Kudos to Chipotle For Ditching GMO Ingredients In Its Food!

Customers in Miami rush to get GMO-free lunch at Chipotle's

Two years ago Chipotle Mexican Grill became the first national restaurant chain to voluntarily disclose the presence of genetically-modified ingredients in its food. Less well known, the company also at that time vowed to one day transition away from GMO-organisms entirely. That day came this week as Chipotle CEO Steve Ellis announced the chain has now moved entirely to non-GMO ingredients.

Steve is to be roundly applauded given that most of the rest of this nation's business class remains in the throes of a zombie culture of denial and false science - every bit as degenerate as the pseudo-science that claims there is no human-caused global warming. Just as there should be no debate in the latter case, there should be no debate in the GMO foods case that these entities - laden with shit like glyphosate- are totally bad for humans, leading to everything from autism, to Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. See e.g.

http://brane-space.blogspot.com/2014/03/alzheimers-epidemic-fro-eating-gmo.html

At the very least there should be no debate that U.S. consumers ought to be able to differentiate what their foods contain on the basis of GMO labels - like 64 other nations have done. Instead we are treated to fake assurances and PR - straight from the corporate playbook exposed in "Toxic Sludge Is Good For You" -  e.g.

http://www.prwatch.org/tsigfy.html

Including from our own government agencies.

The corporate whore kingdom often cites the FDA or other government agencies to bestow benediction on GMO foods, i.e. that they are "safe" - but of course these federal agencies were compromised and been bought out long ago  (via the  government to GMO lobbyist and back 'revolving door' route)  and have become de facto PR- whore extensions for the corporatocracy. This is why they incessantly fight to keep labels off GMO foods.

Thus the FDA's claim that:

"genetically engineered foods are safe for consumption and are generally as nutritious as comparable foods from traditionally-bred plants"

Is pure rubbish.  Anyone who seriously believes that codswallop needs to report to a therapist for a thorough mental examination, as their neurons have likely been gutted from the inside out. I suggest they are closer to being a zombie (or at least zimbo) than a thinking, self-aware human. Basically, the FDA and its agency 'sidekicks' will say anything to get on the right side of the corporations like Monsanto that produce this crap - so maybe at some future date when they leave the agency they will have a top lobbyist position waiting.

That reality still hasn't stopped the Neoliberal media from expressing outrage at Chipotle's move, including the Denver Post in an editorial ('Chipotle's Sanctimony on GMOs') two days ago.  The editorial bawled and whined about Ellis' comment that "we'd rather have food that doesn't contain them" (especially after Arpad Pusztai's study showing the effects of lectin-based GMO potatoes on rat brains and digestive systems).

But the Post never mentioned any of that, or that sixty four nations demand GMO labeling. NO, the editor instead caterwauled about Ellis' ballsy move while asserting "scientists and government agencies have already said GMO foods are safe".

So, in effect, "case closed" and we are supposed to believe corporate-compromised gov't  agencies like the FDA, and  corporate "rental scientists" like Henry Miller-  who spent the 90s peddling BS for the tobacco companies and crafting arguments to support smoking. Does the idiot Post editor really believe we will give credence to such a sellout shill? And most of these other pro-GMO "scientists" are also in the pay of the GMO producers, including those affiliated with the ACSH. ( American Council on Science and Health).

Make no mistake that Chipotle's move is a game-changer, because as been pointed (e.g. in Mother Jones, on Dr. Oz' show) most Millennials don't want their bodies poisoned long term by GMO-laden crap to get Parkinson's or Alzheimer's later in life. Hence Chipotle's move gives it a major competitive edge in the fast food market.

Also, sales of non-GMO Project Verified products topped $11b last year and will be expected to grow as other companies follow Chipotle and Whole Foods Market- which has pledged to have its suppliers offering GMO-free products by 2018. This is according to Carlotta Mast, editor of Natural Foods Merchandise Trade magazine.

I mean, seriously now, if people are generally more discriminating in terms of not putting trans-fats or fructose corn syrup into their bodies, why would they not also be about putting glyphosate into their bodies (which destroys nutrient value).It would be stupid to be fastidious about not ingesting the former, but freely gobbling up the latter!

Yes, there will be some initial "supply chain" problems, and according to Darren Tristano - executive VP of Technomic Inc.:

"It should take years for the supply chain to meet the increasing needs of Chipotle and other restaurants that currently avoid GMOs"

But it can be done! Much of the supply could be helped if the gov't ceased acting as whore promoters, corrupting most of the food chain with GMO infestations - including soybeans and. But since these agencies are in the corporate maw, and massive profits are on the line - we have an uphill fight.

Still,  Chipotle has shown it is feasible to do an end run around the GMO -dominated supply. For example, Chipotle found the biggest GMO culprit in its earlier offerings was soybean oil - used in its chips, taco shells and rubs for chicken and steak.  Undeterred, they sought an oil substitute that had the same properties but without GMOs. They found it in sunflower oil and started contracting with farmers to grow more of the plant, not so much of the  GMO-soybeans. Chipotle has also contracted rice bran oil for other recipes. The move away from GMO corn took longer, since that key ingredient was used in more products such as tortillas- so extra attention had to be paid to how qualities such as taste and texture were affected. 

Most amazing, and in direct contradiction to the GMO PR hacks, propagandists and promoters: The switch to GMO free did not result in higher prices for customers. This "dead idea" argument needs to be expunged once and for all so that Americans can be afforded the same choice in their supermarkets as at Chipotle's-  to eat GMO free foods

Dr. Oz Exposes A Rogue's Gallery of Critics - And the 'DARK Act'

"For the first 30 minutes of his hour-long show—which celebrates its 1,000th episode on May 7—Oz took a chainsaw rather than a scalpel (metaphorically speaking) to his 10 fellow physicians who signed an open letter demanding his dismissal from the Columbia University Medical School faculty"- Commentator on 'The Daily Beast'


It was gratifying, indeed, to see Dr. Mehmet Oz taking a "chainsaw" as opposed to a "scalpel" to the rogue's gallery of A-holes that attacked him.  And as I noted in a previous blog post, I wouldn't even go so far as to call these critics physicians but rather bought out whores. They sold whatever 'souls' and self-respect they had long ago, to become shills for the corporate state and attack all those with whom they disagreed.

Readers may not be aware that a similar debacle played out some years ago but had a decidedly different outcome. This concerned the study by Dr. Arpad Pusztai in which he fed lab rats potatoes that had been genetically engineered to contain lectin (from a snowdrop bulb to make them pest resistant). When he processed the results he found that the rats which consumed these high-tech potatoes showed evidence of organ (liver, stomach) damage and poor brain development. Pusztai's study went down as the very first independent study (i.e. one not sponsored by a biotech corporation) to examine the effects of bio-engineered food on mammals.

Tragically, Pusztai’s boss, the Director of the Rowett Institute, attempted to suppress the revelations in the GMO potato study. According to a report -article from In These Times (Jan. 10, 2000);

 "He fired Pusztai, broke up his research team, halted the six other similar projects his team was then working on and seized his data"

Tragically, the action was taken after the  research became known to physician  "colleagues". Interested readers can read more on the expose of the PR muggers and their hands in the Pusztai debacle here
http://www.inthesetimes.com/issue/24/03/bleifuss2403.html

So, let's get it straight this sort of attack isn't new - only the cast changes.  Whenever the agenda of bought out  corporate whores is  challenged or criticized, in this case the drive not to label  GMO foods, they enter and try to shut up the source.....or get him fired from a top position.

Back to Dr. Oz'  Thursday show.  He immediately flashed on the screen the forlorn, guilt-ridden faces of the 10 rats that came out against him,  The gallery - with faces shown -includes:

- Henry I. Miller, Fellow in Scientific Philosophy, Hoover Institution

- Scott W. Atlas, M.D., Hoover Institution

- Jack Fisher, M.D. Prof. of Surgery, Univ. of California, San Diego

-Shelley Fleet, Anesthesiologist, Longwood, FL

-Gordon N. Gill, Dean of Translational Medicine, Univ. of California, San Diego

- Gilbert Ross, M.D.,  Acting President, American Council on Science and Health

- Samuel Schneider, Psychiatrist, Princeton, NJ

- Michael Mellon, Pediatric Allergist, San Diego, CA

- Glenn Swogger Jr., Dir. Will Menninger Center for Applied Behavioral Sciences, (retired), The Menninger Foundation, Topeka, KS

- Joe Tapper, Dept, of Radiation Oncology, Univ. of North Carolina

As noted in the expose intro, the guy who drafted the letter and whose name is in the top spot is Henry Miller, whose vita at first glance "looks impressive". But "put him under the microscope and there's more to the story". We learn, for instance, that Miller strongly supports genetically modified foods, which Dr. Oz maintains ought to be labeled.  Miller  and his ilk almost singlehandedly defeated Proposition 37 in California that would have required GMO labeling. (He was the face and voice of 'NO on 37' that brainwashed consumers to vote against their best interests)

Miller also got into hot water for making one anti-Prop 37 ad on the Stanford University campus.  The ad identified him as being with Stanford - undoubtedly to add bogus name cachet - though he is actually based at the Hoover Inst. which has nothing to do with Stanford apart from its geographical location on the campus. So no surprise the university demanded he pull the dishonest ad.

Oz' expose also presented documents on screen showing Miller was a key supporter - get this - of the freaking tobacco industry in the 1990s! Do bought out physician whores have no honor at all? Are they willing to prostitute themselves for any and everything? It seems so! Hell, this scumball  even "helped write the guiding scientific principles for a group that was assembled to fight smoking restrictions".

All this is thanks to the dedicated research of Source Watch which tracks industry ties to assorted critics and hot shots in the medical news.  According to Gary Ruskin, Executive Director of 'Right to Know':

"What Henry Miller does is speak on behalf of big corporations who have big problems and he tells big lies on their behalf."

Miller is also involved with the bogus, corporate front organization (they pop up all over the damned place now) the American Council on Science and Health. A rep from Oz' show who went to the alleged headquarters in New York City found only an empty room with some file cabinets and a copy machine (seen through the window)

While these losers sound scientific and pro-consumer, they have spoken in defense of cigarettes, pesticides, GMOs and other poisons, all "while taking money from tobacco companies, pesticide makers, and firms behind GMO foods."   This, according to documents leaked to Mother  Jones magazine. There is a "direct line", in fact, between the corporations that the ACSH solicits and the positions it takes in public. In other words you can't trust ANY of them, any more than you can trust John McAdams' take on the Kennedy assassination.

Gary Ruskin actually calls them "rent -a -scientist" - much like the fossil fuel front groups that rent other scientific prostitutes to criticize global warming science. Guys like Willie Soon.

Then there is ACSH acting President Gilbert Ross, who is also famous - but not the way you'd think! He's actually a convicted felon. As Oz' report notes, "while working as a doctor Ross was charged in a Medicaid fraud scheme that cost the state of New York $8 million. Ross was sentenced to nearly 4 years and served time in federal prison."

So why believe this jail bird when he yaps complaints about Dr. Oz?  You'd have to be a moron or a totally brainwashed dupe.

Two other rogues mentioned in connection with ACSH include Glenn Swogger Jr. and Jack Fisher.  Their backgrounds led the Source Watch contact to note "this is definitely a smear campaign against Dr. Oz., driven by critics connected to big industry."

Meanwhile, a fifth critic, Scott Atlas, works with Henry Miller at the Hoover Inst. Evidently, he's more useful as a propagandist shill than acting the part of a real doctor. No surprise here since  "Hoover has taken money from producers of genetically modified foods."

Dr. Joel Fuhrman, guest physician on the show, observed:

"Number one, these doctors are not representative of the medical profession. Number two, it's an attack against all physicians - any professionals that don't adopt a standard party line. It's important we recognize this is anti-American and anti-freedom to help people in the best way possible."

Another aspect Dr. Fuhrman noted was the total irresponsibility of the corporate media, "to explode it all over the place, which is sloppy and dangerous journalism because they didn't do any background checks, they didn't know who these people were, they didn't understand their agenda".

In other words, typical kindergarten-level MSM reporting!

But we've  already seen in the past how the whore media acts, such as being cheerleaders in the run-up to the Iraq  War, and using propaganda tactics such as framing and suppression by omission as well as euphemisms (e.g. Iran-Contra scandal instead of Iran-Contra conspiracy) to deflect serious people from conspiracy thinking.  See e.g.

http://brane-space.blogspot.com/2013/11/frequently-asked-questions-on-jfk_22.html

This brings us to the DARK Act, which Oz also exposed and which, if passed, would totally disallow any future citizen referenda or state initiatives to label what's in their food.  The D-A-R-K act is an acronym for:

DENY

AMERICANS

RIGHT to

KNOW

What is in this Neoliberal attempt to poison people by the millions? As Oz explains:

"The sponsors of the bill claim that GMO labeling is not needed. The bill specifically makes mandatory labeling of GMO foods impossible and that takes away your right to vote in your state for what you and your family want to eat. "

According to guest Scott Faber, Vice President of  the Environmental Working Group:

"This is a radical, radical proposal when you think about the fact that ninety percent of Americans want to know whether their food contains GMOs, just like consumers in sixty four other countries. It's just incredible that congress would pass a law that would block all state GMO labeling laws and make it virtually impossible for the FDA to mandate labeling. The congress is saying 'we don't trust you to make those choices"

  Also, he notes if the DARK Act became law all the existing state laws that require GMO labeling would be "wiped off the books" and the 17 bills now pending in state legislatures would all be blocked, effectively forever.

But what about the Democrats, wouldn't they filibuster this bill on our behalf?

Don't count on it because the Democratic Party is as infected by the virus of Neoliberalism as the pro-market Repukes. There isn't one chance in a million the Dems would exert the energy - however minimal- to filibuster the DARK Act. So we are literally on our own, or will be if this trash passes.

If the law passes, state control of any labeling, including 'use by' and 'sell by' dates would also be in jeopardy   We need to write the congressional whores now and let them know we are on to their hidden and corrupt agenda and if they want future votes they had better conform to citizens' will- not lobbyist money.

Update: Who hired this moron as "editor" for Salon.com?

I refer to Colin Gorenstein who scribbled this piece of refuse at salon:


http://www.salon.com/2015/04/27/john_olivers_glorious_dr_oz_takedown_you_are_the_worst_person_in_scrubs_who_has_ever_been_on_television_including_katherine_heigl/

Note that while this imbecile attacks Oz, noting the "ten doctors" who criticized him, he shamefully avoids pointing out their despicable backgrounds. (As I have here). Anyone who avoids doing that is simply another shill, or better, hack. How this character got to be a salon editor is beyond me when he's not even qualified to edit comic books,

As for citing John Oliver, a comic (though a sometimes smart one) that doesn't wash because Oz has always made it abundantly clear when he mentions this or that product he: 1) isn't conveying medical advice or acting as a medical expert, and 2) he expects viewers to do their own research and learn more about it. 

Most of Oz' proffered products or solutions I ignore after doing my research as HE advises. It is appalling that Oliver (like Gorenstein) goes after Oz as opposed to the dumb people who take his advice too literally and don't follow his own cautionary statements. JEEZ!