Franken-Corn approved!
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has approved a genetically modified corn named SmartStax. I call it Franken-corn!
SmartStax has eight different insect- and weed-fighting genetically engineered traits that will allow the corn to tolerate certain weed and insect-killing products.

The research agreement on this corn is between Monsanto and Dow Agro-Sciences. The irony is that the insecticides that the SmartStax corn is protected from - RoundUp, glufosinate, and insecticidal proteins from Bacillus thuringiensis - are produced and sold by Monsanto and Dow Agro-Sciences. The CFIA has approved this Franken-corn with its 8-stack of genetically engineered traits without an environmental assessment.

The thing that rots my socks is that this Franken-corn will hit the shelves of supermarkets and grocery stores across the country (and the world?) with no tag or flag or notice to the public that it's a genetically engineered product. Lucy Charratt, co-ordinator of the Canadian Biotechnology Action Network, said "You'd think that a combination of 8 GE traits would trigger an environmental assessment, but the CFIA has provided no public record of their evaluation."

What a surprise! The poet John Milton wrote the following words around 1650.

"The hungry sheep look up and are not fed.
But swollen by the winds and the rank mist they draw,
rot inward, and foul contagion spread."

Most of us will just take what they give us. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

The only safe course of action is to buy organic produce from a reputable dealer.

If you think I'm overreacting to this Franken-corn issue, read on!
In May The American Academy of Environmental Medicine said that genetically modified foods pose a serious health risk and called for an immediate moratorium on their production and consumption. You can read the AAEM report at: www.aaemonline.org

Be well!