I often think about Carl Sagan’s book: The Demon Haunted World, Science as a Candle in the Dark. GMO foods appear to be one of those demons, but why?
Image: A great YouTube video
There’s a package that includes: vegan, organic, all natural, anti-vaccine and anti GMO. They are generally grouped together more often than not and form a lifestyle identity. They promote misinformation to one another and reinforce many misinformed and pseudoscientific nonsensical ideas. Corporations have been masters at shaping this group’s ideas. Now more often I’m seeing these organic markets surrounded by alternative medicine quackery. Upscale suckers I’ll call them. As with other pseudoscience things, there’s enough real science sprinkled in to make it especially difficult to show people the scientific reality. Add in the fact that people don’t want to accept they’ve been duped into believing this stuff. Try reading the literature at an organic store pamphlet section and it’ll make your head spin with all the pseudoscience nonsense people are being sold on. People who think all this stuff is better spend ridiculous amounts of money on food and supplements. They are also made to feel that their decisions are better for the planet. It’s a mess and anti-GMO is simply an extension to the marketing ploy scare tactic.
"Natural" is the one I love. It's Natural - how could that be anything but good? Well....
Atropine, Nicotine, and Strychnine are all completely "natural" and certainly can be "organic".
But also quite lethal in modest doses......
Rattlesnake venom might be characterized as "natural" in some uses of the term.
As long as venom doesn't get injected into the blood stream it is supposedly harmless to swallow. I'm not planning on ever testing that proposition but apparently it is scientific.
Hey now, I'm vegan and a scientist. I'm hoping to do an interview with Nobel Laureate in physiology Elizabeth Blackburn, who wrote the New York Times Bestseller The Telomere Effect who is essentially vegan but for a little omega-3 rich fish.
I went go to the MIT/Stanford/Harvard Brain Mind Summit last fall with 150 other scientists and I would guess 50% of the attendees were vegan and another 49% leaned that way because of the overwhelming evidence that it prevents Alzheimer's.
Swallowing more than very modest doses of atropine, strychnine, or nicotine is not recommended, however. They will kill ya!
I stopped at the Sternberg Museum of Natural History at Ft Hays State University at Hays Kansas several years ago, on the way to Wyoming to shoot the solar eclipse in Glendo Wyoming.. They had an extensive exhibit of several dozen live rattlesnakes of different species and had a poster describing the lethal doses ( LD 50 ) of the various species, and another of the potency of the venom from the different species on live display - and interestingly, it was the smaller rattlers that were the more dangerous, had the greater potency of venom, even though larger rattlers delivered larger volumes of venom when they bit.
The Sternberg Museum is a great spot to visit if you have any interest in paleontology - the Sternberg family had several very prominent paleontologists. They're famous for mosasaurs, plesiosaurs, and other marine creatures
There’s nothing wrong with being vegan but I’m sure you (more than most) are well aware of what I’m talking about because you’re around many of these people I’m talking about. You know, the ones most likely to think cleansing is a good idea.
Last I heard the telomerase has been a bit of a bust. I was excited for a while at the possibility for lengthening human lifespans but it seems like it just isn’t going to pan out.
And ...
Bill Gates. He’s the one who created this whole Covid-19 thing to control the world. Of course he’s promoting GMO’s they’re part of his grand plan. All the while getting richer and closer to absolute world domination. Vaccine poisons, imbedded chips, chem trails and covering up real medical cures. Satan himself. (This is me being sarcastic in case you’re a conspiracy theorist who believes what I said is true.)
Nothing compared to the Paperclip.
The American space race certainly benefited.
For anyone that might not know the difference, an organism is venomous if the effect of the toxin takes place when inflicted on another organism, such as a bite or a sting. It's poisonous if the effect of the toxin takes place when ingested. Venoms are broken down in the digestive system, poisons are not.
You are correct about the distinction between venom and poison. Many venoms are protein or protein and polysaccharide mixtures. Poisons may be inorganic elements or compounds, or organic compounds.
Most poisons are poisonous whether swallowed or injected, certainly this is true of atropine, strychnine or nicotine, depending on dosage. Even table salt is toxic at some, rather large, doses, whether swallowed or injected.
Venoms, theoretically, proteins usually, will be degraded in gastric acids and enzymes. But any defect in the lining of the mouth, gums, teeth, esophagus, stomach or intestine might allow a venom access to ones tissues with very unfortunate effects.
I did find a link to someone who has reportedly swallowed snake venom, although they did not specify how much, nor what snake - that it even was venom came from a street vendor in Taipei.
And despite what was said about sucking out snake poison with your mouth froma snake bite, that is not recommended therapy for snake bite - cradle the limb carefully and go to an ER. No tourniquet, no sucking, no excitement. The treatment is the administration of anti-venom.
Per The Cleveland Clinic
To return this discussion to GMOs, I add this link describing the use of genetically modified coral snake proteins to create a coral snake anti-venom to create coral snake immunity
And another effort to create imminuity to snake venom from Liverpool UK
Fascinating! I didn’t know.
I think the study of telomeres has been interesting as another diagnostic test of health, but it seems to have revealed what the other tests have revealed: get sleep, be happy, don’t stress, don’t smoke, stay active, and eat your vegetables.
Still searching for that magic supplement at Costco to bypass all that. Must be in here somewhere. 🙂
My son-in-law is a family physician who raises his family on whole plants, but he says it's hard to recommend it to patients because only 5% will actually do it, it takes a long time to explain to them, and the profitable procedures that keep the practice afloat do not include counseling them on diet.
Also, there's a wilderness of mirrors on the Internet, as counterintelligence agents like to say, that have so confused everyone, few people know what to believe. There are huge marketing budgets for meat, dairy, coconut oil, Doritos and Coke — but the bean and vegetable producers are too broke to have a marketing budget.
Usually I see it suggested to move more towards it VS a strict whole plant vegan diet. It's just a big ask to move away from our current diets totally since food ties us to our cultures, to our families, to countless memories. I mean if you look at what I eat over a month there's a lot of stories there from my upbringing, travels, friendships, etc. all tied to the various dishes.
But people I know (doctors included) have gone to all sorts of different levels of veganism/vegetarianism/pescetarianism and for those who don't go all the way to one of those levels there's various other things like substituting a common animal based product like milk for plant based alternatives but not giving up all dairy, or going meatless for a section of the week.
for those who don't go all the way to one of those levels there's various other things like substituting a common animal based product like milk for plant based alternatives
Somehow I got myself fascinated with the Seventh Day Adventists because Ellen White, the woman who co-founded it, asked her followers to be vegetarian. I wondered how they did it and thanks to John Harvey Kellogg, who invented fake meat, soy and almond milk, nut butter, corn flakes and granola, they managed to mostly do it. Ellen said they didn't have to eliminate all dairy and eggs and still they became the longest-lived population on earth, right here in the fattest nation on earth. Impressive.
It's a lot easier to make such a move when it's coming from your religion, ethics, or a major life event to show the importance being beyond what attachments to your previous diet but it's not always easy. There's the issue of the "forbidden fruit" which can if not make you lost the diet totally cheat from time to time. While if it's rare that likely wouldn't have a major impact on your health it also can be a way for people to slide away from the diet which is why having something bigger to help you stay on it can be really important.
And I think it's clear by now that a diet like this helps but beyond it Adventists have many other health related beliefs:
Seventh-day Adventists' "Eight Laws of Health"1. Eat nutritiously (many choose a plant-based diet).
2. Exercise regularly and often to improve your body, mind and spirit.
3. Drink plenty of water.
4. Spend time in sunlight.
5. Practice temperance: Use good things moderately; avoid bad things.
6. Breathe in pure air, and do it properly.
7. Rest well, remembering that the best rest follows labor.
8. Trust in divine power as you make choices and seek inner peace.
https://www.oregonlive.com/living/2012/05/seventh-day_adventists_health.html
1-7 are all great advice for your health (though I'm curious about their specific details for #6). And if you're religious 8 could help you mentally and we're learning more and more about how your mental state helps your body physically. And with the Adventists you have a religious motivation plus your community is with you in terms of diet making it easier.Yes, and they don't smoke or drink — huge factors.
Back to GMO and food breeding, one thing I occasionally think of is grapes compete with Oreos for share of our digestive tracts. Grapes are at a severe disadvantage profit-wise, because they spoil, they aren't very patentable and unique to the seller, and they don't have the great marketing on the package.
So to counter those pressures, they are bred to have more sugar, less fiber, and have longer shelf life, which usually means less nutrition. It sounds like I'm against it but actually, almost anything to get kids to eat more grapes and less Oreos is good with me.
