Obesity: New Vulnerable Group

I see that there's a new Vulnerable Group reared its head - or swished its little tails! - There are some genetically modified mice that are very vulnerable to becoming obese because of a mutation in a particular gene, reported here. Well I don't think we need to trouble ourselves about that particular vulnerability, though one feels sympathy for the mice having their genes damaged, apparently in the cause of providing some information for the drug industry to avail itself of in its never-ending trawl for profitable products to unload on innocent citizens. Unless we allow drug researchers or their mates who work in genetic engineering to interfere with our genes we are unlikely to suffer this genetic problem ourselves, or - perish the thought! - any of us is tricked into eating any of these GM mice and something untoward happens... (Memo: best to avoid eating GM foods, whether animal or vegetable, and best to avoid eating animals that have been fed GM crops. Since no one knows what could happen, the precautionary principle should be applied.)

The Vulnerable Groups in whom I am most interested are those who are vulnerable to becoming obese because of salt sensitivity or sodium retention. The groups of people vulnerable to salt are babies and children, people who take or who have taken certain prescribed steroids, including prednisone and prednisolone, or certain other prescribed drugs, women who take or have taken HRT or other oestrogen-containing drugs such as some contraceptive medications, people who take or have taken amitriptyline or other tricyclic antidepressants or some other psychotropic/psychoactive drugs, pregnant mothers, PMT sufferers and people who ate salt as children. These groups need to minimise their salt intake. They will lose weight easily if they eat less salt and salty food.

The Gates Foundation prioritises GM development projects

The Gates Foundation prioritises GM development projects and promotes fertilisers, pesticides and hybrid seeds to small African farmers through bodies such as African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF) and projects like Harvest Plus that benefit big business rather than promoting proven, low-cost solutions to tackling hunger by sustainable farming.

"As the world population reaches 7 billion GM Freeze says in a new report published today that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s policy on agricultural development to tackle hunger is “swimming against a tide of informed opinion”. The report reveals the Gates Foundation has allocated over 40% of its committed research expenditure from 2005 to 2011 on projects involving risky “silver bullet” GM technology."
Read news release at GM Freeze.

The Soil Association is concerned about "The big fat lie about doubling food production."

The Soil Association is rightly concerned about "The big fat lie about doubling food production." Unfortunately, when Big Business is involved in promulgating statistics, we invariably find, as in this case, that claims made are not facts, but propaganda. And when Monsanto is involved, as in this case, the propaganda is very dangerous. The spread of GM crops/food needs to be resisted. No good will come of GMOs.

GeneWatch Director has resigned over Food Standards Agency 's pro-GM stand

FSA GM dialogue process a ‘PR exercise on behalf of the GM industry’
On 26th May, Dr Helen Wallace, the Director of GeneWatch UK, resigned her membership of the UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) Steering Group for the GM dialogue, with immediate effect. In a public letter of resignation to John Curtice, the Chair of the Steering Group, she declared that it had become clear to her that the purpose of the FSA process was nothing more than a PR exercise on behalf of the GM industry. She also believes that the process would be a significant waste of £500,000 of taxpayers'money.
Read article on the website of the Alliance for Natural Health (ANH) Europe

DEFRA is sneakily allowing further GM potatoes trial

DEFRA (Department for the Environment Food and Rural Affairs) is sneakily allowing further GM potatoes trialling as the Telegraph reports here.

There is, of course, strong resistance within the British public to the idea of GM crops being tested/grown and GM food being imported/sold in the UK and environmentalists, when they are aware of GM crops being test-grown have tended to interfere with the trial plants, partly because of the risk of the GM plants contaminating the genes of native crops.

The report contains this sinister information: "Under current EU rules, scientists have to publish the map reference for every GM field trial. However ministers are understood to be reviewing the rules so more trials can go ahead without threat of disruption."

Makes me wonder whether/which ministers are in the pocket of the biotechnology industry...

Charity guide criticised for not declaring GM interests

Sense About Science pamphlet failed to list contributors' links with industry. Zoë Corbyn reports
A charity has come under fire for failing to declare all industry affiliations of the experts it enlisted to compile a booklet explaining genetic modification to the public. The pamphlet was produced by Sense About Science (SAS), a charity that claims to promote scientific reasoning in public discussions. According to anti-genetic modification campaigners and academics, it failed to mention links between some of the experts who wrote the booklet and GM firms. For example, the guide's biography of Vivian Moses, emeritus professor of microbiology at Queen Mary, University of London, and visiting professor of biotechnology at King's College London, does not mention that he is also chairman of CropGen, a GM lobby group that receives funding from the biotechnology industry.
Read article in The Times (UK)
Comment: In addition to its links with the GM industry, Sense About Science also has links with the pharmaceutical industry. In the past year, it has received financial contributions from AstraZeneca plc, the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain, and a number of large medical charities who themselves have received financial contributions from drug companies.