Recently ISAAA, International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications, estimated that collectively, an area the size of Peru is globally farming GM, genetically modified, crops for a variety of benefits such as higher yields, hardier plants, which lead to a longer growing season, which leads back to higher yields, more efficient soil turnover, improved irrigation and improved pestilence resistant treatments and varieties.   But what are the negative affects of such practices? From a financial perspective, Europe is less charmed, fearing erosion of the livelihood of small farmers who can't compete in this new costly, large scale, farming order. Biologically, the effects of genetic splicing and dicing have yet to be dissected, or studied at length, but one thing is clear,  a rose, by any other name, may not necessarily smell as sweet as a rose, more like a rose hybrid, something Shakespeare never considered. Those who suffer from food allergies now have a whole host of other concerns, what is the 'safe' ingredient now laced with? Is the field that produced one crop, after that harvest, then used to harvest another, for example peanuts, and what trace amounts of allergen are found in the soil that can lead to reaction? or when planted in proximity to other crops for 'agricultural biodiversity'?  All unpopular questions given that Monsanto, The Gates Foundation, and other agricultural organizations see GM as a panacea to world hunger and poverty, using the bounty reaped to feed populations and prosperity via exports.   However, to ignore such issues and the impact of these advancements on crops is to operate in a vacuum.

Many of our subscribers are allergic to yeast. Rising gluten intolerance, the veritable 'kitchen sink' of grain based crops, and a staple of most baked and prepared goods, has led manufacturers to respond with gluten-free product lines.

The catastrophic phenomenon of the collapse of bee colonies, is a curious development.  Has our toying with crops resulted in confusion, disorientation, rejection and illness for bees?   This correlation and consequence seems plausible, as the experts have studied many other theories and are still at loss. Decreased pollination is already wreaking havoc with harvest yields and prices, and it is estimated to continue exponentially until a cause, and cure, are determined. I am not a botanist, but here's my two cents until evidence suggests otherwise: you can fool some of the people all of the time, all of the people some of the time, but you can't fool Mother Nature.