Blog

“A Massive & Irreversible Experiment” with Unknown Risks to Forests and People 

Written by Theresa Church and Ruddy Turnstone

While the season of “chestnuts roasting on an open fire” is upon us, the public comment period for the genetically engineered American chestnut (GE AC) is imminent. The request to commercialize the GE AC is being called a “massive and irreversible experiment with our forests” that, if approved, would allow the unprecedented release of a fertile GMO plant into the wild.

It does not take much to fuel a mom to keep going. A quick hug before bed, a moment to breathe in her seven year old’s hair that still smells like a young puppy... that love, that connection...recharges her for hours to get the lunches packed, pay the bills, sort out the laundry, and twenty other things before bed.

The same goes for Moms Across America. What we have accomplished, with a small but mighty team and tiny budget (compared to many nonprofits in our cause) is a testament to the determination of mothers. We can run on fumes and still keep going. It is not the most effective way to work, however.

Things to Consider as You Do Your Holiday Gift Shopping

The following excerpt is from Rebecca Burgess’ new book Fibershed: Growing a Movement of Farmers, Fashion Activists, and Makers for a New Textile Economy (Chelsea Green Publishing, November 2019) and is reprinted with permission from the publisher.

The simple answer to this question is: a lot. On average, over 80 percent of the cotton grown in the United States annually is genetically modified to withstand the use of a range of herbicides and pesticides, and less than 1 percent is certified organic. And while two-thirds of Americans support GMO labeling for their food, few understand the role GMOs play in their clothing. In fact, we have yet to broach any large-scale public discussion of how GMO agriculture as a whole is impacting the health and diversity of our landscapes, rural economies, and personal health. Due to the omission of these larger conversations we’ve largely left the genetic engineering of fibers out of the land-use ethics debate altogether, and as a result there is little to no transparency offered on garment hangtags enabling us to determine if our clothing is genetically modified or not. Unless we are searching out and purchasing Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) certified garments. As a result of the large gap between our knowledge of how clothing is made and where the ingredients are sourced from, when we make decisions as a consumer on what to buy, we are largely making them blindly.

A few weeks ago, breaking news was that 95% of baby foods tested, 168 samples, by Healthy Babies Bright Future (HBBF), were found to contain heavy metals. 1 out of 4 contained all 4 of the heavy metals: arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury. What did not make the news was WHY. And HOW we can stop this unthinkable poisoning of our babies. Then news of Maui residents suing Monsanto for chemical exposure and birth defects broke. Once again, our babies, the future of our country, are being harmed by chemical companies but our government refuses to hold Bayer/Monsanto accountable for these tragedies.

A common over-the-counter pain medication is being connected to rising learning disorders. New findings from the Boston Birth Cohort study of 996 mother-infant dyads, as reported in JAMA Psychiatry, show cord plasma biomarkers of fetal exposure to acetaminophen were associated with significantly increased risk of childhood attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and autism spectrum disorder.

Acetaminophen (Tylenol) is one of the very few painkillers that has been considered safe to use during pregnancy. However, after identifying a link between prenatal exposure to the drug and symptoms of autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, studies suggest acetaminophen may not be so safe after all.

Yes, you read that title correctly. It’s not best in the world - it’s best for the world. There is a big difference.

At Moms Across America we are constantly looking forward... like the Native American tradition of making decisions based on what is best for the next seven generations...so when we learned about what Iroquois Valley Farmland Trust was doing, we got excited. If you are looking to invest your well deserved earnings in a way that will make a difference for the next several generations, we invite you to consider this trust. Rather than stocks or mutual funds investing in Big Pharma, Big Ag or Big Oil….we understand that you want better options.

Ask anyone who has proudly worn the label of activist why they became one, and just like fingerprints, you will get a different answer.

This is my story, and how I came to work with Moms Across America.

Think back to a “simpler” time. For me it was about 10 years ago. I was living a pretty good life, married in the suburbs, not having to work as my husband had a good job. I thought I was well educated on living healthy and would try to buy organic produce when I could and looked for environmentally friendly household products when it suited me. I thought I was doing pretty good.

Child Health Day was Monday, October 7. It was not featured in mainstream media...instead we heard more news about corruption in politics. Our media missed a huge opportunity to raise awareness about the health crisis our children are facing and the future of our country. This is why our work, with your support, is so important... every day.

Did you hear that the EU now requires the final formulation testing for toxicity and carcinogenicity of pesticides? This is a HUGE win!

What about the USA?

Well... here the EPA allows only 1, yes ONE, UNO, only one of the ingredients in a pesticide (not all) to be "safety" tested. They do not require synergistic testing of the mixture of ingredients with each other or with other chemicals that are used on the same crop or area. Short term tests for toxicity are also the industries favorites on one chemical, not independent long-term safety testing for harm.

The pesticide manufacturers can pick the LEAST toxic chemical and declare that the "active chemical ingredient" even if that is complete hogwash! For instance, in Roundup Monsanto picked glyphosate, which is harmful over time, meaning with chronic exposure, but the other chemical ingredients in Roundup are 1000X MORE toxic! The other ingredients include arsenic and heavy metals. Don't you think they should be considered as well? Especially since it has been illegal to use arsenic on our food crops for years? And heavy metals are also known to be toxic? And now they are showing up in 95% of the baby food tested?? ARRGHHH! UNACCEPTABLE!

Toxic means the chemical kills over 50% of the animal or fish test subjects in less than 96 hours. It does not mean over 5, 10, or 20 years of low does exposure...which is what is happening to US when we consume food with residues of glyphosate herbicides and other toxins like 2,4-D, Atrazine and Dicamba! To put it simply, WE, the human race, are one big science experiment for the chemical companies and the EPA is doing NOTHING about it!

A new study, first posted on GMWatch, reveals disturbing information.

Glyphosate, found in Monsanto's/Bayer's Roundup and 700+ other glyphosate based herbicides, primed human breast cells to be more susceptible to cancer. GMWatch reports,"The glyphosate induced a several-fold increase in a protein called TET3, which is known to remove methylation tags from DNA.Normally when the DNA of a gene is tagged by methylation, it is not expressed. When the methylation tags are removed, the gene can be reactivated. Such changes in gene function caused by alterations in the profile of DNA methylation tags are known to be a contributing factor to cancer formation (carcinogenesis)."

When the alterations in the gene function as described above were combined with microRNA, which are commonly found in our bodies, they grew into an aggressive form of breast cancer called luminal B cancer. This cancer is becoming increasingly common in young women, and has been devastatingly fatal.

This news should have every breast cancer research center shouting from the rooftops to eat organic and avoid exposure to glyphosate herbicides in our community parks and sidewalks!

Watch our interview with UK scientist Dr. Michael Antoniou, on this new study and its amazing discoveries.