A Dutch fairytale of mine which I was translating into English is now finished. It is a booklet and a PDF. The price is € 6 for the booklet and €4 for the PDF. Booklet: Free home delivery in the Sidha village, NL. If you live in the rest of the Netherlands, it will cost € 10 because of the shipping costs. For the rest of the world e-mail me. Next week I will recieve the first booklets from the printer.
Someone who had read two of my fairytales writes: “The two books you sent me, are wonderful. I’m sure they are enjoyed by many as your art is so colourful and with such charming characters. I wish you every success.” A.H., Canada.
This fairy tale is about a genetically engineered grape trial that goes wrong. This booklet is the thirteenth part of the Saartje Braafhart series I am working on. In the booklet I also explain briefly what GMOs are.
ISBN/EAN 9789083230900 (Booklet) and ISBN/EAN 9789083230986 (PDF).
Of course, grapes cannot grow as large as humans. Not even if you genetically modify them. They can’t get mad either. That only happens in fairy tales. Bytheway there are no GM grapes yet.
But, what is genetic engineering?
A genetically engineered organism (A GMO, a plant for example) is an organism that has been developed in a laboratory by taking the genes of one specie and forcing them into an entirely different unrelated specie in order to develop a completely new trait or trait development that does not occur in nature. It exceeds the natural species boundaries. The first generation of GM crops are almost mainly made resistant to herbicides and pesticides, so that the plants do not die when they are sprayed with that agent. It is well known that herbicides and pesticides introduced into plants via genetically manipulation are toxic to humans and animals. For example, Glufosinate Ammonium (GLA)* and Glyphosate (Roundup),** It also kills bees***.
Some Consequences: Altered genes in genetically engineered cotton plants may disrupt insect interactions with wild cotton plants in Mexico. **** Cows got deficiency diseases. *****
The way to apply genetic engineering, the mechanism to intervene in the DNA, the blueprint of life, is the same everywhere. Whether it is in the field of medical applications, or whether you genetically modify a plant, animal, fish, bacteria or fungi, such as yeast or other organisms. This also applies to the newer gene techniques such as Crispr Cas 9.
The big mistake that people make here is that one gene does not stand for one property. Genes interact and work together. (After Dr. Mae-Wan Ho). A study published in 2019 shows that changing one gene has an effect on many traits, sometimes as many as a hundred traits.
Links:
*Fujii, T., T. Ohata, M. Horinaka, Alternations in the response to kainic acid in rats exposed to glufosinate-ammonium, a herbicide, during infantile period. Proc. Of the Japan Acad. Series B-Physical and Biological Sciences, 1996, Vol. 72, No. 1, pp. 7-10. 16. Fujii et all, *https://www.researchgate.net/publication/244754595_Alterations_in_the_Response_to_Kainic_Acid_in_Rats_Exposed_to_Glufosinate_Ammonium_a_Herbicide_during_Infantile_Period
***Bijen: https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/1365-2664.13867
**** https://www.sciencenews.org/article/modified-genes-distort-wild-cotton-plant-insect-interactions
*****https://www.gentechvrij.nl/2011/10/21/don-huber-interview/
******https://www.nature.com/articles/s41588-019-0481-0?
Meer over glyfosaat (Engels) Restore Q&A with Dr Zach Bush – YouTube
All information comes from The GMO-free Citizens. For more information, see the website gentechvrij.nl
A few tips.
It is best to buy organic vegetables an ditto products. Common products in the EU can contain 0.9% genetically modified organisms. Above that limit, a product must be labeled according to EU law. The United Kingdom is out of the EU. There will be different laws. Perhaps there will also be no labeling regarding GMOs anymore. Take an allotment garden or grow fruit and vegetables in your own garden. Preferably in a greenhouse.
*U.S. products (particularly candy and products for baking) sold in EU supermarkets, specialty stores and on the Internet may contain GMOs which are not labeled as such and furthermore not in the language of the EU country they are sold in. That is mandatory in the EU. This can be the case with parallel import.
Also read: GMO Myths & Truths A Citizen’s Guide to the Evidence
on the Safety and Efficacy of Genetically Modified Crops and
Foods, 4th Edition, August 2018. Authors: Claire Robinson, MPhil, Dr. John Fagan, Ph.D. Co-author: Dr. Michael Antoniou, PhD. English.
Paperback
9780993436727
4th Revised edition
August 2018
240 pages
USA, January 1, 2022, the new GMO “Labeling Law” went into effect. This new law does not require any labeling clarifying GMO, genetic engineering, or modification. Story: https://www.momsacrossamerica.com/new_gmo_labeling_law_lawsuit
