Fwd: NOTMILK - GMO Food is NOT Vegetarian

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Maynard S. Clark

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May 23, 2014, 5:56:31 PM5/23/14
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From: cohen...@yahoo.com [notmilk] <not...@yahoogroups.com>
Date: Wed, May 14, 2014 at 6:05 AM
Subject: NOTMILK - GMO Food is NOT Vegetarian

"Biotech crops are not a solution to solve hunger in Africa or elsewhere."
- Nnimmo Bassey
*     *     *     *
On April 26, 2014, the Vermont Senate voted 26-2 to label foods containing genetically modified organisms.  Just nine days later (May 5, 2014), The MetroWest Daily News of Framingham, Massachusetts reported:

"Governor Peter Shumlin of Vermont is expected to make history soon when he signs the country’s first law requiring the labeling of foods that have been genetically modified…Labeling all GMO products could prove a daunting task; food manufacturers estimate that  between 70 percent and 80 percent of all packaged foods in an average supermarket contain at least some genetically modified products."

Governor Shumlin signed the bill which will be overturned by Congress which is now conducting
emergency sessions fueled by Dupont, Dow Chemical, and Monsanto PAC funding. Congress grows wealthy as America grows unhealthy.

Do people have a right to know if their food is genetically engineered? The federal government
does not believe so. Congress already has a proposal to overturn Governor Shumlin's signature, arguing that GMO foods are identical to the foods they replaced, even though real science shows that breast cancer victims have glyphosates in their diseased tissues.  Glyphosates are an essential ingredient in GMO crops.

Some vegans innocently use genetically engineered versions of animal proteins and hormones as food, vitamin supplements, or cosmetics because of unscrupulous vendors. Friendly-sounding environmentally-conscious entrepreneurs sometimes trick their customers into
believing that their products are healthy, friendly, and vegan. Often times, bovine proteins, serums, extracts, skin, or bones are used in the processing of these sham-vegan products.

The black magic of genetic engineering is often conjured by combining proteins from one living organism into another host species.  Hence, the name "recombinant" became applied to a new biotechnology.

The first and most controversial large-scale genetically engineered food resulted from the FDA approval of Monsanto's recombinant bovine growth hormone, otherwise known as rbGH or rbST (recombinant bovine somatotropin).

In the case of rbGH/rbST, the naturally occurring bovine growth hormone was introduced inside of the body of an E. coli bacterium. This bacterium soon divided into two separate creatures, and then four. Soon there were billions.  Like herds of cattle, a new species was herded or cultured together to live inside of a giant cauldron. When it became time to extract the new genetically modified hormone, a percentage of the entire population was killed/harvested/sacrificed, so that the hormone could then be purified and injected into cows.

Pharmaceutical companies call this growth process a "fermentation procedure."

Vegans eat no living creatures. Of course, with each bite of broccoli or tofu, all humans eat bacteria. Without bacteria, life as we know it would not exist.  True vegans do not support the consumption of any animal products.
This includes eggs and honey. Bees work to produce honey, and many non-vegans would argue, "What's the big deal?"
To a vegan, eating honey is a conscious act of taking a product intended to be used by bees. The key is that the product is taken without their consent.

The defining line between a vegan and non-vegan is often one of intent. To eat a genetically engineered food is to eat a product that has been created by intentionally manipulating
"herds" of once-living creatures; even if they are tiny ones.

Vegans practice a philosophy of harmlessness, or ahimsa.

One can never pretend to know what a chimpanzee or rat is thinking while undergoing the pain and confinement of laboratory research.  Nor can one understand the pig's experience during the act of slaughter. Few give thought to the painful death of a chicken sans anesthesia. The
throat is sliced, the death is quick. The chicken is breaded and fried, and it is tasty. Do birds think?  Do butterflies or moths feel pain? Do gnats cry when they die? Does a bacterium feel love or discomfort? The defining line for a vegan involves making a conscious decision to manipulate another species to part with its own life or skin to serve humans.

Genetically engineered recombinant foods and medicines rely upon the creation of new species of life which are "tamed" to produce their bodies and body fluids for the benefit of man. Whether tiny creatures suffer or not is a matter for eternal debate. The issue before us is whether or not any creature should be herded as a farm animal to dedicate their lives and deaths for humankind.

To create a new species of life and alter a part of its structure to serve people is contrary to the
natural laws of nature.

Ignorance may be bliss to some individuals. Armed with facts,  most true vegans would reject any finished product intentionally containing animal components, however small the percentage.
*     *     *     *

"God (Nature, in my view) makes all things good; man meddles with them, and they become evil. He forces one soil to yield the products of another, one tree to bear another's fruit. He confuses and confounds time, place, and natural conditions. He mutilates his dog, his horse, and his slave.  He destroys and defaces all things; he loves all that is deformed and monstrous; he will have nothing as nature made it, not even himself, who must learn his paces like a saddle-horse, and be shaped to his master's taste like the trees in his garden."

― Jean-Jacques Rousseau

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