenya-bans-all-gmo-foods/

The Kenyan government has banned imports of genetically modified organisms over health fears. On Wednesday, Health Minister Beth Mugo announced a ban on foods containing GM ingredients, effective immediately, pending tests on the health effects of the foods.

Ms Mugo said health officials would ensure GM foods are removed from sale while tests are ongoing. She said, “My ministry wishes to clarify the decision was based on genuine concerns that adequate research had not been done on GMOs and scientific evidence provided to prove the safety of these foods.”

The health minister added, “Where there is apprehension and uncertainty regarding the safety of food products, precaution to protect the health of the people must be undertaken.”

A French study released in September linked consumption of GM maize to development of cancer in rats. However, since the study’s release, its reliability has been the subject of much debate. Although many scientists have criticised the study, released by researchers at the University of Caen, the Soil Association’s head of policy Peter Melchett said the team used the same methods regulators require in their licensing processes.

Having stated in October that the study is currently inadmissible as clear evidence of health risks associated with GM crops, EU watchdog EFSA said it will release a full appraisal of the study before the end of the year.

Research organisations in the EU have called for more transparent testing of GM crops, in order to establish once and for all whether adverse environmental and health effects can arise from using the crops.

The World According to Monsanto GMO Documentary


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VEZYQF9WlE

Published on Sep 6, 2012 by MrMaxBliss

Hello my friends, be prepared for some challenging truths and be warned, our governments are being exposed for the puppet pretend democracies they are.... big BUSINESS calls the shots. People .... just in the way of their progress. We can change our fate, if we unify and use the only weapon feasible to beat the global elite ( major share holders in Monsanto) People Power. uploaded by Uploaded by eboyuk on May 18, 2011

There's nothing they are leaving untouched: the mustard, the okra, the bringe oil, the rice, the cauliflower. Once they have established the norm: that seed can be owned as their property, royalties can be collected. We will depend on them for every seed we grow of every crop we grow. If they control seed, they control food, they know it -- it's strategic. It's more powerful than bombs. It's more powerful than guns. This is the best way to control the populations of the world. The story starts in the White House, where Monsanto often got its way by exerting disproportionate influence over policymakers via the "revolving door". One example is Michael Taylor, who worked for Monsanto as an attorney before being appointed as deputy commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1991. While at the FDA, the authority that deals with all US food approvals, Taylor made crucial decisions that led to the approval of GE foods and crops. Then he returned to Monsanto, becoming the company's vice president for public policy.

Thanks to these intimate links between Monsanto and government agencies, the US adopted GE foods and crops without proper testing, without consumer labeling and in spite of serious questions hanging over their safety. Not coincidentally, Monsanto supplies 90 percent of the GE seeds used by the US market. Monsanto's long arm stretched so far that, in the early nineties, the US Food and Drugs Agency even ignored warnings of their own scientists, who were cautioning that GE crops could cause negative health effects. Other tactics the company uses to stifle concerns about their products include misleading advertising, bribery and concealing scientific evidence.

Only God knows what we are eating in Nigeria...our stup..id government is definately not even aware of GM food,that cause all sorts of genitic defects and cancer

@Post

I love what the Kenyan government is doing. Our own government in Nigeria should wake up and make sure this Monsanto foods don't get into our market.

Our govt are doing their work.when govt imposed ban on imported chickens or red meat,they are one of the genetic modified foods.i think we need to encourage what our govt(nafdac&customs) are doing.if you ve been to benin or in ghana where dey dont ve control over imported stuff,you wil clap for d little our govt has done.i remember 9ja been a dumping ground for so many things back then,but its not so now.i will encourage the people to go for organic foods instead of genetic modified foods.to start with,buy our local rice.what we get from thai,vietnam etc is not Aclass.

Intrepid!:
All those huge, perfectly designed fruits and veggies in Shoprite... I no buy again!

yes brother,do not buy dem again.they are so beautiful when packaged very well.not all that glitters is gold.

ehie: Only God knows what we are eating in Nigeria...our stup..id government is definately not even aware of GM food,that cause all sorts of genitic defects and cancer

I dunno about you oo as for me and my family we eat from our farm at the back of our house.
On a serious note, most Nigerians are less exposed to these GMO foods.

Genetically modified g****i

Can someone tell me how GM food taste like. Are they too sweet than normal food or too fresh than local crops. Someone should please help i no wan die young.

360command: Our govt are doing their work.when govt imposed ban on imported chickens or red meat,they are one of the genetic modified foods.i think we need to encourage what our govt(nafdac&customs) are doing.if you ve been to benin or in ghana where dey dont ve control over imported stuff,you wil clap for d little our govt has done.i remember 9ja been a dumping ground for so many things back then,but its not so now.i will encourage the people to go for organic foods instead of genetic modified foods.to start with,buy our local rice.what we get from thai,vietnam etc is not Aclass.

Is rice (imported) genetically modfied food?

Can we please list some of the common GM food in our market

I'm Bioscience major, these are the stuff we learn. genetically modified are not bad, they've only being modified to produce more of their beneficial nutrients, reduce toxic chemicals and or to increase pest and weed resistance. while Monsanto might be a bully it doesn't change the fact that the world's population is growing and GM food is the future.

Hungry africans kicking against GM food. What a paradox...yet they are quick to ask this same europeans for foreign aids in the form of money and food. GM food is the future; the earlier we adopt it, the better for us.

I don't know how this relates to the topic but I think it does:

Last week Monday, after returning from work, I went straight to a nearby market to get some ingredients for a vegetable soup. To my ultimate surprise, the lady who was to sell the raw vegetable to me asked "se efe t'oko abi t'oni chemical (do u want the farm one-100naira, or chemical one-70naira)". Though the latter was very attractive and clean but cheaper than that from their local farm.
I ended getting the local one, but I'm still confused as to the differences between the both.

bory09: Can someone tell me how GM food taste like. Are they too sweet than normal food or too fresh than local crops. Someone should please help i no wan die young.

you would think so but no, they taste terrible! They are unnecessarily gigantic and look quite "attractive" except for the size. You can always tell the difference between GMF and Organic food.

I'm happy for the people of Kenya! They are lucky to have a health minister that is concerned about what they eat.

Intrepid!:
All those huge, perfectly designed fruits and veggies in Shoprite... I no buy again!

Exact.

Egba girl:
you would think so but no, they taste terrible! They are unnecessarily gigantic and look quite "attractive" except for the size. You can always tell the difference between GMF and Organic food.

It appears you are confusing fertilizer-grown food with GMF. Even GMF can be grown 'organically' and I am certain you will be unable to tell the difference.

African governments can keep playing to the gallery - the issue in Africa is hunger, not 'food quality' or 'food choice'. I'm not saying import whatever goes, but what tests are Kenya going to carry out on those foods? People should deal with their real problems and stop chasing shadows.

those gigantic and enormous frozen chicken in the fast food joints must be gm,they are watery n tastless,avoid them as much as i can,

debosky:

It appears you are confusing fertilizer-grown food with GMF. Even GMF can be grown 'organically' and I am certain you will be unable to tell the difference.

African governments can keep playing to the gallery - the issue in Africa is hunger, not 'food quality' or 'food choice'. I'm not saying import whatever goes, but what tests are Kenya going to carry out on those foods? People should deal with their real problems and stop chasing shadows.

Nope! not confusing the two. I know GMF cause that's the crap I eat 90% of the time and it taste like crap! If you grow up eating organic food, and you start eating GMF, you will know. btw, I dont think GMF can be grown "organically". They are genetically modified/engineered. Unless I do not know what you mean by "organically".

... and people wonder why Americans struggle with their health.. dis one sef dey part.

I recommend everyone to watch the documentary, Food Inc.
http://documentaryaddict.com/Food+Inc-2174-documentary.html

Technically, majority of the food eaten worldwide (Nigeria inclusive) have been genetically modified. Even the garri we eat is processed from Cassava that has been cultivated from varieties that have been genetically modified to give a higher yield and disease resistance. What the food safety stakeholders are kicking against are transgenic foods that have been modified by gene transfer and not by cross breeding or natural selection. Personally I see nothing wrong with those kind of foods. The world population is increasing by the day and in order to maintain food security new scientific approaches need to be adopted. And transgenic foods is one way to do that. Because achieving improved yields via classical genetic approaches appears to have reached its climax. So the future is by modulating the expression of genes that favour improved yields. Not just by breeding selection for traits. Besides I need to remain employed by virtue of my xpertise. GM foods all the way baby. For it is the future .

debosky:

I'm not saying import whatever goes, but what tests are Kenya going to carry out on those foods? People should deal with their real problems and stop chasing shadows.

She banned the importation of such goods.Kenyans grow organic foods but greedy people always want to exploit others by importing anything even though we have enough food rotting on farms.
It's easy to verify the custom entry documents of food consignments to ascertain their GMO certificate.
Infact African nations need not importing food it's a shame.
In Kenya for instance the weather varies.While the Northern part is dry the rest of the country is very fertile throughout the year.
Few greedy people in goverment take adv of such elements and instead of buying from local farmers in fertile regions,they go about importing to make it look like a calamity.Weather variations present opportunities to make money by few NGO's as well.
GMO is not beneficial to Africa at all.Its negative effects are already being felt in the west.
I think we need to encourage farmers to grow more food instead and support farming initiatives instead of settling for cheap but expensive options.
Thank God kenyans cherish what they plant.

@cherld...happy cancer to you,have u seen the cancerous lumps on the mice the french scientist tested gm corns on,have u seen the featherless chicken being bred,or the six winged chickens....am really sorry for u if u decide to eat gm poison,

Theres something about Kenya I like. I don't know if pragmatic quite describe what I think they are.

At topic,
I've never liked the idea of GMF. It is obvious a couple of rich and powerful guys are behind it.

OMO IBO: Theres something about Kenya I like. I don't know if pragmatic quite describe what I think they are.

At topic,
I've never liked the idea of GMF. It is obvious a couple of rich and powerful guys are behind it.

Kenyans are a people who will not let their leaders do as they so wish.Those days are long gone.They will strike,take to the streets,bring everything to a standstill and will be intimidated till whatever they are fighting for is implemented.They hardened.
GMO will not enter the country if kenyans say No.That I know for sure.It's the people's voice that rules.

ehie: @cherld...happy cancer to you,have u seen the cancerous lumps on the mice the french scientist tested gm corns on,have u seen the hairless chicken being bred,or the six winged chickens....am really sorry for u if u decide to eat gm poison,

I will pardon your ignorance ang ignore your wicked wishes. For your information there are so called organic foods that are also detrimental to health by virtue of some toxic constituents. These toxins have been have been reduced by genetic modification. E.G, reduction in the cholesterol levels of animal proteins. Mind you there is food security and food safety. In Africa we lack the former. Any food consumed needs a safety assesment be it GM or organic. And GM foods is a promising way to achieve world food security. So do not just write them off because they are new and novel. Thats what they call development. And by the way what is wrong with a featherless chicken? Is it its creepy looks? . You aint consuming the feathers but its protein within the carcass. The reason they are featherless is to prevent heat stress which is good for them. Because too much heat kills broiler chickens and reduces their productivity.

Most of us that are refusing the GM foods have been eating it over time. e.g some our bananas, maize, peppers, cat fish etc. My point is that there are no known risk to it but benefits (I mean as of today). There are serious food scarcity in the world especially the eastern africa (kenya) & they are rejecting a solution. Technology is a better solution for our crops which helps give a faster & better nutritional values.
N:B. GM foods are not chemicals, but basically gene transfers. You can google it!

andyprez: Most of us that are refusing the GM foods have been eating it over time. e.g some our bananas, maize, peppers, cat fish etc. My point is that there are no known risk to it but benefits (I mean as of today). There are serious food scarcity in the world especially the eastern africa (kenya) & they are rejecting a solution. Technology is a better solution for our crops which helps give a faster & better nutritional values.
N:B. GM foods are not chemicals, but basically gene transfers. You can google it!

Look here friend,Kenya exports food to other countries from fruits(to europe,and as far as asia),milk and it's products,fish,beef,chicken,grains etc.
The standards set are so high such that you can't go about using any kind of pesticides (don't know if uv have of dudutech) or other modifications on crops.We export it the way they want it because they care for their population.
And they won't take any GMO products come what may.That is how strict they are.
Now 85% of kenya is very fertile.The only non fertile region is the Northern part where the nomads live and that is the region bordering somalia.
It's the same region where refugee camps are located.So whenever you hear of food aid it's normally targeted at the northern region.
It's an insult to farmers when they hear about importing food esp gmo, yet they are searching for market already.In short what I am saying is, Kenya doesn't need food Aid because its capable of producing enough for its people.
Why is africa hell bent on importing everything?? Land you have,rains you have,tools you have,human labour you have! we need bibs as well?
A development conscious african goverment should be talking about empowering the local farmer,equipping him with tools,pesticides etc to enable them produce more food for the people.
Not importing food!

Good for them!

kiara11:

Look here friend,Kenya exports food to other countries from fruits(to europe,and as far as asia),milk and it's products,fish,beef,chicken,grains etc.
The standards set are so high such that you can't go about using any kind of pesticides (don't know if uv have of dudutech) or other modifications on crops.We export it the way they want it because they care for their population.
And they won't take any GMO products come what may.That is how strict they are.
Now 85% of kenya is very fertile.The only non fertile region is the Northern part where the nomads live and that is the region bordering somalia.
It's the same region where refugee camps are located.So whenever you hear of food aid it's normally targeted at the northern region.
It's an insult to farmers when they hear about importing food esp gmo, yet they are searching for market already.In short what I am saying is, Kenya doesn't need food Aid because its capable of producing enough for its people.
Why is africa hell bent on importing everything?? Land you have,rains you have,tools you have,human labour you have! we need bibs as well?
A development conscious african goverment should be talking about empowering the local farmer,equipping him with tools,pesticides etc to enable them produce more food for the people.
Not importing food!

These GMO foods are not chemicals as many people think. Its a technical tool that is meant to assists farmers & farming. It reduces pests, increases yeilds & add nutritional values to foods with less of it. GM crops have been approved in many nations in europe, america, asia & now africa. Truth be told, we need to help ourselves in this continent because we're the ones with greater risks on food security. I bet that decision was based on supersticious beliefs or religious sentiments (that scientists are playing God) & not scientific facts. FYI, Kenya has been promoting GM crops before Nigeria & I'm just surprised at their new decision.

GM food toxins found in the blood of 93% of unborn babies
By SEAN POULTER
UPDATED: 10:07 GMT, 20 May 2011
Comments (27)
Share

GM firms claimed toxins were destroyed in the gut

Study: Mothers to be were tested
Toxins implanted into GM food crops to kill pests are reaching the bloodstreams of women and unborn babies, alarming research has revealed.
A landmark study found 93 per cent of blood samples taken from pregnant women and 80 per cent from umbilical cords tested positive for traces of the chemicals.
Millions of acres in North and South America are planted with GM corn containing the toxins, which is fed in vast quantities to farm livestock around the world – including Britain.
However, it is now clear the toxins designed to kill crop pests are reaching humans and babies in the womb – apparently through food.
It is not known what, if any, harm this causes but there is speculation it could lead to allergies, miscarriage, abnormalities or even cancer.
To date the industry has always argued that if these toxins were eaten by animals or humans they would be destroyed in the gut and pass out of the body, thus causing no harm.
Food safety authorities in Britain and Europe have accepted these assurances on the basis that GM crops are effectively no different to those produced using conventional methods.

Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO)

Characteristics

Fate and Transport in the Environment

Exposure Pathway

Routes of Exposure

Methods for Measuring Exposure

Strategies for Preventing Exposure

Methods for Monitoring in the Environment

Harmful Effects

Dose Response

Absorption, Distribution and Metabolism

Sites of Toxicity

Biomarkers of Disease

Risk Assessment

References

5103/5104 Home

Harmful Effects of the Agent

Genetically modified organisms (GMO’s) are a broad group of plants, animals, and bacteria that are engineered for a wide variety of applications ranging from agricultural production to scientific research. The types of potential hazards posed by GMO’s vary according to the type of organism being modified and its intended application. Most of the concern surrounding GMO’s relates to their potential for negative effects on the environment and human health. Because GMO’s that could directly effect human health are primarily products that can enter the human food supply, this website focuses on genetically modified food. To date, the only types of products that have been approved for human consumption in the U.S. are genetically modified plants (FDA website).
All genetically modified foods that have been approved are considered by the government to be as safe as their traditional counterparts and are generally unregulated (FDA website). However, there are several types of potential health effects that could result from the insertion of a novel gene into an organism. Health effects of primary concern to safety assessors are production of new allergens, increased toxicity, decreased nutrition, and antibiotic resistance (Bernstein et al., 2003).

Food Allergy
Food Allergy affects approximately 5% of children and 2% of adults in the U.S. and is a significant public health threat (Bakshi, 2003). Allergic reactions in humans occur when a normally harmless protein enters the body and stimulates an immune response (Bernstein et al., 2003). If the novel protein in a GM food comes from a source that is know to cause allergies in humans or a source that has never been consumed as human food, the concern that the protein could elicit an immune response in humans increases. Although no allergic reactions to GM food by consumers have been confirmed, in vitro evidence suggesting that some GM products could cause an allergic reaction has motivated biotechnology companies to discontinue their development (Bakshi, 2003).

Increased Toxicity
Most plants produce substances that are toxic to humans. Most of the plants that humans consume produce toxins at levels low enough that they do not produce any adverse health effects. There is concern that inserting an exotic gene into a plant could cause it to produce toxins at higher levels that could be dangerous to humans. This could happen through the process of inserting the gene into the plant. If other genes in the plant become damaged during the insertion process it could cause the plant to alter its production of toxins. Alternatively, the new gene could interfere with a metabolic pathway causing a stressed plant to produce more toxins in response. Although these effects have not been observed in GM plants, they have been observed through conventional breeding methods creating a safety concern for GM plants. For example, potatoes conventionally bred for increased diseased resistance have produced higher levels of glycoalkaloids .

Decreased Nutritional Value
A genetically modified plant could theoretically have lower nutritional quality than its traditional counterpart by making nutrients unavailable or indigestible to humans. For example, phytate is a compound common in seeds and grains that binds with minerals and makes them unavailable to humans. An inserted gene could cause a plant to produce higher levels of phytate decreasing the mineral nutritional value of the plant (GEO-PIE). Another example comes from a study showing that a strain of genetically modified soybean produced lower levels of phytoestrogen compounds, believed to protect against heart disease and cancer, than traditional soybeans (Bakshi, 2003).

Antibiotic resistance
In recent years health professionals have become alarmed by the increasing number of bacterial strains that are showing resistance to antibiotics. Bacteria develop resistance to antibiotics by creating antibiotic resistance genes through natural mutation. Biotechnologists use antibiotic resistance genes as selectable markers when inserting new genes into plants. In the early stages of the process scientists do not know if the target plant will incorporate the new gene into its genome. By attaching the desired gene to an antibiotic resistance gene the new GM plant can be tested by growing it in a solution containing the corresponding antibiotic. If the plant survives scientists know that it has taken up the antibiotic resistance gene along with the desired gene. There is concern that bacteria living in the guts of humans and animals could pick up an antibiotic resistance gene from a GM plant before the DNA becomes completely digested


It is not clear what sort of risk the possibility of conferring antibiotic resistance to bacteria presents. No one has ever observed bacteria incorporating new DNA from the digestive system under controlled laboratory conditions. The two types of antibiotic resistance genes used by biotechnologists are ones that already exist in bacteria in nature so the process would not introduce new antibiotic resistance to bacteria. Never the less it is a concern and the FDA is encouraging biotechnologists to phase out the practice of using antibiotic resistance genes (GEO-PIE website).