Would you eat a pesticide?
My immediate response is no.
Would you eat a pesticide from the container if you were assured that it only kills caterpillars and some other insects?
Again, no.
Would you eat a pesticide from the container if you were told that it had been fed to people for 3-5 days at a high dose per day and they didn't die?
Hell, no.
Why are you eating GMOs?
Corn, soy and wheat. A gene from Bacillius thurengesis that makes a pesticide has been inserted into the three plants to make them more "pest resistant".
Another physician and I are arguing via email about GMOs. He says they are safe. I say, yeah, I don't think so. He referred me to wikipedia.
I said that wikipedia does not answer my question: What does the Bt toxin do to other bacteria?
He suggested I do more research and read the studies.
My research is not reassuring: the Bt toxin kills the corn borer by giving it a leaky gut syndrome. The websites I've been reading, including Monsantos, blithely say that the toxin does not kill humans. The toxin that the GMO corn produces kills the corn borer and other caterpillars (ok, butterflies, right?) and "kills other insects less" (honeybees) and they claim that it is not toxic to mammals. But.... I can't find anything about what it does to other bacteria. It is a bacterial toxin that kills insects and I strongly suspect it kills other bacteria. So what, right? Bacteria are bad, right, except of course for the gut bacteria.... the gut bacteria that now everyone is saying is important and is part of our immune system and part of our emotional network and....
Would you like another soda with GMO corn syrup?
Tummy hurting? Oh, the big corporations would be DELIGHTED to sell you some probiotics, because, you know, they have your health in their minds and hearts, it's important to them, almost as important as making a big profit.....
So, Jefferson Airplane sang: "one pill makes you larger and one pill makes you small".... oh, it has come to pass. Monsanto will happily kill off your gut bacteria with GMO foods and then feed you probiotic pills to replace your dead and dying colonies.... it's comic, right?
Come on, won't you have a little more Wonder Bread?
Oh, and Bacillus thuringiensis, it's close relative bacteria, hey, it's related to Bacillus anthracis...yeah, um, anthrax. Yummy. Won't you eat some? It's also related to a bacteria that causes diarrhea, Bacillus cereus. One article argues that all three are closely related enough that they are actually one bacteria, just different strains. Lets get our food supply to have the gene to make the toxin. Maybe it will trade genes with anthrax.
You can be reassured that Monsanto has your safety in mind. Don't worry, it's just a little tiny gene to make our food supply more secure, though of course, a corporation has to put shareholder profits first....
Have another serving of McDonald's, darling. Mmmmmm, those people who eat organic, they are just fussy lying whiners.....Does your doctor eat organic? Why?
Don't worry about the article that says that people who work in the fields where they spray the bacteria have it replicating in their guts. Don't worry about the article about inhaling the pesticide and how it leads to pneumonia and sepsis. Really, don't worry that the description of what happens to the corn borer caterpillar is leaky gut syndrome and it's just a coincidence that it sounds just like the leaky gut syndrome that is in humans and is all over the internet. That's not science! That's a coincidence! It's not the same leaky gut syndrome! Illegal immigrants have been inhaling Bt for years and look at how healthy they are... oh, oops, they've been deported and they die younger and really, it's because they are illegal and they won't pay for health care, it's not the Bt. Really.
Now eat your candy, darling. Don't worry about a thing. And here, don't forget to take your probiotic and your vitamin and your supplements, it's really important for your health.
Tummy ache in the night? Vomiting? A little diarrhea? It's just irritable bowel and a nightmare. Go back to sleep darling, don't worry. Monsanto is watching over us......
http://www.monsanto.com/products/pages/insect-resistance-management.aspx
Jefferson Airplane white rabbit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WANNqr-vcx0
http://www.bt.ucsd.edu/how_bt_work.html
Bacillus thuringiensis pulmonary infection: critical role for bacterial membrane-damaging toxins and host neutrophils.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17387030
Sub-chronic lung inflammation after airway exposures to Bacillus thuringiensis biopesticides in mice. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20815884
Persistence of Bacillus thuringiensis bioinsecticides in the gut of human-flora-associated rats. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17087815
Is the Bt protein safe for human consumption? http://ucbiotech.org/answer.php?question=31
Bacillus thuringiensis in fecal samples from greenhouse workers after exposure to B. thuringiensis-based pesticides. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12324337
Bacillus anthracis, Bacillus cereus, and Bacillus thuringiensis--one species on the basis of genetic evidence. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10831447
Migrant Clinicians Network: Pesticides http://www.migrantclinician.org/issues/occupational-health/pesticides.html
Detection of Bacillus thuringiensis kurstaki HD1 on cabbage for human consumption. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16553839
Occurrence of natural Bacillus thuringiensis contaminants and residues of Bacillus thuringiensis-based insecticides on fresh fruits and vegetables. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16672488
On the other hand, antibiotics have some issues too.http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2012/12/18/when-you-swallow-a-grenade/