Tag Archives: rapeseed

On “Organic” Canola Oil

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Organic canola oil; Is that an oxymoron?

Saturday, September 14, 2013 by: S. D. Wells

NaturalNews) First of all, if canola oil is processed from rapeseed oil, which is highly toxic to humans, can canola legitimately be labeled “organic,” just because the farmers aren’t using pesticides or chemical fertilizers? Let’s go back to the drawing board on this one and figure this out before we all consume a boatload more of “organic canola,” thinking the coast is clear. The organic farming movement arose in the 1940’s in response to the industrialization of agriculture. Seventy years later, there are strict regulations and vigorous inspections to make sure anything carrying the USDA organic seal is legitimately organic. Organic food also means that there is no irradiation, no synthetic inputs and absolutely no GMOs (genetically modified organisms) or chemical additives. Though organic food is safer and healthier than conventional food, no companies can make that claim, so how does canola fly under the radar and gain that organic seal when it comes from rapeseed? Did you know that bio-diesel is also derived from rapeseed? Rape is actually a weed and even insects won’t eat it, so why are millions of people eating canola every day whether it’s organic or not? Is “organic canola” really inorganic? Let’s figure this whole thing out. (http://www.laleva.cc)

Canola oil, organic or not, inhibits enzyme function

Wait, did you think there was a canola plant, like corn, soy or sunflower? Did you think making canola is just about pressing seeds? Want to put a “hex” on your health? Insert “hexane” and wait for problems to rear their ugly head. Hexane, a vapor component of gasoline, is used to process oils and has been since WWII. Yes, hexane is flammable. So how is this organic? Good question. Hexane is a chemical made from crude oil, the mainstream solvent extraction method of the entire Western world. So how does rapeseed oil magically turn into canola oil? Is it bleached, deodorized or cooked at high heat to remove the stink? The omega-3 fatty acids of processed canola oil are transformed during the deodorizing process into trans-fatty acids. The reason why canola is particularly unsuited for consumption is that it contains a very long-chain fatty acid called erucic acid, which under some circumstances is associated with fibrotic heart lesions.

One study indicated that “heart healthy” canola oil actually created a deficiency of vitamin E, which, as many of us know, is essential to our cardiovascular health. Also, because of canola’s high sulfur content, it goes rancid easily, so baked goods containing canola develop molds quickly. Plus, it exacerbates problems for anyone allergic to sulfur or who has bronchial or asthma issues.
(http://customers.hbci.com)

All food grade canola, including the varieties sold in health food stores, are deodorized by 300 degree Fahrenheit high-temperature refining to remove its natural terrible stink. You cannot cook a vegetable oil at that temperature and leave behind anything beneficial. That’s why corporations love it. But the poisonous hexane residue left behind is why corporations are MARRIED to it. Still, food scientists and the FDA explain away the danger of hexane by saying that it evaporates when heated, “either through direct or indirect contact with steam,” so the food no longer contains enough to be harmful to humans. Nice try. So if I get some canola, pour on some gasoline, bleach and pesticide, and then steam it really well, we’re all good to go?

What’s next, organic mustard gas?

It is a known fact that canola oil comes from the rape seed, which is part of the mustard family of plants. Mustard gas was made from rapeseeds and used in World War II for genocide. Rape seed is the most toxic of all food-oil plants, much more toxic than soy oil, yet Canada annually exports over 3 million tons of canola seed, over 700,000 tons of canola oil and a million tons of canola “meal.” And guess who Canada’s #1 buyer is … yep, the U.S.A. (http://www.soyatech.com)

Even if canola is labeled organic, major doubt remains about its value to the human body. Canola oil is high in glycosides, which means it inhibits enzyme function. Over the long term, this destroys the protective sheath (coating) surrounding nerves. Once that sheath is gone, nerve damage is being done. So, for the most part, canola oil makes your body more vulnerable to cancer. Now let’s back up a little here. Rape oil itself causes emphysema, respiratory distress, anemia, constipation and blindness in animals, including humans. So what’s the bottom line? Canola oil actually carries the mutated genes, no matter what kind of “processing” the food “product” is put through. (http://www.laleva.cc)

Canola oil manufacturers’ “healthy” argument is hinged on the fact that the processing techniques of “crushing and extraction” are similar for most vegetable oils produced from the seeds of plants, and even though canola oil is developed from the rapeseed plant, it has been marketed as a “wonder oil” that is low in saturated fats, with a beneficial omega-3 fatty acid profile. It is recognized by the American Dietetic Association and the American Heart Association based on the belief that the absence of saturated fats alone makes it healthy. However, it is now believed that “rapeseed” has a cumulative effect, taking almost 10 years before symptoms manifest.(http://www.sdadefend.com)

These symptoms may include:
• tremors and shaking
• uncoordination when walking or writing
• slurred speech
• deterioration of memory and thinking processes
• fuzzy or low audio levels
• difficulty urinating/incontinence
• breathing problems/short of breath
• numbness and tingling in extremities
• heart problems/arrhythmia
• nervous breakdown

In April of 1997, Monsanto announced that it was recalling genetically engineered canola seed, because an unapproved gene slipped into the batch by mistake. The canola seed had been genetically manipulated to resist the herbicide toxicity of Roundup, Monsanto’s top money-making product. The recall involved 60,000 bags containing two types of canola seed, which is enough to plant more than 700,000 acres. Both types of seed have the wrong gene in them. The genes in the recalled seed have not been approved for human consumption. “As for Canola, on the whole, as far as natural and organic products go, this product may not have the sort of pedigree that some would think desirable. Less might be more. Or none.” (http://www.organicconsumers.org)

The good news is that there are simple alternatives for canola. Grape seed oil withstands higher heat than most oils. Or you can simply use coconut oil and preserve your body – the temple of your soul. (http://store.naturalnews.com)

New Types of GMO’s COming

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Stealth GMOs Are Coming: Approved & Unlabeled Everywhere

September 6, 2013 by admin

Genetically modified organisms are a terrifying development when we know they exist, but there’s a new system of creating GMOs that’s getting a complete pass. By fiat, our governments are allowing a process that produces genetically modified ‘foods’ for sale with absolutely no oversight. They can be called natural, or simply not labeled. Nothing, absolutely nothing, interferes with their introduction into the food supply.

DNA for Businessby Heidi Stevenson

Genetic engineering means changing the genetic material of a living plant, fungus, or animal. What we’ve been fighting is merely one type, recombinant DNA, in which the gene from one species is transplanted into another. But it isn’t the only way to change genes. Another technique has been developed and patented, technically called oligonucleotide-directed mutagenesis (ODM), but branded Rapid Transit Development System (RTDS) by Cibus, of San Diego, California.

A type of rapeseed has already been developed using this technique. The UK’s  Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment (ACRE), a part of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), reviewed this product back in 2011 and concluded:

ACRE considers that herbicide tolerant (HT) oilseed rape plants produced by Cibus LLC have been developed using a form of mutagenesis. It considers that this technique does not involve the use of recombinant nucleic acid molecules. Consequently, the HT oilseed rape plants could be excluded from the GMO Deliberate Release legislation in accordance with Annex 1B of Directive 2001/18/EC.

In other words, an organism that’s been genetically mutated by ODM/RTDS is not being treated by the government as a genetically modified organism! This technique is sliding around the concerns of genetically engineered plants and animals by using a technique different from recombinant DNA.

New Zealand has taken an equivalent stance. The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) told Cibus back in 2004 that they could go ahead with no need to go through an approval process and absolutely no oversight!

Cibus has filed for patents from the EU on several crops, including:

  • Glyphosate-tolerant crops, including corn, wheat, rice, barley, soybean, cotton, sugarbeet, oilseed rape, canola, flax, sunflower, potato, tobacco, tomato, alfalfa, poplar, pine, eucalyptus, apple, lettuce, peas, lentils, grape, turf grasses and Brassica species (broccoli, Brussels sprouts, etc.).
  • Sulfonylurea herbicide-tolerant canola/rapeseed.

These crops are being sold as natural! They are even claiming that these genetically engineered crops were developed using a technique that’s been in use since World War II, which is obviously untrue.

What Is Oligonucleotide-Directed Mutagenesis?

First, let’s define some terms:

  • Nucleotide: The basic structural unit of DNA.
  • Oligonucleotide: A molecule that contains a small group of nucleotides. Therefore, an oligonucleotide is a small string of the units that make up DNA.
  • Mutagenesis: Something that can cause a mutation.

ODM involves the use of synthetic oligonucleotides. They call this molecule a Gene Repair Oligonucleotide (GRON). It contains the desired genetic change, which consists of a single nucleotide. This chain of nucleotides is inserted into the DNA of an organism. However, it’s done in such a way that the organism sees an error. So, the organism’s own DNA repair system is enlisted to fix the error. In that error-repairing process, the genetic change is affixed into the organism’s DNA.

How does this actually happen? In fact, no one knows! The technique works, but the Senior Vice President of Cibus, Peter Beetham, has admitted that the means by which the repair occurs is “elusive”. The Institute of Science in Society tells us:

Mismatch repair is ordinarily used by the cell following mistakes in DNA replication or recombination as well as in DNA damage. It relies on enzymes that recognise the mismatch by comparing the strand to a template strand’s homologous region … after which the DNA mismatched sequence is cleaved out, the correct bases synthesised and the DNA re-ligated back together. This is a highly complex process essential to the integrity of the DNA and the cell. However, this remains a speculation, and others have suggested that homologous recombination, transcription as well as DNA replication processes are involved.

So, this absolutely critical process is, essentially, a mystery. Whether it could create serious damage to DNA is unknown. Whether it might affect other parts of the DNA is unknown. Whether it has the potential of causing changes that might prove harmful to anyone who eats the resultant produce is unknown! In other words, the only thing that’s known about this process is that the desired change is made in a species. Whether other changes are made or that change might prove harmful in some as-yet unknown way is unknown.

Yet, our governing agencies have seen fit to not only rubber stamp the ODM process, but to give it a complete pass. Cibus is allowed to sell obviously genetically engineered products as “natural”. They are not required to submit to any oversight of any sort. They can churn out stuff with no labeling of any sort and leave the public entirely in the dark about the fact that they are, indeed, eating genetically engineered foods that haven’t even undergone the pathetically limited oversight of governmental agencies for GMOs produced by Monsanto and other corporations.

You thought that Monsanto was scary? Welcome to Cibus, Monsanto on steroids!

from:    http://gaia-health.com/gaia-blog/2013-09-06/stealth-gmos-are-coming-approved-unlabeled-everywhere/