First Super Weeds, Now Super Insects -- Thanks to Monsanto Excerpts: “Not only are we seeing rapid emergence of super-weeds resistant to glyphosate, courtesy of Roundup Ready crops, we now also have evidence of emerging Bt-resistant insects.” A new generation of insect larvae is eating the roots of genetically engineered corn intended to be resistant to such pests. The failure of Monsanto's genetically modified Bt corn could be the most serious threat ever to a genetically modified crop in the U.S. And the economic impact could be huge. Billions of dollars are at stake, as Bt corn accounts for 65 percent of all corn grown in the US. The strain of corn, engineered to kill the larvae of beetles, such as the corn rootworm, contains a gene copied from an insect-killing bacterium called Bacillus thuringiensis, or Bt. ....... Bt Corn—a Most Dangerous Failure Monsanto's genetically modified "Bt corn" has been equipped with a gene from soil bacteria called Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis), which produces the Bt-toxin. It's a pesticide that breaks open the stomach of certain insects and kills them. This pesticide-producing corn entered the food supply in the late 1990's, and over the past decade, the horror stories have started piling up. And the problem with Bt crops go far beyond the creation of Bt-resistant insects. Monsanto and the EPA swore that the genetically engineered corn would only harm insects. The Bt-toxin produced inside the plant would be completely destroyed in the human digestive system and would not have any impact at all on consumers, they claimed. Alas, they've been proven wrong on that account as well, because not only is Bt corn producing resistant "super-pests," researchers have also found that the Bt-toxin can indeed wreak havoc on human health. Bt-Toxin Now Found in Many People's Blood Last year, doctors at Sherbrooke University Hospital in Quebec found Bt-toxin in the blood of: 93 percent of pregnant women tested 80 percent of umbilical blood in their babies, and 67 percent of non-pregnant women The study authors speculate that the Bt toxin was likely consumed in the normal diet of the Canadian middle class—which makes sense when you consider that genetically engineered corn is present in the vast majority of all processed foods and drinks in the form of high fructose corn syrup. They also suggest that the toxin may have come from eating meat from animals fed Bt corn, which most livestock raised in confined animal feeding operations (CAFO, or so-called "factory farms") are. ........ Bt-Toxin Linked to Allergies, Auto-Immune Disease, and More If Bt genes are indeed capable of colonizing the bacteria living in the human digestive tract, scientists believe it could reasonably result in: Gastrointestinal problems Autoimmune diseases Food allergies Childhood learning disorders ....... There are also peer-reviewed studies showing that natural Bt-toxin from soil bacteria is not a safe pesticide either: When natural Bt-toxin was fed to mice, they had tissue damage, immune responses as powerful as cholera toxin , and even started reacting to other foods that were formerly harmless. Farm workers exposed to Bt also showed immune responses . The EPA's Bt Plant-Pesticides Risk and Benefits Assessment, created by their expert Scientific Advisory Panel, states that "Bt proteins could act as antigenic and allergenic sources."
Never fear Clyde, I think the DISTILLING PROCESS takes care of the Genetic Issues in the resultant alcohol...... ...... YMMV.....
Last time I checked, DNA was NOT transferable, when heated into gaseous Phase and then re-condensed by a cooling Phase change.
