GMO debate sparks confusion among intellectuals

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GHFUO, be serious & change ur MENtali 11 years ago

THIS IS NOT ROCKET SCIENCE.
JUST STAY AWAY FROM MEAT, FAT, SUGARS, PROCESSED FOODS LIKE POTATO CHIPS, FAST FOOD, HOT DOGS, SAUSAGES. WHITE RICE, BREAD...N U WILL BE FINE

THIS IS NOT ROCKET SCIENCE.
JUST STAY AWAY FROM MEAT, FAT, SUGARS, PROCESSED FOODS LIKE POTATO CHIPS, FAST FOOD, HOT DOGS, SAUSAGES. WHITE RICE, BREAD...N U WILL BE FINE
Zoobie-Zoobie 11 years ago

we have enough health problems without GMO

we have enough health problems without GMO
tatale 11 years ago

There is no hope. With the kind of political leadership on both sides of the divide that we are so unfortunate to be saddled with, this poison will eventually be allowed to take root in this country like all the other many ne ...
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There is no hope. With the kind of political leadership on both sides of the divide that we are so unfortunate to be saddled with, this poison will eventually be allowed to take root in this country like all the other many negative alien traits and goods that were allowed to permeate our once peaceful and sober society. These are now slowly killing us all quietly in the form of hitherto unknown diseases.

Our real enemy is those people and govts for whom money means more than human life.
Grassroot 11 years ago

You better tells us to stop eating food ingredients and chew grass. Do you think Ghana's food problem is GMO issue? Ghana's food problem has no solution in GMO. Once again we are passing needless bill to pave a way for these ...
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You better tells us to stop eating food ingredients and chew grass. Do you think Ghana's food problem is GMO issue? Ghana's food problem has no solution in GMO. Once again we are passing needless bill to pave a way for these white people to destroy our food and finish us? These capitalist crooks know the only survival for us our indigenous quality crops so they planned to destroy it, after poisoning us with tombrown, yellow corn, AIDS, vaccines, etc and yet we did not die. What is our local armchair scientists saying? Follow white man for everything. They gave us God, names, cars, clothes, school, etc. so no surprise to follow GMO. Every black man's thing is bad unless white man changes it for us? Stop this GMO nonsense, how far have our local scientist tested and trusted GMO? What research has been done and with what knowledge and tools?
GHFUO, be serious & change ur MENtali 11 years ago

WHY SO MANY GAYS AND DIS-EASE & CANCER RIDDEN PATIENTS?
THESE RACIST, NAZI MEDICAL SCIENTIST ARE USING FOOD, SEX AND BOOZE TO DESSIMATE N DESECRATE THE BLACK POPULATIONS IN SUB SAHARAN AFRICA. THEY WILL DIE BEFORE THEY SEE A ...
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WHY SO MANY GAYS AND DIS-EASE & CANCER RIDDEN PATIENTS?
THESE RACIST, NAZI MEDICAL SCIENTIST ARE USING FOOD, SEX AND BOOZE TO DESSIMATE N DESECRATE THE BLACK POPULATIONS IN SUB SAHARAN AFRICA. THEY WILL DIE BEFORE THEY SEE AN IOTA OF PROGRESS IN THEIR NEFARIOUS ACTIONS.
INSTEAD OF LEARNING SOMETHING QUALITATIVE FROM THE WHITES, NO..WE WANT TO LEARN GAY THINGS. IDIOTS.
ALLOW THE WHITES TO GRANT ASYLUM TO THE GAYS. WE NEED WATER, ELECTRICITY, BETTER DEVELOPMNT, HEALTHCARE ETC...NOT TRUMU STUDIES!
NOT TRUMU LITERATURE...NKWASIAFUOR. HIPC AID NTI MAHAMA WANTS TO PASS TRUMU LAW IN GH. HE WILL BE ASSASSINATED!
BLAME ALL THESE GAY TENDENCIES ON THE HORMONES IN THE IMPORTED CHICKENS N MEATS.
CHICKEN IMPORTED FROM THE WEST ARE REARED WITH ARTIFICIAL HORMONES AND EGG HATECHED IN 29 DAYS!
THEY ARE GENETICALLY ENGINEERED WITH NO BEAKS, NO FEATHERS, NO FEET. READY IN LESS THAN A MONTH.
THESE CANCER CAUSING HORMONES ARE THEN PASSED UNTO THOSE WHO EAT THEM.
THESE HORMONES FROM CHICKENS CAUSE CANCER SORES AS WELL AND IS THE MAIN CAUSE FOR THESE NEW HOMOSEXUALS.
STAY AWAY FROM COKE N PEPSI FROM THESE PLASTIC BOTTLES. WHEN U DRINK SODA POP FROM PLASTIC. THE CHEMICALS FROM THE SODA POP
MIXES WITH THE CHEMICALS IN THE PLASTIC BOTTLES AND CAUSES BREAST CANCER IN MEN. IT MAKES MEN FEMININE. HOMOSEXUALS ARE A
BY PRODUCT OF THESE HORMONAL TRANSPLANTS.
DO YOU KNOW THAT WHOLEFOODS IS OWNED BY STAPLES? WOW.....
THESE WESTERNERS ARE SPRAYING WEED WITH TB..TUBERCLOSIS. TB USED TO BE A DISEASE FOR POOR PPL.
TODAY, MIDDLE CLASS, WHITE PPL ARE ALSO SUFFERING FROM TB BCOS THEIR YOUNG ONES ARE SMOKING WEED AS A RECREATIONAL DRUG.
WEED WILL STAY IN UR MUSCLES, BLOOD STREAM N SLOWS UR MEMORY BANK. IT WILL EVENTUALLY WIPE OUT UR MEMORY BANK.
RE EVALUATE EVERYTHING U HAVE BEEN TAUGHT. USE UR MIND!
POPULATION REDUCTION WITH CONDOMS
Who will be left alive? The smart people.....
MOVIE: APOCALYPTO....."A great civilization is not conquered from without until it has destroyed itself from within."
This is a great quote, but extremely problematic for the movie that follows.
Durant's quote talks about corruption within being followed by external conquest, what we usually associate with the
decadence that preceded the fall of Rome, but that does not apply to what happened to the Maya.
Besides, even those Mesoamerican cultures that did not engage in human sacrifice were going to be immune to the myriad
diseases that Europeans brought to the Americas and which decimates entire peoples.
BILL GATES USING GMO FOODS, GENERIC DRUGS, CONDOMS, FLU AND TB SHOTS ON AFRICANS UNER THE GUISE OF HELPING THEM.
IN ACTUALITY, HE IS ENGINEERING AND FOSTERING A REDUCTION AND A SLOW REMOVAL OF OUR POPULATIONS, SLOWLY.
The interesting thing about all this is that this campaign to reduce global population through vaccines will obviously not impact people who consciously avoid vaccines. And those people, by and large, tend to be the more intelligent, capable people who actually have an improved ability to move human civilization forward with thoughtful consideration.
I can only imagine that those people designing this vaccine-induced population control measure might be sitting around a table chuckling to themselves and saying, "It's only the stupid people that are going to be killed off anyway, so this is actually helping the future of humankind!" (Their words, not mine.)
In a weird world government kind of way, this effort might actually be based on some distorted vision of philanthropy where some of the most powerful people in the world quite literally believe the way to save humanity is to kill off as many of the gullible people as possible. Vaccines are, in effect, an "evil genius" kind of way to conduct an IQ test on the population at large: If you go get vaccinated every flu season, you're not too bright and probably don't engage the kind of strong mental faculties that humanity will no doubt need if it is to face a future where it is now all but obvious we are not alone in the universe.
If humanity is to save itself from its own destruction and compete as an uplifted species in our universe, killing off the least intelligent members of society (or making them infertile) may appear to the world controllers to be a perfectly reasonable approach. I disagree with that approach, but it may be precisely what they are thinking.
In any case, choosing to receive a seasonal flu shot is undoubtedly an admission that you have failed some sort of universal IQ test, whether or not this is the intention of world influencers such as Bill Gates. More importantly, it is also a betrayal of your own biology, because it indicates you don't believe in the ability of your own immune system to protect you even from mild infections.
Perhaps the world vaccine conspirators figure that if people are willing to betray themselves anyway, it's not much different for governments and institutions to betray them as well. In other words, if you don't even care enough about your own health to take care of your health, why should any government care about protecting your health, either?
As you ponder this, also consider something else: The U.S. is going broke due to sick-care costs which are rising dramatically under the new federal health care reform guidelines. Can you guess the fastest and easiest way to reduce those health care costs? If you guessed, "unleash a hard-kill pandemic that takes out a significant portion of the weak or sick people" then you guessed right. Sadly, killing off those most vulnerable to sickness could save the U.S. government literally billions of dollars in sick-care expenditures. Plus, it would save Social Security yet more billions by avoiding ongoing monthly payouts. (Again, I am completely against such an approach because I value human life, but I also know we live in a world where the people in charge have little or no respect for human life and will readily sacrifice human lives to achieve their aims.)
As far as Bill Gates goes, consider his statement in the context of what we've discussed here: "The world today has 6.8 billion people... that's headed up to about 9 billion. Now if we do a really great job on new vaccines, health care, reproductive health services, we could lower that by perhaps 10 or 15 percent."
It suddenly seems to make a lot of sense when you understand that reducing the population reduces CO2 emissions, and using more vaccines on more people increases the death rate of the population.
My advice? Try to avoid being among those 10 to 15 percent who get culled through global vaccine programs. You will not only save your life, you'll also pass the "universal IQ test" which determines whether you're smart enough to know that injecting your body with chemicals and viral fragments in order to stop "seasonal flu" is a foolish endeavor.
Be healthy and wise, and you'll survive the world depopulation effort that victimizes conventional thinkers who don't have the intelligence to question what they're being told to do by their own corrupt governments.

OBAMA RECENTLY NAMED GMO LOBBYIST FOR MONSANTO AS FDA HEAD...EEEEI!
HOW CAN A PRESIDENT WHO HAS A GARDEN IN THE WHITEHOUSE HAND PICK A MONSANTO LOBBYIST AS THE NEW FOOD AND DRUGS BOARD CHIEF?
DEY THERE...
MODIFYING FOOD CROPS WITH RNAI IS UNSAFE, UNPREDICTABLE.
THESE EXPERIMENTAL GENE TAMPERING IS ALREADY TAKING PLACE ELSEWHERE, AND IT IS PROVING TO BE A COMPLETE FAILURE.
IN AUSTRALIA, FOR INSTANCE, FIELD TRIALS OF A NOVEL VARIETY OF GM WHEAT WITH RNAI ALTERATIONS HAVE BEEN DISASTROUS, AS THE MODIFIED GENE EXPRESSIONS
IN THE WHEAT ARE ALSO MODIFYING HUMAN GENES IN THE LIVER. RESEARCHERS ARE NOW WARNING THAT HUMAN CHILDREN WHO EAT THIS GM WHEAT
COULD ACTUALLY DIE BEFORE REACHING THE AGE OF FIVE. DONT BE SUPRISED TO SEE SUCH CRAP BEING SHIPPED TO AFRICA TO FEED MALNOURSHED CHILDREN. IN A BID
TO FURTHER DESECRATE THE POPULATIONS OF BLACKS ON THE CONTINENT...(WWW.NATURALNEWS.COM)
COLONIES OF BACTERIA ARE REPLICATING WITHIN THE INTESTINES, LONG AFTER THE GMO FOOD WAS INGESTED. IF THIS HYPOTHESIS IS CORRECT, WE MIGHT SEE AN INCREASE
IN GASTROINTESTINAL PROBLEMS, AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES, FOOD ALLEGIES AND CHILDHOOD OBESITY, CHILDHOOD LEARNING DISORDERS
SINCE 1996 WHEN BT CROPS CAME ON THE MARKET. PHYSICIANS HAVE TOLD ME THAT THEY INDEED ARE SEEING SUCH AN INCREASE IN SUCH DISEASES...HEMMORROIDS, KOOKO,
CONSTIPATION ETC....THE QUESTION NOW IS, HOW DO WE PROTECT OURSELVES FROM BT TOXIN AND RID OURSELVES OF IT ONCE IT IS EXPOSED IN OUR
SYSTEMS?
ANSWER: ADOPT A 100 PERCENT FREE GMO FREE, ORGANIC DIET
USE RELIABLE WATER PURIFICATION LIKE REVERSE OSMOSIS THAT REVERSE CONTAMINANTS LIKE PESTICIDES
ADHERE TO ANTI CANDIDA PRINCIPLES WHICH BALANCE GOOD FLORA WITHIN THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM
TRY HERBAL ANTIBIOTICS LIKE OLIVE LEAF EXTRACT, OIL OF OREGANO, CATS CLAW, GARLIC AND COLLODIAL SILVER TO FORGET HARMFUL PATHOGENS
CONSUME PROBIOTIC RICH FOODS SUCH AS NON PASTEURIZED KIMCHI AND SAUERKRAUT, YOGURT AND KEFIR
INGEST PLENTY OF FIBER TO PUSH DANGEROUS ORGANISMS OUT OF THE SYSTEM
AVOID SUGAR AND PROCESSED FOODS AS BOTH ARE FUEL FOR HARMFUL BACTERIA IN THE GUT STREAM AND BLADDER
GMO FOODS HAVE BEEN SHOWN BEYOND A DOUBT TO DESTROY HEALTH IN HUMANS AND ANIMALS ALIKE
BOYCOTT GENETICALLY MODIFIED FOODS, DETOXIFY AND SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT THE DANGERS BEFORE ITS TOO LATE
THE WORLD IS FULL OF OVERPOPULATION. GMO CROPS WILL MAKE SURE WE HAVE ENUFF FOOD TO FEED THE MASSSES, BUT THE DOWNSIDE TO THIS IS IT WILL
ALSO KILL MORE PEOPLE, MUCH QUICKER. PEOPLE WILL BEGIN TO HAVE SHORTER LIFE SPANS. THE TREND HAS ALREADY BEGUN
".. thou shalt not sow thy field with mingled seed .."
- Leviticus 19:19 (KJV)
(I'm not really the one to be quoting Bible verses, but it looks like
God had this figured out thousands of years ago.)
I've heard the Jewish folks in Israel are doing a pretty good job at
growing food correctly - we could probably learn from them (I think
they may following the advice in the Old Testament).
kofi 11 years ago

OUR ANCESTORS WERE SO STRONG AND HEALTHY BCOS THEIR NATURAL FOODS WERE UNADULTERATED AND THEREFORE HAD ALL THE NATURALLY GOD-GIVEN INGREDIENTS TO FIGHT CANCERS,FIBROID, BP, DIABETES, IMPOTENCE, SEXUAL WEAKNESS, BARENESS,STROK ...
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OUR ANCESTORS WERE SO STRONG AND HEALTHY BCOS THEIR NATURAL FOODS WERE UNADULTERATED AND THEREFORE HAD ALL THE NATURALLY GOD-GIVEN INGREDIENTS TO FIGHT CANCERS,FIBROID, BP, DIABETES, IMPOTENCE, SEXUAL WEAKNESS, BARENESS,STROKE,AND ALL NON COMMUNICABLE DISEASES...WE ARE NOT SO STRONG BCOS WE HAVE ABANDONED OUR FOODS...BUT AT LEAST VILLAGERS CONTINUE TO EAT THEM AND GROW STRONG AND LEAN AS OPPOSED TO CITY AND URBAN DWELLERS WHO GROW WEAK AND OBESE,,, ..SO NOW THAT WE OUR POLITICIANS WANT TO EVEN INTRODUCE CULTIVATION OF GM CROPS IN GHANA, WE SHD BE READY TO TREAT MANY MANY MANY MORE CASES OF THE AFOREMENTIONED NONCOMMUNICABLE DISEASES....LET US ALL SAY NO NO NO TO GM FOODS BCOS OUR NATURAL FOODS ARE ALSO VERY MEDICINAL AND PROMOTE OUR HEALTH VERY SIGNIFICANTLY WHICH THE GM FOODS CANT DO BCOS THEIR NATURAL HEALTH BENEFITS HAVE BEEN COMPROMISED TO THE DETRIMENT OF OUR HEALTH AFTER A LONG TERM USE.
Freethinker 11 years ago

Our Ancestors were strong because they were not pretreated with antibiotics hence the strongest child survived allowing for a strong gene pool.
now even the dying are saved and their weak gene pool is mixed with the strong o ...
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Our Ancestors were strong because they were not pretreated with antibiotics hence the strongest child survived allowing for a strong gene pool.
now even the dying are saved and their weak gene pool is mixed with the strong one making it weaker.
Genetic modification happens even in our cells.one cant avoid it. Eating GM foods shouldnt cause a problem since the basic unit of absorbtion-lipids proteins etc will remain the same...
In any case we are already eating gm foods and using gm cooking oils....
Adongo 11 years ago

SHOW US THE EVIDENCE,RALPH AND STOP TALKING LIKE AN ILLITERATE !!!

SHOW US THE EVIDENCE,RALPH AND STOP TALKING LIKE AN ILLITERATE !!!
Zoobie-Zoobie 11 years ago

MAHAMAH, THE MINISTERS, THE MPS and COMPANY are too corrupt to think

MAHAMAH, THE MINISTERS, THE MPS and COMPANY are too corrupt to think
Concerned 11 years ago

this is an issue we cant afford to fight over. dont u rather think its those who are saying its safe who should show us the evidence

this is an issue we cant afford to fight over. dont u rather think its those who are saying its safe who should show us the evidence

GOD SAVE GHANA FROM CORRUPTION! 11 years ago

You consider yourself "literate" and yet you can't even inform yourself on issues by researching the diverse publications of serious scientific studies on the internet! To you and other others of your ilk, the internet is onl ...
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You consider yourself "literate" and yet you can't even inform yourself on issues by researching the diverse publications of serious scientific studies on the internet! To you and other others of your ilk, the internet is only for making brief, silly comments at Ghanaweb most likely through your phone.

Get a computer plus internet access and educate yourself on serious issues you know nothing about, for God's sake!
Dotse 11 years ago

The theme for this years farmars day celebration contain the phrase post harvest losses. to me it means we are producing enough but getting lost/rot becouse of some factors such as:
(1)Bad roads to farmes
(2)Availability of ...
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The theme for this years farmars day celebration contain the phrase post harvest losses. to me it means we are producing enough but getting lost/rot becouse of some factors such as:
(1)Bad roads to farmes
(2)Availability of markets and
(3)Technology to proscess/preserve foodstuffs
So, with these cons in mind, I think the best the government should do is to finds ways of solving them not to introduce GMO. Introducing GMO will worsten the current situation thus; more food will be produced which will continue to get lost. Furthermore we are not certain about the efficacy of the GMO food produced. Other countries may avoid foodstuffs from Ghana. Please let discuss this tactfully before passing into law.
Thank you.
Concerned 11 years ago

there are certain parts of the world where organic food can be sold at a premium. food is medicine, good ones help and bad ones like coke can destroy. the powerful international lobby have captured our leaders.This is a t ...
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there are certain parts of the world where organic food can be sold at a premium. food is medicine, good ones help and bad ones like coke can destroy. the powerful international lobby have captured our leaders.This is a time for all those think tanks and civil whatever to campaign
MD 11 years ago

Parliament should suspend the bill indefinitely for further research and studies. Statistics shows that many Americans still don't know much about GMO foods and some states refused to adopt it. If Americans themselves who are ...
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Parliament should suspend the bill indefinitely for further research and studies. Statistics shows that many Americans still don't know much about GMO foods and some states refused to adopt it. If Americans themselves who are introducing this commodity into our economy did not fully accept it, why then should we embrace it. The parliamentarians should know that Americans will never use Ghana as their main source of food import. Those European countries that resisted the product will never import food from Ghana should we adopt it. They should look at the long term effects and resist it despite the big money being attached to the offer by the Americans. No leader should accept bribe in this crucial decision and rush to pass it.
Canadasheabutter(GhUWR) @ Abudu ibn a 11 years ago

Genetically Modified Soy Diets Lead to Ovary and Uterus Changes in Rats
By Jeffrey M. Smith
If youre still eating genetically modified (GM) soybeans and you plan on having kids, a Brazilian study may make you think again ab ...
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Genetically Modified Soy Diets Lead to Ovary and Uterus Changes in Rats
By Jeffrey M. Smith
If youre still eating genetically modified (GM) soybeans and you plan on having kids, a Brazilian study may make you think again about what you put in your mouth. Female rats fed GM soy for 15 months showed significant changes in their uterus and reproductive cycle, compared to rats fed organic soy or those raised without soy. Published in The Anatomical Record in 2009, this finding adds to the mounting body of evidence suggesting that GM foods contribute to reproductive disorders (see summary at end).
Unlike women whose menstrual cycle starts automatically at puberty, female rats need to be inspired. Their (estrous) cycle conveniently kicks in only after being introduced to male rats. Since no males were present in this study, the females fed organic soy or no soy were appropriately untriggered (diestrus). For some odd reason, however, those fed GM soy appeared to have their ovulation cycle in full gear.
Although the researchers did not perform a check on the estrous cycle directly, their microscopic analysis of ovaries and uterus tissue showed that the hormone-induced changes (i.e. early ovulation and formation of corpus luteum) were well underway. In addition, the lining of the uterus (endometriim) had more cells than normal and the glands were dilated. In simpler terms, according to senior UK pathologist Stanley Ewen, something in the GM soy diet was wrecking the ovary and endometrium of the rats.
Hormonal imbalance and disease risk
Dr. Ewen speculated on the significant hormonal changes in the rats and their implications for women who eat GM soy. He said that the proliferative growth (hyperplasia) of the (endometrial) cells lining the uterus implies changes in important reproductive hormones. There might include excessive production of estrogen, follicle stimulating hormone, and luteinizing hormone, or even damage to the pituitary gland itself.
The presence of the corpus luteum, which is normally formed during the estrous cycle, means that the rats likely have higher amounts of progesterone. This hormone could increase the number of eggs released from the ovary, as well as increase their tendency to implant and be viable. If eating GM soy increased progesterone in women, this might improve their fertility.
On the other hand, if women also experienced similar changes in the uterus lining and altered hormonal levels, Dr. Ewen said it might increase the risk of retrograde menstruation, in which menstrual discharge travels backwards into the body rather than through the uterus. This can cause a disease known as endometriosis, which may lead to infertility. The disorder can also produce pelvic and leg pain, gastrointestinal problems, chronic fatigue, and a wide variety of other symptoms. The cause is unknown.
Dr. Ewen also pointed out that the changes in the rats, if extrapolated to humans, might lead to abnormally heavy or longer menstrual periods (menorrhagia).
He was quick to point out that more studies are needed before any firm conclusions can be drawn, particularly because such a method of study, called histology, is a static observationonly a snapshot. In addition, follow-up studies may be able to better rule out other variables. In this study, an amino acid (cysteine) was added only to the organic soy diet but not the GMO (although even a cysteine-deficient diet would not explain the reproductive issues). Also, the soybeans used in both diets were purchased commercially. It is much better to use similar genetic varieties grown side by side in the same climatic conditions. Unfortunately, Monsanto doesnt usually make the similar varieties (isolines) available for research.
The variable that Dr. Ewen wants looked at the most is the weedkiller used on GM soybeans, as he mentioned over and over that it is a probable cause of the disruption.
Is Roundup herbicide causing us reproductive problems?
Genetically modified soybeans are called Roundup Ready. They are inserted with a bacterial gene, which allows the plants to survive a normally deadly dose of Roundup herbicide. Although the spray doesnt kill the plant, its active ingredient called glyphosate does accumulate in the beans themselves, which are consumed by rats, livestock, and humans. There is so much glyphosate in GM soybeans, when they were introduced Europe had to increase their allowable residue levels by 200 fold.
Although there is only a handful of studies on the safety of GM soybeans, there is considerable evidence that glyphosateespecially in conjunction with the other ingredients in Roundupwreaks havoc with the endocrine and reproductive systems. I think the concentration of glyphosate in the soybeans is the likely cause of the problem, says Ewen.
Glyphosate throws off the delicate hormonal balance that governs the whole reproductive cycle. Its an endocrine buster, says Ewen, that interferes with aromatase, which produces estrogen. Aromatase is required by luteal cells to produce hormones for the normal menstrual cycle, but its those luteal cells that have shown considerable alterations in the rats fed GM soybeans.
Glyphosate is also toxic to the placenta, the organ which connects the mother to the fetus, providing nutrients and oxygen, and emptying waste products. In a 2009 French study[i] at the University of Caen, scientists discovered that glyphosate can kill the cells in the outer layer of the human placenta (the trophoblast membrane), which in turn can kill the placenta. The placenta cells are, in Ewens words, exquisitely sensitive to glyphosate. Only 1/500th the amount needed to kill weeds was able to kill the cells. The amount is so small, according to the study authors the residual levels to be expected, especially in food and feed derived from R[oundup] formulation-treated crops could be enough to cause cell damage and even [cell] death. Furthermore, the effect of the toxin may bioaccumulate, growing worse with repeated consumption from Roundup laden foods.
Ewen says, If the endocrine functions of the placenta are destroyed by glyphosate in the test tube, by extrapolation, ovarian and endometrial function would be expected to suffer. The implications for pregnant woman consuming glyphosate, he says, could be abortion.
Indeed, in a Canadian epidemiological study, which looked at nearly 4000 pregnancies in 1,898 couples, women exposed to glyphosate during the three months before getting pregnant had a significantly higher risk of abortions, especially for those above 34 years of age.[ii]
Dr. Ewen regrets that he didnt follow up a referral by a local gynecologist about 20 years ago, who told him that women were having abortions when the fields next door were sprayed. He doesnt know what was sprayed.
Fathers exposed to glyphosate also increase reproductive risks
In the Canadian study above, even fathers who were exposed to glyphosate before their wives got pregnant showed an increase in early delivery and abortions.[iii] In addition, a study of male rabbits showed that glyphosate can cause a reduction in sexual activity and sperm concentration, and an increase in dead or abnormal sperm. [iv]
Birth defects increased in humans and animals
Numerous indigenous people and peasant communities in Argentina have blamed aerial spraying of Roundup on a significant rise of birth defects. Dr. Andreas Carasco of the Embryology Laboratory, Faculty of Medicine in Buenos Aires, decided to investigate. He exposed amphibian embryos to a tiny concentration of glyphosate (diluted 5000 fold). According to an excellent summary of glyphosate-related effects by the Pesticide Action Network,
Effects included reduced head size, genetic alterations in the central nervous system, increased death of cells that help form the skull, deformed cartilage, eye defects, and undeveloped kidneys. Carrasco also stated that the glyphosate was not breaking down in the cells, but was accumulating. The findings lend weight to claims that abnormally high levels of cancer, birth defects, neonatal mortality, lupus, kidney disease, and skin and respiratory problems in populations near Argentinas soybean fields may be linked to the aerial spraying of Roundup.
Although human embryos are not directly treated with glyphosate in the same way that Carrasco treated his amphibian embryos, it is known that glyphosate does cross the placenta and enters the fetal circulation.[v]
In his article, Dr. Carrasco describes some disturbing findings in Argentina, where more than 50 million gallons of glyphosate-based herbicide is used on more than 45 million acres of GM soy.
In Argentina, an increase in the incidence of congenital malformations began to be reported in the last few years. In Co´rdoba, several cases of malformations together with repeated spontaneous abortions were detected in the village of Ituzaingo´, which is surrounded by GMO-based agriculture. These findings were concentrated in families living a few meters from where the herbicides are regularly sprayed.
Glyphosate may also cause reproductive disorders in the offspring of those exposed. When pregnant rats, for example, were exposed to glyphosate, their male offspring suffered reduced sperm production, increased abnormal sperm, and decrease in testosterone, in puberty and/or adulthood.[vi]
Other evidence of reproductive problems from GMOs
The changes in the rat uterus and ovulation cycle are by no means a smoking gun. But they are now part of a pattern of multiple reproductive disorders found in GMO feeding studies.
Professor Vyvyan Howard, a toxico-pathologist of the University of Ulster, says, Several new hazards can now be identified. The growing body or research showing problems, he says, provides ample evidence that the producers of GMO crops are not performing risk assessments for some of the hazards that independent scientists are identifying and testing. Dr. Howard, who specializes in the effects of toxins on the fetus and infants, asks, What will be the effect on the fetus in the womb of women eating these foods? This needs to be tested.
The few tests that have been done on animals are more than sobering. In April 2010, researchers at Russias Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the National Association for Gene Security found that after feeding hamsters GM soy for two years over three generations, by the third generation most lost the ability to have babies. They also suffered slower growth, a high mortality rate among the pups, and a high incidence of a rare phenomenon of hair growing inside their mouths.
When I reported the results of the hamster study, I included the following review of other GMO-related reports of reproductive disorders:
In 2005, Irina Ermakova, also with the Russian National Academy of Sciences, reported that more than half the babies from mother rats fed GM soy died within three weeks. This was also five times higher than the 10% death rate of the non-GMO soy group. The babies in the GM group were also smaller (see photo) and could not reproduce.
In a telling coincidence, after Ermakovas feeding trials, her laboratory started feeding all the rats in the facility a commercial rat chow using GM soy. Within two months, the infant mortality facility-wide reached 55%.
When Ermakova fed male rats GM soy, their testicles changed from the normal pink to dark blue! Italian scientists similarly found changes in mice testes (PDF), including damaged young sperm cells. Furthermore, the DNA of embryos from parent mice fed GM soy functioned differently.
An Austrian government study published in November 2008 showed that the more GM corn was fed to mice, the fewer the babies they had (PDF), and the smaller the babies were.
Central Iowa Farmer Jerry Rosman also had trouble with pigs and cows becoming sterile. Some of his pigs even had false pregnancies or gave birth to bags of water. After months of investigations and testing, he finally traced the problem to GM corn feed. Every time a newspaper, magazine, or TV show reported Jerrys problems, he would receive calls from more farmers complaining of livestock sterility on their farm, linked to GM corn.
Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine accidentally discovered that rats raised on corncob bedding neither breed nor exhibit reproductive behavior. Tests on the corn material revealed two compounds that stopped the sexual cycle in females at concentrations approximately two-hundredfold lower than classical phytoestrogens. One compound also curtailed male sexual behavior and both substances contributed to the growth of breast and prostate cancer cell cultures. Researchers found that the amount of the substances varied with GM corn varieties. The crushed corncob used at Baylor was likely shipped from central Iowa, near the farm of Jerry Rosman and others complaining of sterile livestock.
In Haryana, India, a team of investigating veterinarians report that buffalo consuming GM cottonseed suffer from infertility, as well as frequent abortions, premature deliveries, and prolapsed uteruses. Many adult and young buffalo have also died mysteriously.
Biotech advocates usually deny or try to discredit the evidence, and often attack scientists who discover it. But they rarely call for follow-up studies. With little or no money to follow up on these findings, we wont know for sure if GMOs are the cause, or if it is glyphosate, or something else. But numerous medical doctors arent waiting for more research. They are telling their patients, especially those pregnant or planning to have kids, just say no to GMOs.
So if you were still eating GMOs before you read this, perhaps its time to take the doctors advice.
________________________________________
[i] Benachour N, Seralini G-E. 2009. Glyphosate formulations induce apoptosis and necrosis in human
umbilical, embryonic, and placental cells. Chem Res Toxicol 22:97-105.
[ii] Arbuckle TE, Lin Z, Mery LS. 2001. An exploratory analysis of the effect of pesticide exposure on the risk of spontaneous abortion in an Ontario farm population. Environ Health Perspect 109:851-57.
[iii] Savitz DA, Arbuckle T, Kaczor D, Curtis KM. 1997.Male pesticide exposure and pregnancy outcome. Am J Epidemiol 146(12):1025-36.
[iv] Yousef MI. 1995. Toxic effects of carbofuran and glyphosate on semen characteristics in rabbits. J Environ Sci Health B 30(4):513-34.
[v] Mose T, Kjaerstad MB, Mathiesen L, Nielsen JB, Edelfors S, Knudsen LE. 2008. Placental passage of benzoic acid, caffeine, and glyphosate in an ex vivo human perfusion system. J Toxicol Environ Health A 71:984-91.
[vi] Dallegrave E, Mantese FD, Oliveira RT, Andrade AJM, Dalsenter PR, Langeloh A. 2007. Pre- and postnatal toxicity of the commercial glyphosate formulation in Wistar rats. Arch Toxicol 81:665-73.
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A new generation of insect larvae is eating the roots of genetically engineered corn intended to be resistant to such pests. The failure of Monsanto's genetically modified Bt corn could be the most serious threat ever to a genetically modified crop in the U.S.
And the economic impact could be huge. Billions of dollars are at stake, as Bt corn accounts for 65 percent of all corn grown in the US.
The strain of corn, engineered to kill the larvae of beetles, such as the corn rootworm, contains a gene copied from an insect-killing bacterium called Bacillus thuringiensis, or Bt.
But even though a scientific advisory panel warned the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that the threat of insects developing resistance was high, Monsanto argued that the steps necessary to prevent such an occurrence -- which would have entailed less of the corn being planted -- were an unnecessary precaution, and the EPA naively agreed.
According to a recent NPR report:
"The scientists who called for caution now are saying 'I told you so,' because there are signs that a new strain of resistant rootworms is emerging...[A] committee of experts at the EPA is now recommending that biotech companies put into action, for the first time, a 'remedial action plan' aimed at stopping the spread of such resistant insects ...
The EPA's experts also are suggesting that the agency reconsider its approval of a new kind of rootworm-killing corn, which Monsanto calls SmartStax. This new version of Bt corn includes two different Bt genes that are supposed to kill the rootworm in different ways. This should help prevent resistance from emerging, and the EPA is allowing farmers to plant it on up to 95 percent of their corn acres. But if one of those genes is already compromised… such a high percentage of Bt corn could rapidly produce insects that are resistant to the second one, too."
There can be little doubt that genetically engineered crops are the most dangerous aspect of modern agriculture. Not only are we seeing rapid emergence of super-weeds resistant to glyphosate, courtesy of Roundup Ready crops, we now also have evidence of emerging Bt-resistant insects. Add to that the emergence of a brand new organism capable of producing disease and infertility in both plants and animals, and a wide variety of evidence showing harm to human health, and the only reasonable expectation one can glean is that humanity as a whole is being seriously threatened by this foolhardy technology.
Bt Corn—a Most Dangerous Failure
Monsanto's genetically modified "Bt corn" has been equipped with a gene from soil bacteria called Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis), which produces the Bt-toxin. It's a pesticide that breaks open the stomach of certain insects and kills them.
This pesticide-producing corn entered the food supply in the late 1990's, and over the past decade, the horror stories have started piling up. And the problem with Bt crops go far beyond the creation of Bt-resistant insects.
Monsanto and the EPA swore that the genetically engineered corn would only harm insects. The Bt-toxin produced inside the plant would be completely destroyed in the human digestive system and would not have any impact at all on consumers, they claimed. Alas, they've been proven wrong on that account as well, because not only is Bt corn producing resistant "super-pests," researchers have also found that the Bt-toxin can indeed wreak havoc on human health.
Bt-Toxin Now Found in Many People's Blood!
Last year, doctors at Sherbrooke University Hospital in Quebec found Bt-toxin in the blood of:
• 93 percent of pregnant women tested
• 80 percent of umbilical blood in their babies, and
• 67 percent of non-pregnant women
The study authors speculate that the Bt toxin was likely consumed in the normal diet of the Canadian middle class—which makes sense when you consider that genetically engineered corn is present in the vast majority of all processed foods and drinks in the form of high fructose corn syrup. They also suggest that the toxin may have come from eating meat from animals fed Bt corn, which most livestock raised in confined animal feeding operations (CAFO, or so-called "factory farms") are.
These shocking results raise the frightening possibility that eating Bt corn might actually turn your intestinal flora into a sort of "living pesticide factory"… essentially manufacturing Bt-toxin from within your digestive system on a continuing basis.
If this hypothesis is correct, is it then also possible that the Bt-toxin might damage the integrity of your digestive tract in the same way it damages insects? Remember, the toxin actually ruptures the stomach of insects, causing them to die. The biotech industry has insisted that the Bt-toxin doesn't bind or interact with the intestinal walls of mammals (which would include humans). But again, there are peer-reviewed published research showing that Bt-toxin does bind with mouse small intestines and with intestinal tissue from rhesus monkeys.
Bt-Toxin Linked to Allergies, Auto-Immune Disease, and More
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If Bt genes are indeed capable of colonizing the bacteria living in the human digestive tract, scientists believe it could reasonably result in:
• Gastrointestinal problems
• Autoimmune diseases
• Food allergies
• Childhood learning disorders
And lo and behold, all of these health problems are indeed on the rise… The discovery of Bt-toxin in human blood is not proof positive of this link, but it certainly raises a warning flag. And there's plenty of other evidence showing that the Bt-toxin produced in GM corn and cotton plants is toxic to humans and mammals and triggers immune system responses. For example, in government-sponsored research in Italy , mice fed Monsanto's Bt corn showed a wide range of immune responses, such as:
• Elevated IgE and IgG antibodies, which are typically associated with allergies and infections
• An increase in cytokines, which are associated with allergic and inflammatory responses. The specific cytokines (interleukins) that were found to be elevated are also higher in humans who suffer from a wide range of disorders, from arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease, to MS and cancer
• Elevated T cells (gamma delta), which are increased in people with asthma, and in children with food allergies, juvenile arthritis, and connective tissue diseases.
Rats fed another of Monsanto's Bt corn varieties called MON 863, also experienced an activation of their immune systems, showing higher numbers of basophils, lymphocytes, and white blood cells. These can indicate possible allergies, infections, toxins, and various disease states including cancer. There were also signs of liver- and kidney toxicity.
Topical versus Internal Toxins
Farmers have used Bt-toxin from soil bacteria as a natural pesticide for years, and biotech companies have therefore claimed that Bt-toxin has a "history of safe use in agriculture." But there's a huge difference between spraying it on plants, where it biodegrades in sunlight and can be carefully washed off, and genetically altering the plant to produce it internally.
Bt crops have the Bt-toxin gene built-in, so the toxin cannot be washed off. You simply cannot avoid consuming it. Furthermore, the plant-produced version of the poison is thousands of times more concentrated than the spray.
There are also peer-reviewed studies showing that natural Bt-toxin from soil bacteria is not a safe pesticide either:
• When natural Bt-toxin was fed to mice, they had tissue damage, immune responses as powerful as cholera toxin , and even started reacting to other foods that were formerly harmless.
• Farm workers exposed to Bt also showed immune responses .
• The EPA's Bt Plant-Pesticides Risk and Benefits Assessment, created by their expert Scientific Advisory Panel, states that "Bt proteins could act as antigenic and allergenic sources."
Do You Know what You're Eating?
Did you know that two years ago, the American Academy of Environmental Medicine (AAEM) called on all physicians to prescribe diets without genetically modified (GM) foods to all patients?
They sure did, although few doctors seem to have gotten the memo. They also called for a moratorium on genetically modified organisms (GMOs), long-term independent studies, and labeling, stating:
"Several animal studies indicate serious health risks associated with GM food, including infertility, immune problems, accelerated aging, insulin regulation, and changes in major organs and the gastrointestinal system. …There is more than a casual association between GM foods and adverse health effects. There is causation…"
I couldn't agree more. Avoiding genetically engineered foods should be at the top of everyone's list—at least if you want a decent shot at optimal health.
The simplest way to avoid genetically engineered (GE) foods is to buy whole, certified organic foods. By definition, foods that are certified organic must never intentionally use GE ingredients, and must be produced without artificial pesticides or fertilizers. Animals must also be reared without the routine use of antibiotics, growth promoters or other drugs. Additionally, grass-fed beef will not have been fed GE corn feed.
You can also avoid genetically modified (GM) ingredients in processed foods, if you know what to look for. There are currently eight genetically modified food crops on the market:
Soy
Sugar from sugar beets
Corn
Hawaiian papaya
Cottonseed (used in vegetable cooking oils)
Some varieties of zucchini
Canola (canola oil)
Crookneck squash
This means you should avoid products with corn, soy, canola, and any of their derivatives listed as an ingredient, unless it's labeled USDA 100% Organic. As of late last year, this also includes sweet corn, as Monsanto introduced a brand new genetically engineered sweet corn called Seminis®, which contains not just one but TWO types of Bt-toxin, PLUS the Roundup Ready gene for weed control! So besides containing the insecticide, their toxic Roundup herbicide will also accumulate in the kernels.
For a helpful, straightforward guide to shopping Non-GMO, see theNon-GMO Shopping Guide, created by the Institute for Responsible Technology.
Why We MUST Insist on Mandatory Labeling of GM Foods
Mandatory labeling may be the only way to stop the proliferation of GM foods in the U.S. because while GM seeds are banned in several European countries, in the U.S., certain states are actually passing legislation that protects the use of GM seeds and allows for unabated expansion! At present, no less than 14 states have passed such legislation. Michigan's Senate Bill 777i, if passed, would make that 15. The Michigan bill would prevent anti-GMO laws, and would remove "any authority local governments may have to adopt and enforce ordinances that prohibit or regulate the labeling, sale, storage, transportation, distribution, use, or planting of agricultural, vegetable, flower or forest tree seeds."
While legislation like this sounds like crazy nonsense to normal people, such bills are essentially bought and paid for through the millions of dollars Monsanto and other biotech companies spend lobbying the US government each year. In the first quarter of 2011 alone, Monsanto spent $1.4 million on lobbying the federal government -- a drop from a year earlier, when they spent $2.5 million during the same quarter.
Their efforts of persuasion are also made infinitely easier by the fact that an ever growing list of former Monsanto employees are now in positions of power within the federal government.
Kofi Gyau 11 years ago

Lack of GMO Mutation Control

One of the concerns about the possible negative effects of a GMO has to do with the way in which genes naturally extend themselves in DNA strains. If a GMO was introduced to a native pl ...
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Lack of GMO Mutation Control

One of the concerns about the possible negative effects of a GMO has to do with the way in which genes naturally extend themselves in DNA strains. If a GMO was introduced to a native plant that had certain characteristics that repelled destructive organisms normally responsible for crop losses, the modified gene(s) may pass on to the native plant genes. This could result in a depleted ability of the native plant to resist contamination from the destructive organisms. A GMO may also pose a threat to the natural characteristics of existing plant genes that are activated to protect the plant from potential hazards such as severe weather. A GMO process includes a promoter gene that triggers a certain response. A possibility exists for the accidental triggering of an untimely reaction from the plant's genes by the promoter gene, which could adversely affect the health of the plant.
Potential Transfer of Unwanted Genes

The makeup of many GMO strains includes an antibiotic-resistant gene for the purpose of marking the progress of the intended effects of the GMO. There is a potential for these antibiotic-resistant genes to be transferred to the food chain by way of traditional crop yields. One possible result would be the adoption of antibiotic resistance by consumers of the food crops, leading to toleration problems when taking antibiotic medications for various illnesses and medical conditions. Allergens and toxins may also be elevated through GMO processes. Naturally occurring genes in native plants that contain allergens or toxins can be altered and intensified by a GMO, resulting in an elevated risk of consumers encountering even more of these deleterious elements.
Unintended Presence of GMO Products in the Food Chain

The case of StarLink corn several years ago highlights one of the potential negative effects of GMO experimentation. This GMO, originally intended for corn feed for pigs, made its way into human food reserves. Although no serious health risks were reported as a result of this mix-up, the damage to the financial status of farmers who unknowingly were harvesting cross-pollinated GMO corn strains was substantial. This was due to the protein Cry9C found in StarLink corn genes, which was found to present the possibility of allergic reactions in humans.
Zoobie-Zoobie 11 years ago

but see what our corrupt mps will do

but see what our corrupt mps will do
GOD SAVE GHANA FROM CORRUPTION! 11 years ago

I hate to say it but I've come to the sad conclusion, based on past events that, for financial gain, there is nothing a Ghanaian politician will not do! They will sell their families, even the whole nation or the entire conti ...
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I hate to say it but I've come to the sad conclusion, based on past events that, for financial gain, there is nothing a Ghanaian politician will not do! They will sell their families, even the whole nation or the entire continent of Africa!
Adom 11 years ago

GMO foods can cause great health problems to Ghanians.Even the Europeans are uncertain about it.The Indian cotton growers have problem.Let us use our local seeda and crops.We only have to improve our irrigational projects.Not ...
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GMO foods can cause great health problems to Ghanians.Even the Europeans are uncertain about it.The Indian cotton growers have problem.Let us use our local seeda and crops.We only have to improve our irrigational projects.Not everything American or European is good for Ghana or for Africa.
Paul Amuna 11 years ago

The Indian cotton and rice farmers have a problem because of external control of their seeds from the likes of Monsanto who are seeking 'monopology' over a lot of the GM stuff because of their advantage in being world leaders ...
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The Indian cotton and rice farmers have a problem because of external control of their seeds from the likes of Monsanto who are seeking 'monopology' over a lot of the GM stuff because of their advantage in being world leaders in GM science and technology!!!

The farmers are crying foul not because GM cotton "will increase cancer risk", but because they don't want external control of their seeds, which takes power out of their hands and makes them forever dependent on an external source which will then dictate and control even market prices.

In Canada, Monsanto has a hold over Canola oil seeds and farmers have taken them to court (and lost) on these issues for similar reasons.

Are you aware that a lot of new large varieties of banana now being produced in East Africa, some of which find their way into our own markets are products of this new biotechnology?

Mohammed Ibrahim 11 years ago

Ladies and gentlemen, all that glitters is not gold!To date no one has been able to find cures for some of the cancers we have and other ailments such as AIDS. We did not know cancer in our part of the world, but when we star ...
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Ladies and gentlemen, all that glitters is not gold!To date no one has been able to find cures for some of the cancers we have and other ailments such as AIDS. We did not know cancer in our part of the world, but when we started itching for foodstuffs from the developped world thinking they are better than ours we now have all kinds of diseases strange to our environment.Please we have not finished exploiting all our natural endownments yet. Today in the developped world, the so called natural means of growing or the production of agricultural produce is the mostcherished now which they call biotic production. Imagine layers given some chemicals which make them to lay eggs continously. Who says all these chemicals produced through these eggs are all exhausted? Who knows or has taken the time to study its direct and indirect/ remote and immediate influence on its human consumer? Let us not forget that, for the sake of money, all these giant, multinational chemical companies from the USA and other developped countries would continue to lobby, covince and put pressure on governments like that of Ghana to accept Genetically Modified Food crops (GMO). All things from the West are not neccessarily worthy of copying. Today in Europe, certain insecticide products are not allowed anymore and in some cases a certain level of dosage must not be exceeded. If exceeded the fruits are rejected. Why then should we be crazy about the GMO technology? Anyone interested should delve to the bottom and surely would be shocked to realised that these multinational giant chemeical companies are only interested in making big money big time that is all! It is sad that gradually the USA of high moral ethics is slipping into the hands of selfish money minded people. This I think is indeed the signs of the end time. Moralists in the USA must Wake up!!!
Paul Amuna 11 years ago

I like your argument but let's not confuse issues please.

I like your argument but let's not confuse issues please.
oppong london 11 years ago

let these stupid ghanaian politicians collect bribes and money and introduce gm foods,God will punish them one by one,every foolish and stupid thing has come under ndc, forced introduction of homosexuality by david cameron,3 ...
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let these stupid ghanaian politicians collect bribes and money and introduce gm foods,God will punish them one by one,every foolish and stupid thing has come under ndc, forced introduction of homosexuality by david cameron,3000 pounds bond for visa and now gm foods,another act of terrorism and stupid ndc president and politicians want to accept it,you will die one by one if you accept this killer thing in ghana.
esi 11 years ago

i am also strongly against the GMO. It is a way of redusing the population of Africans. so they can renslave us. we should go on a demonstration so our Parliament doesn't pass this bill. women let us worry about our childern ...
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i am also strongly against the GMO. It is a way of redusing the population of Africans. so they can renslave us. we should go on a demonstration so our Parliament doesn't pass this bill. women let us worry about our childern and grandchildern. women let us stand for our childern, and reject this way of killing us.
Paul Amuna 11 years ago

It is a pity when ignorant people seek to portray themselves as experts. First of all, to argue that GMO foods cause prostate cancer, you need to provide us the evidence.

It is not enough to say that if your "diet consist ...
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It is a pity when ignorant people seek to portray themselves as experts. First of all, to argue that GMO foods cause prostate cancer, you need to provide us the evidence.

It is not enough to say that if your "diet consists of 70% processed foods, then it contains a lot of GM materials". This is as daft a statement as anyone can say and only goes to show the level of ignorance and lack of knowledge that is around even among our so-called doctors and intellectuals.

I have been following the recent GM debate in Ghana without comment, just to guage the level of understanding and emotion on this subject. I am forced to respond to this particular article because the Daily Guide report is misleading!!!

I have been in technical meetings on GM where scientists on both sides of the debate have sought with all the passion to advance their side of the argument. The main weakness of those on the "AGAINST" side is that truth be told, WE SIMPLY DO NOT KNOW THE IMPACT OF GM FOODS ON CANCER RISK outside of the normal risks associated with dietary constituents e.g. trans fats, nitroso compounds etc.

The fact of the matter is that the "jury is still out on this one" and frankly as a cancer specialist, the respected surgeon should know better, that the cancer process takes time to develop and needs a trigger and things to nurture it.

What we do know from the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF)'s last most comprehensive report on food, diet, physical activity and cancer risk is that certain dietary components and body composition have definitely increased the risk of cancer, the most powerful evidence coming from eating RED MEAT!!! By the way, this red meat does not have to be GMO animals!!!

The point simply is that it is dangerous for people who are not subject specialists or authorities to be pandering to public sentiments just to scare us off GM when they don't even know what GM is in the first place, and a lot of what we are reading does not demonstrate even common knowledge of GM!!!

For the information of the general public, there is already a lot of GM foods in the system in our bread flour, sweet corn, some soy products etc. Quite apart from the hybrid plants and cross breeding that has gone on for many years and which has resulted in bvetter yileding varieties, lemons tasting like oranges etc. and the so-called famous "Sierra Leone Mango", the large mangoes that are now on our markets and in our system, not to talk of various varieties of rice that people consume.

It is also worth pointing out that GM foods are on European and US markets and everywhere and a lot of the canola and other imported vegetable oils we all consume have some GM base.

What is true is that chronic non-communicable disease including heart disease, diabetes and cancer have been increasing all over the world over the last 50 years especially and the underlying reasons for this trend is multiple and complex, and these diseases cannot be put down to GM.

If people want to know the truth and surely we all want to engage in this GM debate, yes, that is fine, but please stop misleading the public and sensasionalysing an issue for which clearly you have very little understanding of. I am happy to have this debate, but people have to prepare themselves properly to provide a meaningful and balanced and sound argument rather than talking based on ignorance like we are reading here.
Abena Ama 11 years ago

" that the cancer process takes time to develop and needs a trigger and things to nurture it". so what could trigger this ! i think you are confuse yourself.

" that the cancer process takes time to develop and needs a trigger and things to nurture it". so what could trigger this ! i think you are confuse yourself.
Paul Amuna 11 years ago

Cancer biology is a subject whioch is now being made simpler for peole like you to understand.

When I say it is a process, I mean that it takes time for the whole process to develop, years, decades even, and the fact is, e ...
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Cancer biology is a subject whioch is now being made simpler for peole like you to understand.

When I say it is a process, I mean that it takes time for the whole process to develop, years, decades even, and the fact is, even with animal experiements, we do not have enough evidence to prove that GM foods actually have caused or promoted any cancer. Mind you in animal experiements, there is often the tendency to use higher doses sometimes (the ethics of which I personally question) however even with that, the truth is, we simply do not see the evidence and do not know if in the longer term i.e. 50, 100 years time GM foods will have an impact on cancer epidemeiology.

The point I am making (and which I sought to make) is that too many ignorant people of this whole area of science, for their own reasons and interests, have decided to make this into what it clearly is not, a scandal, a big issue and dangerous development for us.

If you would care to notice, in my arguments, I have not supported GM foods. I merely sought to state facts as we know them and have made a reference to the WCRF Authoritative report, the latest which was in 2010. That is the most comprehensive systematic review of relationships between diet, food, lifestyles, physical activity and cancer and in that report, there are colour coded maps which show us where we are with the evidence with different components of the diet.

The fact is, e.g. if saturated fats or their components are known to increase risk of chronic disease, whether these fats are from GM or non-GM foods should not make a difference in the risk.

Orange-flesh sweet potatoes (OFSP) are being promoted in Africa at the moment and these are being grown andintroduced into the food chain e.g. in East Africa, much to the displeasure of local 'traditional sweet potato farmers' (and I tend to side with the farmers for being forced to abandon what they already have. My support for the farmers is not because OFSP increases any health risk.

The logic behind OFSP is that they contian higher beta carotene which is a source of vitamin A. Vitamin A deficiency which can cause blindness and is common in sub-Saharan Africa at the moment is being tackled in all sorts of ways including the use of supplements but OFSP is a food-based approach which is partly to ensure that such efforts can be sustained whilst giving farmers an opportunity to diversify in their food or drop production.

There are clearly pros and cons in this debate which we should have. But don't tell me that just because I said the cancer process takes time, therefore the GM foods you are against are the one that is going to 'trigger' or 'accelerate' the process. That should not be implied.

The simple truth is, we are becoming more overweight and obese, our eating patterns continue to change and we rely more on food outside the home than what we prepare ourselves, the more affluent we are the more red meat and other foods and drinks we consume, more than we need, we exercise less and rely more on motor vehicles, we cartainly eat more fried foods (trans fatty acid sources) than ever before, take more fats in our diets and this is even a major worry in ocuntries such as China which are also seeing rising lel=vels of chronic disease.

Therefore to blame GM foods as a source of our chronic ill health is to cheapen the argument, and quiet frankly can (and is often) be misleading.

Let us have a more balanced and healthy debate, shall we?
Pelicles 11 years ago

If someone is planning to kill you, will that person warn you? Do you think these people will tell you that they are out with a something that will cause massive death? What is the intention of Monsanto and GMO? They are d ...
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If someone is planning to kill you, will that person warn you? Do you think these people will tell you that they are out with a something that will cause massive death? What is the intention of Monsanto and GMO? They are doing everything under their power to reduce world population because resources to sustain human life is on the edge.

Where do you live? Don't act like you have all the answers that people want to know about GMO. No matter how educated you are somebody somewhere have something sinister against you. You said about a lemon that taste like orange and you seems happy with it. Why was lemon made to taste bitter and why should man change that taste? Give me one reason to support that change and why do you think it is okay? In war, if someone tries to cut your supply line, the intention is pure and simple; to choke you and defeat or, if possible, kill you. That is what GMO is all about. Why do you think we should rely on GMO for seeds if their products are seedless or the seeds cannot be planted like what currently have? Give me one reason why we should fall for that nonsense? Why do you think we should leave our conventional way of farming and using our organic seeds for next farming than going for what GMO is throwing at us? Are we humans? Do we think?

Now, let me ask you this, why is cancer so common in the US which is one of the most advance nations on the planet? US has been using GMO food since when and that is the basic reason for cancer which is all over the place. It is beyond reason why the US is reeling under cancer as one of the most commons cause of death.

One day, I questioned a friend of mine who was a doctor about why cancer is so common in the US and his answer was point blank; the foods. He warned me about some fruits. Look at mangoes, bananas, oranges, apples etc in the US. Mangoes in the US do not even smell like the ones we have in our villages and is that okay with you? Why should mangoes be plucked green and left to ripe? Just because someone should make millions?

Till we open our eyes and reject this GMO nonsense, we will dig our own grave and fall into it. All those who are for GMO are nothing more than educated idiots who think more about their stomachs than what the future holds for us. The fact that the White man is giving us something does not mean we should accept it wholeheartedly without giving it a second thought. Don't forget that if someone is trying to control your food, the intention is one; STARVATION IN THE NEAR FUTURE.
Paul Amuna 11 years ago

I think you are approaching the problem from the middle. First question we must ask is: Why is biotechnology and in particular GM technonology being applied in food production?

We should focus on those issues in relation t ...
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I think you are approaching the problem from the middle. First question we must ask is: Why is biotechnology and in particular GM technonology being applied in food production?

We should focus on those issues in relation to food and nutrition security, then we can begin to examine all the options we have for making food available to feed the world.

Pellicles, this is not as simple an argument as many (including you) seek to make it.

There is no doubt that some people (companies) will see this as a business opportunity but the fact is in almost every sphere os life that happens to be the case. Some will seek to profit from a need, including even what I call "the malnutrition business". That does not make it the case that they have a sinister motive to harm anyone.

I agree with your last sentence, that some will seek to control food sources, which is why farmers in India and some governments are resisting the likes of Monsanto and people like myself will continue to make arguments (in the right forums and places) about the need to open up the genetic code for instance where benefits of a particular GM product are established to outweight the risk, so that farmers can re-use seeds for example and not have to rely on external suppliers who for political or other reasons can take people to ransom.

Sure, we need to have the debate but be fair, objective and assess all the issues.
ELINAM 11 years ago

Ever since the white man got contact with the darker people of the earth whom God has entrusted his wealth unto, the white man has gone ballistic in his military tactics to wipe out the darker race as they had already done wi ...
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Ever since the white man got contact with the darker people of the earth whom God has entrusted his wealth unto, the white man has gone ballistic in his military tactics to wipe out the darker race as they had already done with with Australian aborigenes.

Abena Ama 11 years ago

i reali like you arguments. I think the advocates of GMOS must eat this foods all their lives and let see what will happen to them.

i reali like you arguments. I think the advocates of GMOS must eat this foods all their lives and let see what will happen to them.
JH New York 11 years ago

They would not be alive to know the result.
Most scientific evidence is not conclusive in many fields.That is the reason why for example,sometimes past we were told the yoke of an egg was very good.Later it turned out not to ...
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They would not be alive to know the result.
Most scientific evidence is not conclusive in many fields.That is the reason why for example,sometimes past we were told the yoke of an egg was very good.Later it turned out not to be "very good".That it could cause cardiovascular/pressure problems. I think now the report is that it's good again,back and forth.
Again,we here global warming was/is caused by mankind activities.Now man want to find ways to reverse or minimize its impact.
What needs to be known is that the damage done is irreversible,and not within the limited universal power of mankind to able to do so.
If it's so,I think the Common Sense approach with regard to the GMO is to stick to the original organic God given foods and find a way to increase production devoid of any chemicals and change of DNA.
I don't think any of the Scientists is 100 percent sure about GM food.
(I stand corrected).Dr/Mr Paul Amuna,can you please respond to my Comments.
This my unprofessional point of view.
JH New York 11 years ago

devoid of Chemicals and. DNA Changes.

devoid of Chemicals and. DNA Changes.
USA 11 years ago

Thank you...most people are ill-informed and do not know they already consume GM foods.

Thank you...most people are ill-informed and do not know they already consume GM foods.
GOD SAVE GHANA FROM CORRUPTION! 11 years ago

Your position is simply, very simply based on the fact that "don't know enough"!!! Well, mobile phones have been in existence for close to 30 years (at least for civilians). Right from the beginning there scientific researche ...
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Your position is simply, very simply based on the fact that "don't know enough"!!! Well, mobile phones have been in existence for close to 30 years (at least for civilians). Right from the beginning there scientific researchers and others who raised concerns about the effect of radio frequency electromagnetic fields. Many studies (especially by Scandinavian countries which were the first to use mobile phones extensively) have shown a correlation between brain tumours and mobile phone use. And, as with gmo's, a few studies also shows no correlation. Still in the US, the FCC regulates the amount of radio frequency energy can be emitted by mobile phones and other devices. Unlike your fallacious thinking, the US FCC, does REGULATE mobile phones and even suggests steps for users to reduce exposure to RF's! They didn't just declare that because there is no clear cut correlation between cancer and mobile phone use, we consider them entirely safe!

Consider two other examples of long term cause and effect - asbestos and mining dust exposure. Both these two substances take many years, even decades before causing cancer and respiratory disease!

Needless to say, even when a substance or condition does not visibly show damage or disease immediately, it does not mean it can be safely used. The judicious thing to do is to undertake LONG-TERM STUDIES before trying it in humans.

And the fact that GM foods are being sneaked in and we have been consuming it does not make them safe. They are being sneaked in because the manufacturers oppose labeling in the US. If you were a scientist worth his salt, as the say, you should then engage in studies to monitor the effect of gmo's and disease in Ghana. But no hurry, wait a few more decades, when cell phone brain tumours become common in Ghana, and some decent medical and scientific professionals establish the correlation between gmo food consumption and cancers, food allergies and other strange new diseases in Ghana!

The final thing to ask you, since you pride yourself on "sitting with scientists" is: Are we smarter than all the European, American and Asian scientists who've ACTUALLY done, RESEARCH AND STUDIES and concluded gmo's are unhealthy for human consumption? What is the state of scientific research in Ghana? How many of our scientists have won Nobels, for heaven's sake? We don't even have either enough or working laboratory equipment. You've never heard of hospital labs in Ghana that are short of chemical agents? And University libraries that are short of books? And yet there are those like you who would want to act like we know better than the scientists in Western countries!
Pelicles 11 years ago

You are not "raw" like those who are very ignorant about this GMO nonsense who think that any adverse effect from GMO products will be visible within a matter of months.

Native Americans say something like "slow death". ...
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You are not "raw" like those who are very ignorant about this GMO nonsense who think that any adverse effect from GMO products will be visible within a matter of months.

Native Americans say something like "slow death". GMO products will cause a slow death that will be hard to detect especially among us.
Paul Amuna 11 years ago

Electromagnetic waves, asbestos, nicotine and other established causes of ill health are not GM foods!!!

Why don't you put your argumen in the right perspective?

For your information, these "European and American scient ...
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Electromagnetic waves, asbestos, nicotine and other established causes of ill health are not GM foods!!!

Why don't you put your argumen in the right perspective?

For your information, these "European and American scientists" you refer to are frantically working on studies on this subject but to date there is no powerful evidence to suggest untoward effects of GM foods.

"Eco-warriors" like you spend a lot of their time trying to destroy trial farms and experimental outfits set up for research on this very subject, for their own parochial interests.

It is not enough to make noise my friend, and don't try to compare apples with iron because it simply doesn't work that way. Just because EM waves are linked to certain chronic illness is one thing, but not equal to GM foods causing harm.

Like I said, we all consume GM food in various forms and I am not an advocate for GM food but equally do not accept your blanket rejection of it without any proper evidence base.
Yaw Adu-Asare 11 years ago

Our local scientists are the ones better placed to tell our farmers the right things to do to improve the yield from farms.

Our local scientists are the ones better placed to tell our farmers the right things to do to improve the yield from farms.
Abena Ama 11 years ago

Mosanto always bribe the scientist. read the book by Jeffrey Smith. Seeds of deception and genetic Roulette.

Mosanto always bribe the scientist. read the book by Jeffrey Smith. Seeds of deception and genetic Roulette.
Whatever 11 years ago

Eating GM foods that is going to carelessly tamper with gene mutations is a mad thing to do. The occurrence of DNA corruption would be inevitable and diseases such as fibroid, cancer, sickle cell, leukemia, disorders and the ...
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Eating GM foods that is going to carelessly tamper with gene mutations is a mad thing to do. The occurrence of DNA corruption would be inevitable and diseases such as fibroid, cancer, sickle cell, leukemia, disorders and the rest will afflict and kill us with ease. This is at the personal level. At the national level, The Ghanaian gene pool will be diluted and behavioral orientation will change as per the dictates of scientist living in California
Paul Amuna 11 years ago

Absolute Thrash!!! Produce the evidence. Stop misleading and scaring people!!

Absolute Thrash!!! Produce the evidence. Stop misleading and scaring people!!
Abena Ama 11 years ago

I think you also needs to produce your evidence and personally eat GM all your lives and let see the result on your health implications. Anyway have you check you prostate!

I think you also needs to produce your evidence and personally eat GM all your lives and let see the result on your health implications. Anyway have you check you prostate!
Paul Amuna 11 years ago

Abena, the evidence is that so far studies have not demonstrated the type of ill effects that people are talking about. The lack of a problem in itself is evidence. It is also worth noting the fact that increased food prodiuc ...
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Abena, the evidence is that so far studies have not demonstrated the type of ill effects that people are talking about. The lack of a problem in itself is evidence. It is also worth noting the fact that increased food prodiuction and availability alleviates hunger, promotes health and prevents many poor people from dying even too young before they grow up to have the cancers such as prostate cancer.

By the way prostate cancer is perhaps the most common cancer in adult males and you are right we males after a certain age need to go for a check on risk. The fact that it is so common and has bee affecting males for such a long time suggests to me that GM foods which are new in the food chain are unlikely to be a major cause or promoter, (unless such foods contain materials which increase risk per se).
Whatever 11 years ago

Go to any chiropractic center and asked them what spine does? They will tell you the spine transmits information and instructions for the body organs to use. Your DNA is the source of that information communication. If you co ...
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Go to any chiropractic center and asked them what spine does? They will tell you the spine transmits information and instructions for the body organs to use. Your DNA is the source of that information communication. If you consume GM foods, your gene-part of your DNA will eventually be modified to an unknown state because of the presence of another gene. Mutations and genome are affected and the consequences will be ill-health and disorders.
Paul Amuna 11 years ago

Is this the source of your "medical evidence"? By the way what is "your gene-part of your DNA"? Your basic understanding of the science is lacking.

Clearly you are looking at the wrong place and a pity you think that is cr ...
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Is this the source of your "medical evidence"? By the way what is "your gene-part of your DNA"? Your basic understanding of the science is lacking.

Clearly you are looking at the wrong place and a pity you think that is credible enough for you to make your arguments on this important subject.

My advice to you is, if you do not understand the subject or discussions on what is a technical subject, rather read and learn about what is going on, rather than expose your ignorance. This is unhelpful to the debate.
ARE U A LABORATORY RAT 11 years ago

It is indeed a very technical area and Monsanto doesn't even have all the answers about the pros and cons of GMO products that it's pushing strongly for countries to adopt.
The answer to the issue of food security is most d ...
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It is indeed a very technical area and Monsanto doesn't even have all the answers about the pros and cons of GMO products that it's pushing strongly for countries to adopt.
The answer to the issue of food security is most definitely not the introduction and adoption of GMO from Monsanto or any other biotech company for that matter, at least not in Ghana. And since long term prospective studies have not been done to conclusively absolve GM foods of health risks, Ghanaians are of the opinion that, we should adopt the wait and see attitude, and let the science evolve, to the point, when we can say with certainty without any shred of doubt that, there is very strong evidence and facts to support the adoption of GM foods. Ghana by adopting GM foods now, is effectively setting itself up as experimental lab rats or guinea pigs in a science which the proponents don't even have all the facts. That is one. Two, we are essentially mortgaging our very existence in terms of food supply ie seeds and fertilizer inputs to outside interests and biotech industries, whose interest is all monetary influenced, after messing our natural soil ecosystem to grow natural seed varieties of plant produce after the adoption of GM variants/seeds. The best approach would be for Ghana to adopt the wait and see attitude. Let the technology evolve, let the incontrovertible evidence to support the adoption of GM foods be made available, before we sign up for this thing. In the meanwhile, gov't can put in place measures to promote mechanized agriculture, irrigation techniques, value addition to our agricultural produce, reduction of post harvest losses, access to food supply routes, increase the speed of getting food products from source to market and industry, which are really, the issues affecting food security and not GM foods. Parliament should reject the adoption of the GMO bill and place a moratorium of about 100 years on it when enough research, evidence and facts become available to support the adoption of GM foods.
Paul Amuna 11 years ago

I agree with you that some companies are in this business to make money and will benefit hugely from biotechnological advances which are widely adopted by farmers. In fact that is already happening.

I mentioned in one of m ...
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I agree with you that some companies are in this business to make money and will benefit hugely from biotechnological advances which are widely adopted by farmers. In fact that is already happening.

I mentioned in one of my earlier comments he fact that Orange Flesh Sweet Potatoes (OFSP) have already been grown by farmers in East Africa, and is being promoted elsewhere in Africa. You and I are already consuming GM foods in some shape or form and so 'waiting for the evidence' does not seem to be a practical argument.

As to whether a country such as Ghana 'should adopt' GM technology in the interests of our national food and nutrition security is what to me is at the heart of the real debate. It is not necessarily about weighing the evidence as it is about whether we want to adopt new or existing technologies that will increase yield, provide better varieties of food, and gthat are developed based on the approach called "nutrition-sensitive agriculture" which seeks to promote agriculture extension activities that promote the growing of crops and animals that provide the balance of nutrients that our population needs.

Whilst I support having such a debate, I generally favour a food-based approach and agree with those who say we should look at our current agriculture production and see whether we are performing below par even for the land mass vs. yield currently being produced. A number of FAO and World Bank report demonstrate that indeed our yield per kg of land is gfar below what Germany, a food exporting country produces, and part of the argument is that our agriculture is still very traditional with little investment in mechanisation.

Whichever way you look at it, there will always be an argument and agriculture mechanisation has its own problems, including the use of chemicals etc. which could get into the food chain. To me, these chemicals (e.g. certain dangerous insecticides such as the one that was put in school meals in India on the mistake that it was oil that killed scores of school children earlier in 2013) are more dangerous and cause more harm and we should be arguing against their illegal use.

It is wrong to suggest that Europe and US has banned GM foods because they have not. In fact, GM foods are allowed to be grown and are on their markets, except that like most other things, the sector is tightly regulated, and one of the things we lack as a continent, Africa is proper REGULATORY FRAMEWORKS and even where regulation exists, we cannot enforce or police them properly.

Don't you think we should be debating these issues and putting pressure on our government to do a better job in these directions rather than merely targeting GM foods?
Paul Amuna 11 years ago

I meant yield per hectre of land not kg

I meant yield per hectre of land not kg
ARE U A LABORATORY RAT 11 years ago

Your argument is self defeatist. In one breath, your argument portrays your support of the adoption of GM foods, and in another breath, it comes across that, you don't. I don't think Ghana should adopt GM foods for now, becau ...
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Your argument is self defeatist. In one breath, your argument portrays your support of the adoption of GM foods, and in another breath, it comes across that, you don't. I don't think Ghana should adopt GM foods for now, because, it's an evolving science and the fact that, it is being consumed or promoted elsewhere, does not mean that, Ghana should necessarily adopt it.
GMO foods is not the panacea to increased yield, nutrient balance, better variety of foods etc, etc. A balanced diet from a nutrition point of view, does not take take GM foods to achieve, and so let's not throw statements out there which are clearly misleading. It's again for the very reason of the lack of the proper regulatory framework for which reason, Ghana should put this GM foods on hold and adopt a wait and see attitude with respect to it's health implications, the complete and absolute take over of our food supply chain and the implications on our natural environmental and soil ecosystems.
The debate I believe should center around how we can increase yield, make agriculture more attractive and engender investment in this area, since we are blessed with arable land which can support the growth of a magnificent number of food crops, better incentives, ready market for food products, value chain addition, better and extensive irrigation systems, all of which have been demonstrated to increase yield. Our agricultural production is basically subsistent in nature and about 70-80% of our arable land is underutilized because of this very nature of our farming. GM foods is not the way to go and should Ghana make the mistake of adopting GM foods, when the above outlined factors are not resolved, yield is not going to increase by any stretch. GM foods is not the way to go. Parliament in my view should place a 100 year moratorium on the adoption of GM foods, and if other countries would acquiesce to be used as guinea pigs, so be it, but our parliament should not pass a law which generally makes Ghanaians laboratory or guinea pigs, for a science that is in it's initial stages of evolving.
ARE U A LABORATORY RAT 11 years ago

...increase yield by making agriculture more....

...increase yield by making agriculture more....
Paul Amuna 11 years ago

If you read someone's arguments which address both sides, it is called a balanced argument. You make some good points about our needs to increase yield which buttress my points, but you do not need to dismiss my arguments and ...
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If you read someone's arguments which address both sides, it is called a balanced argument. You make some good points about our needs to increase yield which buttress my points, but you do not need to dismiss my arguments and / or conclude that I support one side or the other and so somehow there is something wrong with mine.
ARE YOU A LABORATORY RAT 11 years ago

GM foods is not the way to go. Our parliament needs to jettison that bill and rather seek to address the lack of interest in agriculture, and all the other factors militating against our food security, which clearly, does not ...
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GM foods is not the way to go. Our parliament needs to jettison that bill and rather seek to address the lack of interest in agriculture, and all the other factors militating against our food security, which clearly, does not take the adoption of GM foods to address. There's nothing wrong with your points, since they are your points and you are entitled to them. My argument after listening to both sides is against the adoption of GM foods, because, the world is not ready as of yet for GM foods and Ghana, most definitely cannot be said to be ready for GM foods.
Whatever 11 years ago

Do you know what a DNA is? Do you know a gene is one of the part of DNA? Do you know DNA carries the source information about a human life? What do you know? You don't even know that the spine has nodes around it that carries ...
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Do you know what a DNA is? Do you know a gene is one of the part of DNA? Do you know DNA carries the source information about a human life? What do you know? You don't even know that the spine has nodes around it that carries codes and instruction built from your DNA to control your organs and body movement. I never knew you were that ignorant for someone writing plenty challenging people. Those scientist living the US know what I'm talking about.
Paul Amuna 11 years ago

Your understanding of this science leaves much to be desired. When you say the "gene-part of DNA", what exactly do you mean?

For clarity to our various readers, by definition, a gene is a sequence of deoxyribonucleic acid ...
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Your understanding of this science leaves much to be desired. When you say the "gene-part of DNA", what exactly do you mean?

For clarity to our various readers, by definition, a gene is a sequence of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) that carries the information required for the body's cells to make new molecules, mostly protein (protein synthesis). It is therefore a length of DNA made up of base pairs labelled A, C, T and G (in RNA U replaces the T). Now, when you say the "Gene-part of the DNA", please tell us what exactly you are trying to say!!!

It is OK having an opinion (however unscientific about whether we should encourage GM foods (and please readers note that GM foods is NOT EQUAL TO "genetically modified organisms" (GMO)a term or an expression often misused by some people.

The genetic modification associated with e.g. plant breeding does not necessarily have to come from "organisms" and it is erroneous for anyone to assume that all GM foods are associated with GMOs. For example, in the experiemental "Yellow maize" and Cassava (worked on in Nigeria) and "golden rice" developed elsewhere e.g. in India, and oine suspects even in the development of orange flesh sweet potatoes (OFSP)the DNA in carrots, a normal well known and commonly consumed vegetable is used to provide a higher yield of beta carotene.

If we accept that carrot is normally consumed by many people as a food and has no harm associated with it, why on earth would or should DNA extracted from carrots for enriching other plants with vitamin A sources by a health risk or a cause of "mutations" and changes in your genome?

You misues the words "Mutation" and "Genome" in one of your comments below. For your information, one's genome is the sum total of the complete collection of your DNA which defines an individual!!! Therefore you cannot have an alteration of your genome the way that you seek to want to describe here.

I do not wish to go into the science or to argue with you on technical terms, their meanings etc. However i worry that people misuse these technical terms and only add to the apparent 'confusion' surrounding the general public's understanding of issues around e.g. GM and biotechnology in general.

Whilst you are busy suggesting that I am ignorant and not knowledgable of the subject, perhaps you would care to seek proper scientific sources and refereed journal sources and books for your information rather than rely on "Chiropractic" sources. Those who practice this field are NOT trained doctors and their practice is not always based on solid scientific evidence-base. I have nothing against them but I just wish to caution that we should not be swayed by opinions which may lack scientific substance.

My feeling from reading all your emotional posts here is that you have some knowledge but not deep enough to be authoritative. I do not wish to undermine you in any way but you need to be very careful when you suggest that others are unknowledgeable in fields especially where they have particular specialist expertise. We all come to this forum on ghanaweb to by and large offer non-scientific or nontechnical opinions. Most of you do not use your real names and so we do not really know each other. I happen to be one of but a few indidivual contributors who uses his REAL NAME and it is easy for anyone to find out what my subject areas are and to know whether I have any substance or not in my arguments. I am not suggesting that this is particularly necessary but in case of doubts, sometimes it is better to do so to help you understand where others are coming from.

Sadly I cannot find out more about you because you have chosen to call yourself "Whatever" which is not only bizarre but grossly unhelpful when it comes to ascertaining your background and suject knowledge.

I hope readers will see these issues in these perspectives. We are all trying to contribute to a debate and let's leave it that way shall we?
Thieves 11 years ago

The word id "Trash" and yes GMO foods have been known to cause cancer in lab rats. EVEN THE EU HAS BANNED THEM. ANd there is a growing movement in the US to label all foods containing GMO. It seems byou are the ignorant fool.

The word id "Trash" and yes GMO foods have been known to cause cancer in lab rats. EVEN THE EU HAS BANNED THEM. ANd there is a growing movement in the US to label all foods containing GMO. It seems byou are the ignorant fool.
Paul Amuna 11 years ago

Simply give me one scientific reference demonstrating cancer in laboratory rats consuming GM food and I will check on it. Why do you waste your energy insulting others when you are ignorant of the facts? I quoted the world ca ...
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Simply give me one scientific reference demonstrating cancer in laboratory rats consuming GM food and I will check on it. Why do you waste your energy insulting others when you are ignorant of the facts? I quoted the world cancer research fund (WCRF) report of 2007 / 2010 which provides the latest most comprehensive review of diet and cancer. You can access this on the internet because it is available free to download.

Now, simply give me ONE scientific reference of a paper which demonstrates cancer in laboratory rats consuming GM food. If you cannot, then simply shut up, because you are not adding anything useful to the debate.
Whatever 11 years ago

You don't even know that a gene is part of your DNA which is essentially a unique coded instruction and information of a life. You don't know this piece of information yet you are asking for a reference paper? I don't want to ...
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You don't even know that a gene is part of your DNA which is essentially a unique coded instruction and information of a life. You don't know this piece of information yet you are asking for a reference paper? I don't want to be too harsh on you. For someone who doesn't even know that nerves controlled by the spinal cord are responsible for the transmission of such instruction in the human body, you better keep mute and learn before you hurt your
Whatever 11 years ago

It is only an ignorant foodian who doesn't understand the US thirst for information control. What enable us to function as humans is information. Our body obtains information from the food we eat to function. That is the valu ...
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It is only an ignorant foodian who doesn't understand the US thirst for information control. What enable us to function as humans is information. Our body obtains information from the food we eat to function. That is the value of eating for the body. That is why God said in the beginning was the word and that without him, nothing that was made was made. Those GMO scientist, unlike you are smart, they know this testimony but you're ignorant that's why you can't see evidence in testimony. GM foods will incompetently modify that information flow in your body at the whims of the US Government. Know that the US government is not God who is perfect, they can't create life, not even a human hair. If you want to put your earthly life in the hands of this bloodthirsty US government then God save you
KN 11 years ago

With the kind of leadership shown from both sides of parliament, we have NO hope. Why the hurry? when adanced nations have rejected GMO. if it wasnt the Mansanto and co promoting GMO in GH, you have not told us the benefits. ...
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With the kind of leadership shown from both sides of parliament, we have NO hope. Why the hurry? when adanced nations have rejected GMO. if it wasnt the Mansanto and co promoting GMO in GH, you have not told us the benefits. I am glad CPP is fighting for our farmers. How can you think of banning our farmers from replanting their preserved seeds?

What have they taken from Monsanto to push this bill. Mobile phones? like they did from the chinese?

In the past, they colonised us with mirrors, gun and sugar, this time round, with mobile phones and visas?
ELINAM 11 years ago

As long as we could not get our hands squarely on agriculture due to our laziness as a nation despite good land and good weather,no amount of GMO or some magic bullet will increase our out put with agric.
From religion to ag ...
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As long as we could not get our hands squarely on agriculture due to our laziness as a nation despite good land and good weather,no amount of GMO or some magic bullet will increase our out put with agric.
From religion to agric to business, the Ghanaian wants a quick fix.
KWABENA DUKU DAMOAH 11 years ago

God save us.When food produced rot due to lack of preservative availability they are considering how to increase yield through the adoption of GMO.May be GMO crops do not perish.

God save us.When food produced rot due to lack of preservative availability they are considering how to increase yield through the adoption of GMO.May be GMO crops do not perish.
GOD SAVE GHANA FROM CORRUPTION! 11 years ago

Do we know better than the countries where much of the research and trials of gmo crops were done in the first place? Do we know better than Europe?

The only source of confusion is the financial self-interest of our corrup ...
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Do we know better than the countries where much of the research and trials of gmo crops were done in the first place? Do we know better than Europe?

The only source of confusion is the financial self-interest of our corrupt politicians, bureaucrats and bogus scientists WHO'VE NEVER WON ANY NOBELS, done little, if any research, published little or nothing!!! These traitors will sell their own mothers for a pittance.

Shame on all of you.
ananseba 11 years ago

It is not a great surprise that Mosanto is lobbying our parliamentarians. They know how easy it is to buy our politicians. All Ghanaians should plead with politicians not to allow GMO

It is not a great surprise that Mosanto is lobbying our parliamentarians. They know how easy it is to buy our politicians. All Ghanaians should plead with politicians not to allow GMO
HABLUTA SENYO 11 years ago

WHY IN AMERICA,CANADA,AND EUROPE PEOPLE SPEND MORE MONEY IN BUYING ORGANIC FOOD.
SIMPLE TO AVOID THOSE ARTIFICIAL FOOD CALLED (GMO )

WHY IN AMERICA,CANADA,AND EUROPE PEOPLE SPEND MORE MONEY IN BUYING ORGANIC FOOD.
SIMPLE TO AVOID THOSE ARTIFICIAL FOOD CALLED (GMO )
Peter Prosper 11 years ago

Where did this quack get his information from? He should show us studies directly linking GMO foods to prostrate cancer in men.

Where did this quack get his information from? He should show us studies directly linking GMO foods to prostrate cancer in men.
Paa Kodwo 11 years ago

DO WE REALLY HAVE INTELLECTUALS.

TRULY INTELLECTUALS WOULD HAVE TRANSFOMED GHANA TO PROSPERITY

DO WE REALLY HAVE INTELLECTUALS.

TRULY INTELLECTUALS WOULD HAVE TRANSFOMED GHANA TO PROSPERITY
Mohammed Ibrahim 11 years ago

Paul Amuna, I am very sorry for you. Yes this is the type of AFrican who believes once things cannot be proven logically according to science then they don't exist. Pity you! By the time people like AMuna are aware, we have b ...
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Paul Amuna, I am very sorry for you. Yes this is the type of AFrican who believes once things cannot be proven logically according to science then they don't exist. Pity you! By the time people like AMuna are aware, we have been reduced to some animals/ monsters with 7 fingers.If not because of God the black race would have since been extinct. They tried killing us, enslaving us, then injecting us with syphyllis virus (USA)that did not eradicate us, then came HIV. unfortunately for them, the "Oldman" above who made us says, noone can undo his creation unless himself.So even prostitutes in Kenya developped a nutural immunity to the HIV I&II. Consequently they have manufactured HIV III for sub-saharan Africa. This is how they see the world and people like AMUNA are ready to help them. SHAME!!!!
Igp 11 years ago

Don't trust Obama on Africa. He has nothing to offer his black base let alone Africa. I believe George W Bush when he says Africa, he means it and is compassionate about Africa. Africa believe in yourselves and not Obama. GMO ...
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Don't trust Obama on Africa. He has nothing to offer his black base let alone Africa. I believe George W Bush when he says Africa, he means it and is compassionate about Africa. Africa believe in yourselves and not Obama. GMOs are like food stamps being dumped on Ghana. Ghana does not need Genetically modified organic foods to survive. Ghana has seen famine once since the founding of the Republic, that was in 1982/83. Every seed thrown on the ground of Ghana grows. We have enough water resources unlike Israel and Palestine, yet Israel is able to sustain her food needs.Ghana needs to galvanize the Ghanaian expats in US, Europe, Denmark to discuss this issue likely to threaten our food system and land tenure once introduced on a large scale. Ignore Mahama influenced government from outside. He will sell Ghana for any thing including GMOs because he wants to be reorganized. STOP THE GMOs in Ghana.
David Mbimadong 11 years ago

Let's look out for different ways of producing more to feed our people. The telling effect of GMOs is not only in the ailments but have we thought of the fact that when the multinationals pull out we will be left in the dark ...
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Let's look out for different ways of producing more to feed our people. The telling effect of GMOs is not only in the ailments but have we thought of the fact that when the multinationals pull out we will be left in the dark and become dependent on others even for common food that we could have produced? How many of those lobbying for GMOs form the larger part of our subsistence farmer groups. How many of our farmers even with the help received from agric extension officers can adhere to the requirements of GMO? Ours is rain-fed agriculture system. GMOs don't wait for rain. They need water as and when the demand arises. Can Ghana cope with that? Did the law makers find out whether the GMOs will bear seeds that can be used to plant over and over again as our traditional crops are used? The huge and tantalizing money that is splashed in our face now will begin to drop in trickles when we have been bound hand and foot by today's ardent advocates. The adage goes thus "look before you leap' Ghana.
Wiafe 11 years ago

Paul Amuna has spent considerable amount of time "defending" the imperialist biopiracy plot against Africa. Paul--ne does not need a science degree to conclude that GMOs are Trojan Horse.

Common sense indicates that GMO ...
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Paul Amuna has spent considerable amount of time "defending" the imperialist biopiracy plot against Africa. Paul--ne does not need a science degree to conclude that GMOs are Trojan Horse.

Common sense indicates that GMOs will impoverish our people. Buying suicide seeds every year (no matter what the yield per acre) will devastate our farmers. Most of our farmers engage in subsistence farming with less than an acre of cultivated land.

Furthermore, the multinationals want to control all plant life--with patents. This will include all our herbs and other life giving plants.

I am shocked and appalled that any right-thinking African will support the adoption of the GMOs--given the history of imperialism in Africa.
African Tiger 11 years ago

Funny they are pitching GMOS in Ghana, meanwhile in the US, Michelle Obama planted an organic garden in the white house not a GMO garden. Ghanaians think!! Don't let that uncle Tom Obama fool you. He is a house negro.

Funny they are pitching GMOS in Ghana, meanwhile in the US, Michelle Obama planted an organic garden in the white house not a GMO garden. Ghanaians think!! Don't let that uncle Tom Obama fool you. He is a house negro.
Canadasheabutter(GhUWR) @ Abudu ibn a 11 years ago

ABOLISH , ABROGATE THE BILL BEFORE PARLIAMENT , & SAY NEVER GMO ON GHANAIAN SOIL

WHARE IS THE SO CALL MEDIA WITH BIG GRAMMAR ?

ABOLISH , ABROGATE THE BILL BEFORE PARLIAMENT , & SAY NEVER GMO ON GHANAIAN SOIL

WHARE IS THE SO CALL MEDIA WITH BIG GRAMMAR ?
Kofi - USA 11 years ago

YOU ALL NEED TO TAKE A CHILL PILL. WHAT AUTHORITY DOES RALPH OBU HAVE. IS HE A SCIENTIST OR WHAT? WE NEED TO STUDY IT CAREFULLY INSTEAD OF PEOPLE JUST THROWING THINGS OUT THERE. IF PEOLPE WERE NOT LAZY AND TAKE TO FARMING TO ...
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YOU ALL NEED TO TAKE A CHILL PILL. WHAT AUTHORITY DOES RALPH OBU HAVE. IS HE A SCIENTIST OR WHAT? WE NEED TO STUDY IT CAREFULLY INSTEAD OF PEOPLE JUST THROWING THINGS OUT THERE. IF PEOLPE WERE NOT LAZY AND TAKE TO FARMING TO BE ABLE TO FEED OUR PEOPLE THIS SHOULD NOT BE AN ISSUE. EVEN BEFORE THIS GHANIANS HAVE BEEN USING OTHER METHODS TO FOR EXAMPLE USING "CARBIDE" AND OTHERS TO FORCE RIPE BANANAS AND OTHERS. THAT IS WHAT NEEDS TO BE DISCUSSED AND NOT GMOs.
Abena Ama 11 years ago

What authority do you also have ? Are u also a scientist? If you are a scientist then verify and justify his quotes. What is your background.

What authority do you also have ? Are u also a scientist? If you are a scientist then verify and justify his quotes. What is your background.
kaketonti 11 years ago

GMO,surest new method to decimate the human race in all forms.The final product of GMO is class struggle.This rubbish should be returned to the sender.My beloved country,GHANA, need not be hostage.

GMO,surest new method to decimate the human race in all forms.The final product of GMO is class struggle.This rubbish should be returned to the sender.My beloved country,GHANA, need not be hostage.
ANONIMOUS 11 years ago

capitalism will terminate mankind,do you think obama or bill gates eat gmo food?these mass junk products are o average produced for the poor who have no say in decision making.

capitalism will terminate mankind,do you think obama or bill gates eat gmo food?these mass junk products are o average produced for the poor who have no say in decision making.
happy man 11 years ago

This is a ploy, just to ruin nature. Most of the leaders in this world have this common goal and Africa is the first they want to eradicate. My brothers only us can save this nation and our generation. Let us unite to win thi ...
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This is a ploy, just to ruin nature. Most of the leaders in this world have this common goal and Africa is the first they want to eradicate. My brothers only us can save this nation and our generation. Let us unite to win this battle.
Adjavon Franklyn 11 years ago

This is crazy my people how can we accept this in our country? We re bless abundantly by God but because of our selfish leaders now we re being poisoned in a broad day light.....anything Obama is for is evil.....evil.....

This is crazy my people how can we accept this in our country? We re bless abundantly by God but because of our selfish leaders now we re being poisoned in a broad day light.....anything Obama is for is evil.....evil.....
Robert Wager 11 years ago

I see your journalism ethics (or lack of) are showing. pity you find real information about GE crops threatening.

I see your journalism ethics (or lack of) are showing. pity you find real information about GE crops threatening.

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GMO debate sparks confusion among intellectuals

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