The real “Happening”

First off, if you have not seen the movie “The Happening” in theaters, I warn you not to read on much further because this post deals with the premise of the movie and will ruin it for you.  For the rest of you, I will explain the real world implications that are sort of addressed in this movie.

When I figured out exactly what was happening in the movie where the plants were releasing deadly neurotoxins killing off countless numbers of people, it made me think of genetically modified foods or also known as GM foods.  You might not know what they are, but I can easily bet you that you have eaten some.  Try looking at your produce sections at your local grocery store.  Have you ever remembered apples bigger than your fist?  Tomatoes the size of a softball and bright, bright red?  Those are a good example of these types of food.

What is a GM food?  Well, it a crop that is genetically spliced at the DNA level to increase crop yields, resist certain pests, and have a faster turnover to keep the soil rich and full of nutrients for the next crop.  This sounds all well and good, but what are the ramifications of such processes?  First, these companies purchase fields or rent them from farmers all over the country.  Some of the problems with this is when the plants are growing, they require pollen and this is accomplished with all the different insects such as butterflies, bees, etc.  Now it wouldn’t be  problem if the insects could only pollenate the GM plants with only other GM plants, but that is not the case.  They are finding that these hybrid plants are starting to cross breed so to speak and distort the natural crops that we are used to eating for thousands of years.

Now this has only started to occur in the last 10 years or so, and there has not been a lot of press about this issue.  This being the said, there is no long term studies or effects are known at this time, but when we toy with nature, we usually pay the price.  Something to think about.
In Health,

Doctor Andy