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Judge Rejects Approval of Engineered Sugar Beets
countertrolling writes "A federal judge has ruled that the government failed to adequately assess the environmental impacts of genetically engineered sugar beets before approving the crop for cultivation in the United States. The decision could lead to a ban on the planting of the beets, which have been widely adopted by farmers. Beets supply about half the nation's sugar, with the rest coming from sugar cane. The Agriculture Department did conduct an environmental assessment before approving the genetically engineered beets in 2005 for widespread planting. But the department concluded there would be no significant impact, so a fuller environmental impact statement was not needed. But Judge White said that the pollen from the genetically engineered crops might spread to non-engineered beets. He said that the 'potential elimination of farmer's choice to grow non-genetically engineered crops, or a consumer's choice to eat non-genetically engineered food' constituted a significant effect on the environment that necessitated an environmental impact statement. There's still hope, isn't there? That we can at least get this stuff labeled properly?"
There are lots of organizations that will cater to your backward luddism and sell you food full of warts and disease, as nature intended.
You just have to pay for it, you cheap asshole.
I'm sorry, but digestion and the (human) metabolic system in general is among the least-understood processes in our body; never mind 'guessing' what vitamins/minerals etc we need and which we don't (see, for an extreme example, people with bipolar disorder who suddenly improve when they get enough lithium again).
Further, see this post, as it sums up a lot fairly nicely.
Sure, part of the problem with the american diet is just the total and utter lack of vegetables, but stuff like HFCS are currently being suggested to be among the worst choices ever for adult-onset diabetes (as fructose digestion takes up much more energy/concentration by the relevant organ [iirc the liver] than glucose does, etc. See an earlier post of mine in another thread for more).
I can sort of live with the indirect effect this has via cow fodder etc, but I'll be damned before I'm forced to buy GM food (as things like 'contamination'+litigation by maffiosi like Monsanto will result in that 20 years down the line) that is hardly tested at all for long-term effects before being rubberstamped by that at least semi-corrupt organization called the FDA.