In a small hotel across from the Beijing Center for Disease Control and Prevention, a reporter from New Express Daily, dressed in an isolation suit, interviewed a dozen “unusual” patients from different areas of China. Their symptoms are painful and debilitating, and AIDS-like, but repeated tests for HIV have come up negative.
Lin Jun, one of the patients interviewed in the March 24 New Express Daily report, said he used to be chubby, but now he is skin and bones, and his joints have become all deformed.
Lin is referred to in the group as “big brother” for his kindness and giving fellow patients hope when they feel hopeless, with some having considered suicide.
In 2008 Lin’s mother received a blood transfusion at a hospital. Afterwards, she experienced frequent night sweats, numb limbs, aches all over, creaking joints, rashes on her hands, and weight loss.
In May of that year, Lin accidentally became infected through contact with his mother’s blood. Fourteen days later, he fell ill with swollen lymph nodes on his neck, sore knees that made clicking sounds, and pain all over his body. He also started vomiting after every meal, and the left side of his face swelled up. In half a year, his weight dropped from 82 kilograms (181 lbs) to 52 kilograms (115 lbs).
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Learning God's Healthy way to a better Life!
Broccoli helps clear damaged lungs
Here's another reason to eat your greens. As well as helping to prevent cancer, broccoli may also help the immune system to clean harmful bacteria from the lungs. A compound found in the vegetable is now being trialled as a treatment for people with lung disease.
To ensure that the lungs function correctly, white blood cells called macrophages remove debris and bacteria that can build up in the lungs and cause infection.
This cleaning system is defective in smokers and people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) – a combination of emphysema and bronchitis – who suffer from frequent infections.
Now, researchers have figured out that a chemical pathway in the lungs called NRF2, involved in macrophage activation, is wiped out by smoking. They also found that sulphoraphane, a plant chemical that is made by broccoli, cauliflower and other cruciferous vegetables when damaged, such as when chewed, can restore this pathway.
Study finds routine periodic fasting is good for your health, and your heart
Fasting found to reduce cardiac risk factors, such as triglycerides, weight, and blood sugar levels
Murray, UT (4/03/11) – Fasting has long been associated with religious rituals, diets, and political protests. Now new evidence from cardiac researchers at the Intermountain Medical Center Heart Institute demonstrates that routine periodic fasting is also good for your health, and your heart.
Today, research cardiologists at the Intermountain Medical Center Heart Institute are reporting that fasting not only lowers one's risk of coronary artery disease and diabetes, but also causes significant changes in a person's blood cholesterol levels. Both diabetes and elevated cholesterol are known risk factors for coronary heart disease.
The discovery expands upon a 2007 Intermountain Healthcare study that revealed an association between fasting and reduced risk of coronary heart disease, the leading cause of death among men and women in America. In the new research, fasting was also found to reduce other cardiac risk factors, such as triglycerides, weight, and blood sugar levels.
The findings were presented Sunday, April 3, at the annual scientific sessions of the American College of Cardiology in New Orleans.
"These new findings demonstrate that our original discovery was not a chance event," says Dr. Benjamin D. Horne, PhD, MPH, director of cardiovascular and genetic epidemiology at the Intermountain Medical Center Heart Institute, and the study's principal investigator. "The confirmation among a new set of patients that fasting is associated with lower risk of these common diseases raises new questions about how fasting itself reduces risk or if it simply indicates a healthy lifestyle."
Unlike the earlier research by the team, this new research recorded reactions in the body's biological mechanisms during the fasting period. The participants' low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C, the "bad" cholesterol) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C, the "good" cholesterol) both increased (by 14 percent and 6 percent, respectively) raising their total cholesterol – and catching the researchers by surprise.
"Fasting causes hunger or stress. In response, the body releases more cholesterol, allowing it to utilize fat as a source of fuel, instead of glucose. This decreases the number of fat cells in the body," says Dr. Horne. "This is important because the fewer fat cells a body has, the less likely it will experience insulin resistance, or diabetes."
This recent study also confirmed earlier findings about the effects of fasting on human growth hormone (HGH), a metabolic protein. HGH works to protect lean muscle and metabolic balance, a response triggered and accelerated by fasting. During the 24-hour fasting periods, HGH increased an average of 1,300 percent in women, and nearly 2,000 percent in men.
In this most recent trial, researchers conducted two fasting studies of over 200 individuals — both patients and healthy volunteers — who were recruited at Intermountain Medical Center. A second 2011 clinical trial followed another 30 patients who drank only water and ate nothing else for 24 hours. They were also monitored while eating a normal diet during an additional 24-hour period. Blood tests and physical measurements were taken from all to evaluate cardiac risk factors, markers of metabolic risk, and other general health parameters.
While the results were surprising to researchers, it's not time to start a fasting diet just yet. It will take more studies like these to fully determine the body's reaction to fasting and its effect on human health. Dr. Horne believes that fasting could one day be prescribed as a treatment for preventing diabetes and coronary heart disease.
To help achieve the goal of expanded research, the Deseret Foundation (which funded the previous fasting studies) recently approved a new grant to evaluate many more metabolic factors in the blood using stored samples from the recent fasting clinical trial. The researchers will also include an additional clinical trial of fasting among patients who have been diagnosed with coronary heart disease.
"We are very grateful for the financial support from the Deseret Foundation. The organization and its donors have made these groundbreaking studies of fasting possible," added Dr. Horne.
###
Members of the Intermountain Medical Center Heart Institute research team included Dr. Horne, Jeffrey L. Anderson, MD, John F. Carlquist, PhD, J. Brent Muhlestein, MD, Donald L. Lappé, MD, Heidi T. May, PhD, MSPH, Boudi Kfoury, MD, Oxana Galenko, PhD, Amy R. Butler, Dylan P. Nelson, Kimberly D. Brunisholz, Tami L. Bair, and Samin Panahi.
Surgeons raise alarm over waiting
Surgeons say patients in some parts of England have spent months waiting in pain because of delayed operations or new restrictions on who qualifies for treatment.
In several areas routine surgery was put on hold for months, while in many others new thresholds for hip and knee replacements have been introduced.
The moves are part of the NHS drive to find £20bn efficiency savings by 2015.
The government said performance should be measured by outcomes not numbers.
Surgeons have described the delays faced by patients as "devastating and cruel". Peter Kay, the president of the British Orthopaedic Association (BOA), says they've become increasingly frustrated that hip and knee replacements are being targeted as a way of finding savings.
"We've started to get reports over the last nine months that access to these services are being restricted.
Highly Contagious AIDS-Like Disease Spreading in China
In a small hotel across from the Beijing Center for Disease Control and Prevention, a reporter from New Express Daily, dressed in an isolation suit, interviewed a dozen “unusual” patients from different areas of China. Their symptoms are painful and debilitating, and AIDS-like, but repeated tests for HIV have come up negative.
Lin Jun, one of the patients interviewed in the March 24 New Express Daily report, said he used to be chubby, but now he is skin and bones, and his joints have become all deformed.
Lin is referred to in the group as “big brother” for his kindness and giving fellow patients hope when they feel hopeless, with some having considered suicide.
In 2008 Lin’s mother received a blood transfusion at a hospital. Afterwards, she experienced frequent night sweats, numb limbs, aches all over, creaking joints, rashes on her hands, and weight loss.
In May of that year, Lin accidentally became infected through contact with his mother’s blood. Fourteen days later, he fell ill with swollen lymph nodes on his neck, sore knees that made clicking sounds, and pain all over his body. He also started vomiting after every meal, and the left side of his face swelled up. In half a year, his weight dropped from 82 kilograms (181 lbs) to 52 kilograms (115 lbs).
Three months later, his wife and child developed the same symptoms.
Lin said he went to every major hospital in Shanghai, but could not get a definite diagnosis. He has taken the HIV test eight times, and each time the test turned out negative.
Then he found an Internet blog called “The Negative Group,” which he learned stands for “HIV negative.” He realized that writing on this blog were all people like himself, with the same kinds of symptoms, desperate to find a cure.
Several Chinese media have recently reported that the Department of Health of Guangdong Province has confirmed that people in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangdong have fallen ill after being infected with an unknown virus. The patients think they have AIDS, but they test negative for HIV.
Guangdong has organized clinical experts, epidemiologists and psychologists to work together on these cases. The Health Ministry has also selected six provinces with more patients, including Beijing, Shanghai, Zhejiang, Hunan, Jiangsu and Guangdong, to conduct epidemiological studies, but there are no results yet, the reports said.
In most of the 30 cases investigated by New Express Daily for its March 24 report, people said their relatives and friends are also infected. Most of the 30 patients were infected through sexual contact. Some experts diagnosed them as having AIDS phobia.
However, the disease seems to be highly contagious and can spread by contact via any bodily fluid—through kissing, shared utensils, sweat, and even protected sex. Once infected, the immune system appears to be attacked, which results in a decrease of white blood cells and the body’s ability to defend against infectious disease and foreign materials.
In the past, official health agencies have only conducted HIV tests on these patients and have not checked for other, similarly pathological viruses. With HIV results coming up negative, many patients then stopped taking protective measures with their relatives. Subsequently, all their relatives and friends were infected, many have said.
One infected man told The Epoch Times that the disease is highly infectious and hard to prevent. His wife and two-year-old child both appear to have it. The child has lip and skin blood spots, he said.
A retired officer in his 40’s told The Epoch Times for a previous June 16, 2010 report that he had been infected with a disease with similar symptoms in 2009, at a get-together at a friend’s house. “I thought it was just a cold at the time, so I still participated in all kind of gatherings. Consequently, over 100 of my comrades in the army, relatives and friends were infected by me,” he said.
chinareports@epochtimes.com
Read the original Chinese article.
Lin Jun, one of the patients interviewed in the March 24 New Express Daily report, said he used to be chubby, but now he is skin and bones, and his joints have become all deformed.
Lin is referred to in the group as “big brother” for his kindness and giving fellow patients hope when they feel hopeless, with some having considered suicide.
In 2008 Lin’s mother received a blood transfusion at a hospital. Afterwards, she experienced frequent night sweats, numb limbs, aches all over, creaking joints, rashes on her hands, and weight loss.
In May of that year, Lin accidentally became infected through contact with his mother’s blood. Fourteen days later, he fell ill with swollen lymph nodes on his neck, sore knees that made clicking sounds, and pain all over his body. He also started vomiting after every meal, and the left side of his face swelled up. In half a year, his weight dropped from 82 kilograms (181 lbs) to 52 kilograms (115 lbs).
Three months later, his wife and child developed the same symptoms.
Lin said he went to every major hospital in Shanghai, but could not get a definite diagnosis. He has taken the HIV test eight times, and each time the test turned out negative.
Then he found an Internet blog called “The Negative Group,” which he learned stands for “HIV negative.” He realized that writing on this blog were all people like himself, with the same kinds of symptoms, desperate to find a cure.
Several Chinese media have recently reported that the Department of Health of Guangdong Province has confirmed that people in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangdong have fallen ill after being infected with an unknown virus. The patients think they have AIDS, but they test negative for HIV.
Guangdong has organized clinical experts, epidemiologists and psychologists to work together on these cases. The Health Ministry has also selected six provinces with more patients, including Beijing, Shanghai, Zhejiang, Hunan, Jiangsu and Guangdong, to conduct epidemiological studies, but there are no results yet, the reports said.
In most of the 30 cases investigated by New Express Daily for its March 24 report, people said their relatives and friends are also infected. Most of the 30 patients were infected through sexual contact. Some experts diagnosed them as having AIDS phobia.
However, the disease seems to be highly contagious and can spread by contact via any bodily fluid—through kissing, shared utensils, sweat, and even protected sex. Once infected, the immune system appears to be attacked, which results in a decrease of white blood cells and the body’s ability to defend against infectious disease and foreign materials.
In the past, official health agencies have only conducted HIV tests on these patients and have not checked for other, similarly pathological viruses. With HIV results coming up negative, many patients then stopped taking protective measures with their relatives. Subsequently, all their relatives and friends were infected, many have said.
One infected man told The Epoch Times that the disease is highly infectious and hard to prevent. His wife and two-year-old child both appear to have it. The child has lip and skin blood spots, he said.
A retired officer in his 40’s told The Epoch Times for a previous June 16, 2010 report that he had been infected with a disease with similar symptoms in 2009, at a get-together at a friend’s house. “I thought it was just a cold at the time, so I still participated in all kind of gatherings. Consequently, over 100 of my comrades in the army, relatives and friends were infected by me,” he said.
chinareports@epochtimes.com
Read the original Chinese article.
Chemicals Linked to Earlier Menopause
Women exposed to high levels of certain household-product chemicals may go through menopause at a younger age than other women, a new study finds.
The chemicals in question are called perfluorocarbons, or PFCs, and they have historically been widely used in products ranging from furniture and carpeting to non-stick pans, plastic food containers, and clothing. Their use in the U.S. is set to be phased out by 2015.
But PFCs persist in the environment, and the chemicals are found in water, soil, plants, animals, and people. A 2004 U.S. government study detected PFCs in 98 percent of blood samples taken from a large pool of Americans.
FDA Orders Prescription Cold, Allergy Medicines Off the Market small text medium text large text
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration ordered more than 500 prescription cough, cold and allergy products off the market Wednesday, saying its office had not evaluated the medication for safety, effectiveness and quality.
"Removing these unapproved products from the market will reduce potential risks to consumers," said Deborah Autor, director of the Office of Compliance in the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, in a news release from the agency.
The FDA said removing the products from the market poses no harm to consumers, but taking the unapproved drugs may put the health of people at risk.
"There are many FDA-approved prescription products, as well as appropriately marketed over-the-counter products, available to treat cough, cold, and allergy symptoms; so, we expect little or no negative impact on consumers from the removal of these unapproved products," Autor added.
Among the drugs listed by the FDA is Pediahist, a cold formula labeled for patients as young as 1 month old. FDA regulations do not recommend cold medicines for any children under age 2. Other drugs involved in the recall include Cardec, Lodrane and Organidin.
Many health-care providers are unaware that the drugs are unapproved and have continued to prescribe them to patients, the FDA said. Consumers who are taking an unapproved prescription cough, cold, or allergy product should contact their health-care provider to discuss alternatives.
The FDA said no serious side effects from the drugs have been reported, but some users have complained of drowsiness, sedation and irritability after taking them.
Companies that manufacture these medications must stop making them within 90 days and stop shipping the products within 180 days, the FDA said.
A complete list of the unapproved cough, cold or allergy products can be found here.
"Removing these unapproved products from the market will reduce potential risks to consumers," said Deborah Autor, director of the Office of Compliance in the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, in a news release from the agency.
The FDA said removing the products from the market poses no harm to consumers, but taking the unapproved drugs may put the health of people at risk.
"There are many FDA-approved prescription products, as well as appropriately marketed over-the-counter products, available to treat cough, cold, and allergy symptoms; so, we expect little or no negative impact on consumers from the removal of these unapproved products," Autor added.
Among the drugs listed by the FDA is Pediahist, a cold formula labeled for patients as young as 1 month old. FDA regulations do not recommend cold medicines for any children under age 2. Other drugs involved in the recall include Cardec, Lodrane and Organidin.
Many health-care providers are unaware that the drugs are unapproved and have continued to prescribe them to patients, the FDA said. Consumers who are taking an unapproved prescription cough, cold, or allergy product should contact their health-care provider to discuss alternatives.
The FDA said no serious side effects from the drugs have been reported, but some users have complained of drowsiness, sedation and irritability after taking them.
Companies that manufacture these medications must stop making them within 90 days and stop shipping the products within 180 days, the FDA said.
A complete list of the unapproved cough, cold or allergy products can be found here.
Half of Experts Have Conflicts of Interest
Half of the experts involved in writing recent treatment guidelines for heart patients reported a conflict of interest, U.S. researchers said on Monday, raising worries about whose interests are being served.
Even though the experts are disclosing their ties to companies that produce heart drugs and devices, the phenomenon is important because the guidelines they produce are used to help train new doctors, thus can have long-lasting impact on the way patients are treated.
"Because they (guidelines) are so important, the process for producing them is also important. They need to be above suspicion," said Dr. James Kirkpatrick of the University of Pennsylvania, who worked on the study in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
Supplementing With THIS Hormone Can Lead to Tumors and Insomnia
By Dr. Mercola
Before I begin this article I want to state very clearly that hormones are not my primary specialty. I have used them clinically but I found the science quite controversial, so this is a summary as I best understand it.
If you are a clinician with considerable experience in this area I invite you to present your views to update the information on DHEA.
DHEA is a hormone produced by your adrenal glands and in your brain, which was first discovered by scientists in the 1930's.
Your body's natural production of DHEA varies widely with age, with very low levels produced before puberty, peak production in your late 20's or early 30's, followed by a steady decline in production with advancing age.
This age-related pattern of production has lead many to believe that DHEA production may actually be linked to the aging process itself. DHEA supplementation (if you're deficient) may help turn back the clock, as it were, as it can help:
- Lower fat storage through improved thyroid response
- Stimulate bone deposition
- Increase muscle tone
- Improve mood (including fighting depression)
- Fight cancer
Sub-optimal levels of DHEA have also been associated with many age-related degenerative conditions, including:
Chronic inflammation Low libido Immune dysfunction Cognitive decline Rheumatoid arthritis Osteoporosis Increased risk for certain cancers Some complications of type II diabetes.[i]
Can supplementing DHEA really help you with these conditions?
What We Know About DHEA
DHEA, or more precisely DHEA sulfate (your body naturally converts DHEA-S to the DHEA that it uses) is the most abundant precursor hormone in the human body, meaning that it is the largest raw material your body uses to produce other vital hormones, including testosterone in men and estrogen in women.
One thing we know for certain about human adrenals -- besides making DHEA -- they also manufacture cortisol, which is in direct competition with DHEA for production. In other words, when cortisol production is high, especially for prolonged periods of time, your adrenals can actually wear out, and DHEA production will necessarily suffer.
So a natural question follows: what is cortisol and what causes an increase in its production?
The Stress Connection
Cortisol is the hormone your body produces in response to stress, real or imagined, which is why it's commonly referred to as "the stress hormone".
Adrenal exhaustion from coping with chronic stress means your adrenal glands are overworked from manufacturing cortisol, and they simply can't produce enough DHEA to support a healthy hormonal balance.
The result?
You feel exhausted, often depressed, and your muscle tone decreases while body fat increases (cortisol tells your body to store fat).
Symptoms of chronically elevated cortisol levels include:
Increased abdominal fat Stomach ulcers Suppressed immune response Mild memory loss (words, names and numbers) Accelerated aging Suppressed thyroid function Inflammation You hear all the time about how bad stress is for your body. Well now you're looking at the actual hormone responsible for much of the damage. Clearly it pays healthy dividends to reduce stress in your life, not only to reduce cortisol production, but also to ensure that your body has adequate adrenal strength to keep your DHEA levels optimal.
When DHEA Supplementation Makes Sense
First, let me start by saying that bioidentical DHEA should ideally ONLY be supplemented under the guidance of a holistic doctor who can test your body's DHEA levels to ensure you need supplementation. I prefer to test levels using a 24-hour urine test.
Hormonal testing is a controversial area as you can also do blood and saliva test. I tend to follow Dr. Jonathon Wright's recommendation, as he's really the person who introduced bioidentical hormone therapy into the United Sates. You can review his book Stay Young and Sexy for further details.
Properly testing your levels is very important, because people who have normal hormone levels in their bodies who supplement DHEA are likely to experience side effects, such as:
- Acne
- Tumor formation
- Hair loss
- Heart rhythm problems
- Insomnia
If you've been living long stretches of your life on a poor diet, not getting adequate sleep, and overwhelmed by the daily grind -- chances are you're a good candidate for DHEA supplementation.
However, please understand that only a test will tell you for certain what your body's DHEA levels are, but if you're feeling tired and overwhelmed, have low libido, and find your mood suffering or even experience depression regularly, there is a strong chance that your body is not producing enough DHEA.
Maintaining optimal DHEA levels may also be useful for:
Athletes looking to improve performance Increasing sex drive Improving recovery time from stress and physical training Increasing sense of well being Weight loss Improving sleep Muscle gain Improving mood
Too Much DHEA is NOT a Good Thing
The conventional thinking is that if a little is good, then a lot must be better. Not so with DHEA.
Like most good things in life, too much DHEA can lead to problems.
Supplementing hormones over a long period of time can trick your body into suspending its own DHEA production, and possibly even shut down your adrenal glands, which can lead to disastrous health consequences.
Many doctors strongly advise taking "hormone holidays", meaning practice a supplementation schedule that features a few weeks on DHEA followed by a few weeks off.
Also, DHEA supplements come in doses ranging from 5 mg to 200 mg. The scientific jury is still out on the subject, but it appears normal daily DHEA production for an average person in their 20's is between 10-25 mg.
Supplementing beyond the normal peak production range of DHEA might be advisable for short periods of time to restore the effects of a badly depleted adrenal system, but maintaining mega doses of DHEA for any sustained period of time will probably lead to unwanted side effects.
Remember your body's hormone balance is a delicate mechanism that should only be supplemented after consulting a holistic doctor and testing your body's natural DHEA level to determine the appropriate level of supplementation you might need. I would advise against supplementing with this hormone without some professional guidance.
Another important co-factor when considering DHEA supplementation is that your body naturally produces DHEA in the morning and then either uses the hormone or excretes it by the end of the day. So if supplementation is undertaken, it appears that an early morning dose of DHEA is the way to go.
Why You Should AVOID All Oral Hormone Preparations
There are many ways to "naturally" address bioidentical hormone replacement but one of the most common mistakes is to use oral hormones.
But if you swallow steroid hormones you seriously distort their natural metabolism. Swallowed hormones encounter potent stomach acids, and the hormones that survive this assault then move to your liver where they will be further broken down. Your liver screens all molecules that enter your blood stream, passing some onward, modifying or detoxifying others, and rejecting a few.
This routing of orally swallowed hormones is in sharp contrast to the way nature intended them to be distributed to your tissues.
If you swallow hormones, only 10-15 percent will eventually reach the target tissues and you will need to take an oral dose that is 500 percent higher than you need.
Many different metabolites are created in your liver when you swallow a DHEA supplement and any of these can produce unwanted side effects.
So if you or anyone you know currently use an oral DHEA supplement or any other oral hormone, I encourage you to strongly consider phasing them out and instead using a DHEA cream preparation that you administer trans mucosally.
Best Way to Use DHEA Cream
The key mistake that many well-intentioned and knowledgeable doctors -- including myself -- have made is to advise using DHEA cream on your skin. While this certainly provides better results than swallowing the hormones, the method of delivery can still be improved.
The primary problem with topical skin application of the cream is that it's very difficult to determine the dose. Hormones also accumulate in fat tissue, so you may end up with far more than you need.
There is a relatively minor tweak you can make using the cream that avoids nearly all of the side effects of applying the cream on your skin.
If you apply the cream to your mucous epithelial membranes that line your vagina, you are able to obtain a virtually ideal administration system. Not only is absorption through these membranes more complete than through your skin, but hormones absorbed through your vaginal membranes also eliminate the production of unwanted metabolites of DHEA.
Men also require hormones and I myself take DHEA. Obviously men don't have a vagina to administer the cream, but we do have a rectum that has a similar mucosal epithelial surface. So for men, the ideal delivery system for DHEA is in cream form, through the rectum.
Final Thoughts on DHEA
Is DHEA the "fountain of youth" it was touted to be in the 1990's?
Perhaps it is, but with an asterisk.
Your body is designed to maintain a delicate hormonal balance that usually self-regulates naturally according to your age and the stresses you face in life. The fact is, most people do just fine with DHEA production in the prime of their life.
Progressively increasing number of people today complain of a lack of energy, unexplained weight gain, poor mood, depression and insomnia. Some of the contributing factors can be a poor diet, lack of exercise, stress that goes unchecked and adrenal glands functioning sub-optimally.
Prolonged adrenal imbalance can actually be the cause of many of the symptoms associated with a lack of optimal health -- weight gain, depression and a lack of energy that you just can't seem to shake no matter what other healthy changes you make to your lifestyle. And if you're not getting enough quality sleep (another symptom of DHEA imbalance) all of the other healthy changes you make to your lifestyle will not produce dividends you can feel.
So if you are under constant stress, or constantly feel tired, weak, depressed or have a low sex drive, please find yourself a holistic doctor and have him/her perform a 24-hour urine test to determine your DHEA levels.
Too many people suffer unnecessarily from high stress and low DHEA production, so make sure you are not one of these people.
The Agribusiness Juggernaut: Assault on Nature, Threat to Human Survival
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| "Burning Orchids" by Richard William Posne |
Richard William Posner
Organic food has become one of the fastest growing segments of U.S. agriculture. In all probability, however, it will be virtually impossible to obtain any real organic food in the not-too-distant future.
Monsanto, a giant in agricultural biogenetics and holder of patents on several genetically modified organisms (GMOs), is working to corner the global market on Life. Their genetically modified (GM) crops -- some complete with suicide genes which render their seeds infertile and others genetically resistant to herbicides -- are intended to ultimately overrun all natural crops, making Monsanto quite literally the sole owner of all food crops on Earth.
These GM crops will ultimately be the only game in town and, therefore, every vegetable, fruit or grain you eat will be a genetically modified organism (GMO). The same will apply to every form of feed used for livestock, poultry and any creature whatsoever that is raised as a source of food for humans. It's even quite certain that food animals themselves will be subjected to the same sort of genetic manipulation that is now being used on crops. In fact, genetically modified salmon could be available at a supermarket near you sooner than you think.
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