Source – Feedstuffs
By Rod Smith
Date - Jan 21, 2013
Website – www.feedstuffs.com
Legislation has been introduced in the New Mexico Senate that would require animal feed and human food containing genetically modified organisms (GMO) to be labeled as such.
The legislation, introduced by state Sen. Peter Wirth, an attorney from Santa Fe, N.M., would amend the state’s feed and food laws. If it passes the Senate, it then would go to the New Mexico House of Representatives.
The legislation would require that any product that contains more than 1% by weight of genetically modified material be packaged with a label that’s “conspicuous and easily understood by consumers.”
Genetically modified material is described as a substance that has been modified through the use of bioengineering or genetic engineering.
Regulations for enforcement would be developed by the New Mexico Environmental Improvement Board.
Wirth, a Democrat, said the bill’s premise “is simple: New Mexicans deserve the right to know what’s in the food they are eating and feeding their families.” The bill would give people the “basic information” needed to decide what kinds of food they want to buy, he said.
Wirth said he introduced the bill after being approached to do so by the environmental activist group Food & Water Watch.
The legislation is one of several state-based initiatives seeking to require the labeling of feed and food that have GMOs in them.
A GMO labeling measure on the California ballot was defeated last year after initially finding overwhelming support in opinion polls; however, it then went up against massive advertising campaigns and other opposition from farm/seed and food producers (Feedstuffs, Nov. 12, 2012).
GMO labeling legislation currently is before the Washington state assembly, and if it’s not acted on in the assembly, it will be submitted to voters this fall (Feedstuffs, Oct. 15, 2012). It’s largely assumed that the legislature will take the latter route, and polling shows that 72% of the state’s voters support the measure.
Ballot initiatives also are being pursued in Connecticut, Vermont and Oregon, and a petition requesting that foods made with GMOs be labeled is pending before the Food & Drug Administration, which has taken the position, after years of research, that conventionally produced foods and GMO-enhanced foods are substantially the same.
FDA’s position is supported by the American Medical Assn., National Academy of Sciences and World Health Organization.
Most recently, Mark Lynas, often called one of the founders of the anti-GMO movement, publicly stated that he has reconsidered his position and that science clearly demonstrates that biotechnology is not only safe but critical to feeding the growing global population while protecting natural resources, including water.
These, while seemingly unrelated, point to the simple fact that the Science, currently held as the “conventional wisdom” is plainly outdated and should be over-hauled.
Quantum Genetics and Quantum Automata Models Of Quantum-Molecular Evolution Involved in the Evolution of Organisms and Species: http://cogprints.org/8144/2/QuantGenetics_QAMolEvol5.pdf From the Conclusion: “Biological evolution should be therefore regarded as a multi-scale process which is initiated by underlying quantum (coupled) multi-molecular transformations of the genomic and interatomic networks, followed by specific phenotypic transformations at the level of organism and the variable biogroupoids associated with the evolution of species which are essential to the survival of the species. The theoretical framework introduced in this article also paves the way to a
Quantitative Biological approach to biological evolution at the quantum-molecular, as well as at the organismal and species levels. This is quite a substantial modification of the `established’ modern Darwinist, and also of several so-called `molecular evolution’ theories.
Genetic Sequencing Breakthrough to Aid Treatment for Congenital Hyperinsulinism: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/12/121227130325.htm “Researchers at the University of Exeter Medical School are the first in the world to utilize new genetic sequencing technology to sequence the entirety of a gene in order to identify mutations that cause Hyperinsulinism.”
Scientists make wheat genetic code breakthrough:
http://news.yahoo.com/scientists-wheat-genetic-code-breakthrough-180127840.html “Since 1980, the rate of increase in wheat yields has declined,” said one of the project leaders, Keith Edwards of the University of Bristol. “Analysis of the wheat genome sequence data (The identification of around 96,000 wheat genes, and insights into the links between them) provides a new and very powerful foundation for breeding future generations of wheat more quickly and more precisely, to help address this problem,” he added.
Bits of Mystery DNA, Far From ‘Junk,’ Play Crucial Role:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/06/science/far-from-junk-dna-dark-matter-proves-crucial-to-health.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 “The big surprise was not only that almost all of the DNA is used but also that a large proportion of it is gene switches. Before Encode, said Dr. John Stamatoyannopoulos, a University of Washington scientist who was part of the project, “if you had said half of the genome and probably more has instructions for turning genes on and off, I don’t think people would have believed you.”
Breakthrough study overturns theory of ‘junk DNA’ in genome
The international Encode project has found that about a fifth of the human genome regulates the 2% that makes proteins: http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2012/sep/05/genes-genome-junk-dna-encode: For years, the vast stretches of DNA between our 20,000 or so protein-coding genes – more than 98% of the genetic sequence inside each of our cells – was written off as “junk” DNA. Already falling out of favour in recent years, this concept will now, with Encode’s work, be consigned to the history books.
While this (Encode) research is focused on Human DNA, the Science being derived from it, has a profound and compelling impact on ALL Genetic Research.
This points to a NEED to re-examine ALL of the current Products in Biotech, the Science in use, as well as the Technology employed. I suggest Monsanto, Bayer and other Biotech Companies need to head back to the Lab, rather than using draconian measures to keep “the Faithful” in line.