What is GMO? genetically modified organism GMO) - a living organism, the genetic component of which has been artificially altered using genetic engineering methods. As a rule, such changes are used for scientific or agricultural purposes. genetic modification ( GM) differs from natural, characteristic of artificial and natural mutagenesis, by targeted intervention in a living organism.

The main type of production at present is the introduction of transgenes.

From the history.

Appearance GMO was due to the discovery and creation of the first recombinant bacteria in 1973. This led to controversy in the scientific community, to the emergence of potential risks posed by genetic engineering, which in 1975 at the Asilomar Conference were discussed in detail. One of the main recommendations from this meeting was that government oversight of recombinant research should be established. DNA so that this technology can be considered safe. Herbert Boyer then founded the first recombinant technology company. DNA(Genentech) and in 1978 the company announced the creation of a product that produces human insulin.

In 1986, field tests of genetically engineered bacteria that could protect plants from frost, developed by a small biotech company called Oakland Advanced Genetic Sciences, California, were repeatedly delayed by opponents of biotechnology.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, guidelines for assessing the safety of genetically engineered plants and foods emerged from the FAO and WHO.

In the late 1980s, small experimental production of genetically modified (GMO) began in Canada and the United States. GM) plants. The first approvals for large-scale, commercial cultivation were given in the mid-1990s. Since that time, the number of farmers around the world using has been increasing annually.

Problems solved by the advent of GMOs.

Appearance GMO considered by scientists as one of the types of plant and animal breeding. Other scientists believe that Genetic Engineering- a dead-end branch of classical breeding, because GMOs are not a product of artificial selection, namely, the systematic and long-term cultivation of a new variety (species) of a living organism through natural reproduction, and in fact is a new artificially created in the laboratory organism.

In most cases, the use GMO significantly increases productivity. There is an opinion that at the current rate of population growth, only GMO can cope with the threat of famine, because in this way it is possible to significantly increase the yield and quality of products. Other scientists - opponents of GMOs, believe that the existing developed technologies for breeding new varieties of plants and animals, cultivating the land are able to feed the rapidly increasing population of the planet.

Methods for obtaining GMOs.
The sequence of creating GM samples:
1. Growing the required gene.
2. Introduction of this gene into the DNA of the donor organism.
3. Transfer DNA with the gene in the projected organism.
4. Engraftment of cells in the body.
5. Elimination of modified organisms that have not been successfully modified.

Now the gene production process is well established and in most cases automated. Special laboratories have been developed in which, with the help of computer-controlled devices, the processes of synthesis of the necessary nucleotide sequences are controlled. Such devices reproduce segments DNA up to 100-120 nitrogenous bases in length (oligonucleotides).

To insert the received gene into the vector (donor organism), enzymes are used - ligases and restriction enzymes. With the help of restrictase vector and gene can be cut into individual pieces. With the help of ligases, similar pieces can be “spliced”, combined in a completely different combination, thereby creating a completely new gene or introducing it into the donor organism.

The technique of introducing genes into bacteria was adopted by genetic engineering after a certain Frederick Griffith discovered bacterial transformation. This phenomenon is based on the usual sexual process, which is accompanied in bacteria by the exchange of a small number of fragments between plasmids and non-chromosomal DNA. Plasmid technology formed the basis for the introduction of artificial genes into bacterial cells.

To introduce the resulting gene into the genome of animal and plant cells, the process of transfection is used. After the modification of unicellular or cells of multicellular organisms, the cloning stage begins, that is, the process of selecting organisms and their descendants that have successfully undergone genetic modification. If it is required to obtain multicellular organisms, then the altered cells as a result of genetic modification are used in plants as vegetative propagation, in animals they are introduced into the blastocysts of a surrogate mother. As a result, offspring with a modified gene background or not are born, those that have the expected characteristics are again selected and again crossed with each other until stable offspring appear.

Application of GMOs.

The use of GMOs in science.

Now genetically modified organisms are widely used in applied and basic scientific research. With their help, the regularities of the occurrence and development of diseases, such as cancer, Alzheimer's disease, the processes of regeneration and aging, are studied, the processes taking place in the nervous system are studied, and other problems that are relevant in medicine and biology are solved.

The use of GMOs in medicine.

Since 1982, genetically modified organisms have been used in applied medicine. This year, human insulin, obtained with the help of β-bacteria, was registered as a drug.

Currently underway research upon receipt with GM- plant medicines and vaccines against diseases such as plague and HIV. Proinsulin, derived from GM safflower, is being tested. A drug for thrombosis obtained from the milk of genetically modified goats has been successfully tested and approved for use. Such a branch of medicine as gene therapy has received a very rapid development. This area of ​​medicine is based on the modification of the genome of human somatic cells. Now gene therapy is the main method of fighting a number of diseases. So, for example, back in 1999, every 4th child who fell ill (severe combined immune deficiency) was successfully treated with gene therapy. It is also planned to use gene therapy as one of the ways to combat the aging process.

The use of GMOs in agriculture.

In agriculture Genetic Engineering It is used as the creation of new varieties of plants that tolerate drought, low temperatures, are resistant to pests, and have better taste and growth qualities. The resulting new breeds among animals are characterized by increased productivity and accelerated growth. At the moment, new varieties of plants have already been created that are distinguished by the highest calorie content and the content of the required amount of trace elements for the human body. New breeds of genetically modified trees are being tested, which have a high cellulose content and fast growth.

Other areas of application of GMOs.

Plants are already being developed that could be used as biofuels.

In early 2003, the first genetically modified organism- GloFish, created for aesthetic purposes. Thanks only to genetic engineering, the hugely popular aquarium fish Danio rerio has acquired several stripes of fluorescent bright colors on its abdomen.

In 2009, a new variety of roses "Applause" with blue petals appears on sale. With the advent of these roses, the dream of many breeders who are unsuccessfully trying to breed roses with blue petals has come true.

Thank you

The site provides reference information for informational purposes only. Diagnosis and treatment of diseases should be carried out under the supervision of a specialist. All drugs have contraindications. Expert advice is required!

What are GMOs and why are they produced?

The rapidly increasing population of our planet prompted scientists and manufacturers not only to intensify the cultivation of crops and livestock, but also to start searching for fundamentally new approaches to the development of the raw material base of the beginning of the century.

The best finding in solving this problem was the widespread use of genetic engineering, which ensured the creation of genetically modified food sources (GMI). To date, many plant varieties are known that have undergone genetic modification to increase resistance to herbicides and insects, increase oiliness, sugar content, iron and calcium content, increase volatility and reduce ripening rates.
GMOs are transgenic organisms, the hereditary material of which is modified by genetic engineering in order to give them the desired properties.

The conflict between supporters and opponents of GMOs

Despite the huge potential of genetic engineering and its already real achievements, the use of genetically modified food products is not unambiguously perceived in the world. Articles and reports about mutant products at the same time, the consumer does not develop a complete picture of the problem, rather, a feeling of fear of ignorance and misunderstanding begins to prevail.

There are two opposing sides. One of them is represented by a number of scientists and transnational corporations (TNCs) - producers of GMF, which have their offices in many countries and sponsor expensive laboratories that receive commercial super profits, operating in the most important areas of human life: food, pharmacology and agriculture. GMP is a large and promising business. In the world, more than 60 million hectares are occupied by transgenic crops: 66% of them in the USA, 22% in Argentina. Today, 63% of soybeans, 24% of corn, 64% of cotton are transgenic. Laboratory tests have shown that about 60-75% of all food products imported by the Russian Federation contain GMO components. Forecasts for 2005 the world market of transgenic products will reach $8 billion, and by 2010 - $25 billion.

But proponents of bioengineering prefer to cite noble incentives for their activities. To date, GMOs are the cheapest and most economically safe (in their opinion) way to produce food.. New technologies will solve the problem of food shortage, otherwise the population of the Earth will not survive. Today we are already 6 billion, and in 2020. WHO estimates that there will be 7 billion. There are 800 million hungry people in the world and 20,000 people die of hunger every day. Over the past 20 years, we have lost more than 15% of the soil layer, and most of the cultivable soils are already involved in agricultural production. At the same time, humanity lacks protein, its global deficit is 35-40 million tons / year and increases annually by 2-3%.

One of the solutions to the emerging global problem is genetic engineering, whose successes open up fundamentally new opportunities for increasing production productivity and reducing economic losses.

On the other hand, numerous environmental organizations oppose GMOs., Association "Doctors and Scientists Against GMF", a number of religious organizations, manufacturers of agricultural fertilizers and pest control products.

Development of biotechnology and genetic engineering

Biotechnology is a relatively young field of applied biology, which studies the possibilities of application and develops specific recommendations for the use of biological objects, tools and processes in practical activities, i.e. developing methods and schemes for obtaining practically valuable substances based on the cultivation of whole unicellular organisms and free-living cells, multicellular organisms (plants and animals).

Historically, biotechnology arose on the basis of traditional biomedical industries (bakery, winemaking, brewing, obtaining fermented milk products, food vinegar). A particularly rapid development of biotechnology is associated with the era of antibiotics, which began in the 1940s and 1950s. The next milestone in development dates back to the 60s. – production of fodder yeast and amino acids. Biotechnology received a new impetus in the early 1970s. thanks to the emergence of such a branch as genetic engineering. Achievements in this area have not only expanded the spectrum of the microbiological industry, but have fundamentally changed the very methodology for the search and selection of microbial producers. The first genetically engineered product was human insulin produced by E. coli bacteria, as well as the manufacture of drugs, vitamins, enzymes, and vaccines. At the same time, cell engineering is developing vigorously. The microbial producer is replenished with a new source of useful substances - a culture of isolated cells and tissues of plants and animals. Fundamentally new methods of selection of eukaryotes are being developed on this basis. Particularly great success has been achieved in the field of micropropagation of plants and to obtain plants with new properties.

In fact, the use of mutations, i.e. selection, people began to engage long before Darwin and Mendel. In the second half of the 20th century, material for selection began to be prepared artificially, generating mutations on purpose, exposure to radiation or colchicine, and selecting randomly appeared positive traits.

In the 60-70s of the XX century, the main methods of genetic engineering were developed - a branch of molecular biology, the main task of which is to construct in vitro (outside a living organism) new functionally active genetic structures (recombinant DNA) and create organisms with new properties.

Genetic engineering, in addition to theoretical problems - the study of the structural and functional organization of the genome of various organisms - solves many practical problems. Thus strains of bacterial yeasts, cultures of animal cells producing biologically active human proteins were obtained. And transgenic animals and plants containing and producing alien genetic information.

In 1983 scientists, studying a soil bacterium that forms growths on the trunks of trees and shrubs, found that it transfers a fragment of its own DNA to the nucleus of a plant cell, where it integrates into the chromosome and is recognized as its own. From the moment of this discovery, the history of plant genetic engineering began. The first, as a result of artificial manipulations with genes, turned out to be tobacco, invulnerable to pests, then a genetically modified tomato (in 1994 by Monsanto), then corn, soybeans, rapeseed, cucumber, potatoes, beets, apples and much more.

Now, isolating and assembling genes into one construct, transferring them to the desired organism is a routine job. This is the same selection, only more progressive and more jewelry. Scientists have learned how to make the gene work in the right organs and tissues (roots, tubers, leaves, grains) and at the right time (in daylight); and a new transgenic variety can be obtained in 4-5 years, while breeding a new plant variety by the classical method (changing a wide group of genes using crossing, radiation or chemicals, hoping for random combinations of traits in the offspring and selecting plants with the right properties) takes more than 10 years.

In general, the problem of transgenic products around the world remains very acute and discussions around GMOs will not subside for a long time, because the advantage of their use is obvious, and the long-term consequences of their action, both on the environment and on human health, are less clear.

There are contraindications. Before use, you should consult with a specialist.

GMOs are the man-made plague of the 21st century.

Look for the cause of your illness at the bottom of your plate, or how they kill us - 1:

Part 1. GMOs–man-made plague of the XXI century

We are gradually becoming hostages of cannibals, forcing us to eat poison, which they produce and sell to us at crazy prices (13). If we do not begin to actively resist, then we will not last long - we will die out cleanly ... (13).

The 21st century is expected to be the century of biotechnology. But modernization in this area does not always benefit people. Thus, in May 2009, members of the Academy of Environmental Medicine, the oldest in the United States, demanded a moratorium on the use of transgenes in the country and called on colleagues to monitor the impact of GMOs on the health of patients. Experts all over the world are sounding the alarm: further subordination of science to the selfish interests of transnational corporations can endanger the health of millions of people. Including in Russia… (13).

Russia has taken the path of a market economy, in which business plays the main role. Unfortunately, unscrupulous entrepreneurs often push low-quality products to make a profit. This is especially dangerous when products based on the use of poorly understood technologies enter the market. To avoid mistakes, strict control at the state level over their production and distribution is necessary. Lack of proper control can lead to serious errors and serious consequences, which happened when genetically modified organisms (GMOs) were used in food (13).

What is GMO?

Genetically modified organisms are organisms (bacteria, plants, animals) into which foreign genes are inserted in order to improve its useful properties, for example, to develop resistance to herbicides (weed control agents), pesticides (pesticides), to increase crop yields, etc. .d. For example, to breed a frost-resistant tomato, the Arctic flounder gene was inserted into its genes; to breed pigs with lean meat, they have inserted a spinach gene; to breed pest-resistant rice, a human liver gene was added to its genes, and to breed drought-resistant wheat varieties, scorpion genes were inserted into it.

It sounds scary, but it would seem that the goal is noble - to feed humanity! However, long-term agricultural practice shows that the cultivation of GM crops is more costly and less productive than varieties obtained through traditional breeding, and on the world market, GM grain is cheaper than usual only due to subsidies from the US budget (2, 50).

What is the difference between genetic engineering and breeding?

Such drastic gene mutations as described above are not possible in the wild or by selection. In nature, new subspecies appear through natural selection, and during selection, new varieties are obtained by crossing two organisms of the same biological species. The selection itself is based on the laws of nature, and unlike genetic engineering, it does not interfere with the genotype of organisms and does not pollute the ecology of the planet.

Many scientists believe that the gigantic reserves of modern breeding methods have not yet been used, and there is no practical need for the development of GM crops, and there was not (2).

History of GMOs

Based on the development of biological weapons in 1983, the world's first GM plant was grown in the United States. Just ten years later, without proper human safety testing, the first GM products appeared on the global food market. A global uncontrolled experiment on humanity has begun. GMO products officially appeared on the Russian market in 1999 (2). According to Greenpeace Russia in 2005 in Moscow, about 50% of all food products contained GM ingredients (2). Now this number has grown.

The main countries growing GM agricultural crops today are the USA, Canada, Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, China, India, South Africa (2, 3, 21). The main global seed producers of GM crops are Monsanto Corporation (USA), DuPont (USA), BASF (Germany), Syngenta Seeds S.A. (France), and Bayer Crop Science (Germany) (2, 6).

New GM crops are being developed today mainly in the US and mainly by the same companies that specialized in the production of biological weapons for the Pentagon during the Cold War (2). For example, the Monsanto corporation even combined these two activities for a long time and only recently completely switched to the production of GMOs.

Why are GMOs dangerous?

Independently from each other, British, French, Italian, German, Australian and Russian scientists conducted their research, including: Arpad Pusztai, S. Ewen, M. Malatesta, W. Dofler, J. Smith, O.A. Monastyrsky, A.V. Yablokov, A.S. Baranov, V.V. Kuznetsov, A.M. Kulikov, I.V. Ermakova, A.G. Malygin, M.A. Konovalova, V.A. Blinov and many others (3). They studied changes in the organisms of laboratory animals when GM crops (GM potatoes, GM soybeans, GM peas, GM corn) were added to their feed (3). All these changes were pathological in nature and in most cases caused the death of animals (3). In 2000, an open letter to the governments of all countries with a request to impose a moratorium on the distribution of GMOs was signed by 828 scientists from 84 countries of the world, and over the past years the number of signatures under it has only increased (3, 9). [rice. "Tumors in a rat fed GM corn (46)"]

In Russia, a complete ban on GMOs is advocated not only by well-known scientists, but also by such organizations as the Institute of Plant Physiology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the CIS Alliance for Biosafety, the National Association for Genetic Safety, Greenpeace Russia, the Russian Regional Environmental Center, the Environmental Movement "For the Name of Life", the Association biological, environmental and food security, Russian Public Movement “Revival. Golden age" (2).

The scientific adviser to the Norwegian government, Professor Terje Traavik, who has been engaged in genetic engineering for more than 20 years, has repeatedly spoken about the unpredictability of the action of genetically modified organisms. He states that the possible danger from GM structures is higher than from chemical compounds, since they are completely “unfamiliar” to the environment, they do not decay, but, on the contrary, are accepted by the cell, where they can multiply and mutate uncontrollably. He believes that independent research is needed, which would not be carried out with corporate funds from companies producing GMOs (13).

In 2008, the UN and the World Bank first spoke out against big business and genetically modified technologies (13). The report, which was prepared by about 400 scientists, condemned the use of GM technologies in agriculture because, firstly, they do not solve the problem of hunger, and, secondly, they pose a threat to public health and the future of the planet (13).

Scientists from around the world have proven that the use of GMOs in food leads to a decrease in immunity, oncological diseases (including cancer), infertility, toxicosis, allergies, nervous diseases, digestive disorders, inhibition of the intestinal microflora, pathological changes in the genome and heredity, and also causes a new disease associated with GMOs - morgelon (1, 3, 4, 13). Indeed, “look for the cause of your illness at the bottom of your plate” (Chinese proverb). Morgelon is a disease characterized by the appearance under the skin of a person of multi-colored threads a few millimeters long, which are formations from agrobacteria; a patient with morgelon experiences unbearable itching and becomes covered with non-healing wounds (3).

Cancer, infertility and allergies have become tragically widespread in Russia and the world in recent years, and many experts attribute this to GMOs (2). Many scientists directly say that GMOs are weapons of mass destruction (11).

GMOs are especially harmful to children (4). The child's body does not yet have all the protective functions that an adult has, and when using transgenes, they risk getting infertility, allergies, brain and digestive disorders. In 2007, about 70% of all baby food in Russia contained GMOs (2). In 2004, the European Union banned the use of GMOs in baby food intended for children under 4 years of age (2). But Russia, as you know, does not belong to the EU countries, and in our country the policy of increasing the content of GMOs in baby food (and not only in baby food) continues.

It should be noted that in addition to harm to human health, the agricultural use of GM crops leads to a sharp reduction in biodiversity and environmental degradation (13). Today, various bacteria, worms and insects are dying out in and around fields with transgenic crops (2). The mass extinction of bees in countries where transgenes are cultivated is also associated by specialists with the use of GMOs in agriculture, and bees play an important role in plant pollination (2). After eating in the fields sown with GMOs, the bee becomes ill, while it is known that any sick bee leaves the hive so as not to infect the rest, this is the reason for their mass death (11). In recent years, massive deaths of birds and fish have also been recorded around the world (19).

The use of GM crops resistant to herbicides in agriculture leads to a situation where the treatment of fields with herbicide destroys weeds, but does not affect the GM crop, however, due to the fact that weeds tend to adapt, the herbicide dose has to be increased during subsequent treatment, and the herbicide meanwhile accumulates in GM plants to dangerous doses. It should be said that almost all herbicides that exist today are extremely dangerous for humans. Glyphosate herbicides, for example, are powerful carcinogens that cause lymphomas (a type of tumor) in humans (2). Glyphosates also include the well-known herbicide RoundUp from Monsanto (2). In addition to lymphomas, this herbicide has been shown to cause cancer, meningitis, DNA damage, decreased testosterone (a male hormone), hormonal disorders, and infertility (22) [rice. “Are you already using Roundup herbicide?”].

What is the reason for the toxicity of GMOs?

According to scientists, the main reason for the danger of GMOs is the imperfection of the technologies for obtaining a transgenic organism. The fact is that the technology itself for introducing foreign genes into a modified organism is still very imperfect and does not guarantee the safety of organisms created with their help. The gene must somehow be integrated into the DNA of the host organism. Viruses or bacterial plasmids (circular DNA) are usually used as a transport that delivers a new gene to a modified organism, capable of penetrating into the cell of the host organism and then using cellular resources. to create multiple copies of yourself or insertion into the cellular genome. Generally, bacterial plasmids are easily transferred from bacteria to bacteria, but not to plants. Unfortunately, the bacterium Agrobacterium tumefaciens was discovered, which "knows how to introduce" genes into plants and "force" them to synthesize the proteins it needs. After infection of a plant or animal, a certain part of the plasmid DNA (T-DNA) is integrated into the chromosomal DNA of the plant cell, becoming part of its hereditary material. The plant begins to produce the nutrients necessary for bacteria. Scientists have learned to replace the genes in the T-DNA of bacterial plasmids with the genes they need, which were supposed to be introduced into plants and animals. For example, the snowdrop gene responsible for frost resistance is placed in the T-DNA of bacterial plasmids and introduced into the chromosomal DNA of a tomato (in order to obtain a new frost-resistant variety). The trouble is that when using bacterial plasmids in the process of biotechnological procedures, the researcher a priori does not know which cell of the modified plant is being transformed, how many copies of T-DNA will be integrated into the genome and into which chromosomes, and is unable to control this, so the virus or plasmid changes DNA plants unpredictably. For this reason, while simultaneously modifying many plants of the same species, in fact, by the “poke method”, those regenerated plants are subsequently selected that, due to their new acquired properties, are of interest to researchers. The question remains, where do the “unused” plasmids with genes go? In addition, information has appeared that vector plasmids can enter mitochondrial DNA, being absorbed by mitochondria (the energy structure of the cell), disrupting their work. Subsequently, it was found that plasmids are able to introduce genes into animal cells (3).

The danger of viruses and plasmids used to obtain genetically modified organisms lies in their exceptional viability. Proponents of GMOs claim that foreign inserts are completely destroyed in the gastrointestinal tract of animals and humans, often adding: “When you eat an apple, you don’t become an apple ?!”.

However, according to Russian geneticists, “... eating organisms by each other may underlie horizontal transfer, since it has been shown that DNA is not completely digested, and individual molecules can enter the cell from the intestine and into the nucleus, and then integrate into the chromosome” ( V.A. Gvozdev). As for the rings of plasmids, the circular form of DNA makes it more resistant to destruction (3). And, indeed, GM inserts are found both in milk and in the meat of animals fed with GM food (2, 3). Also, transgenic inserts were found in the saliva and intestinal microflora of a person who ate GMOs (2, 3). When conducting research by a group of British geneticists led by H. Gilbert, it turned out that DNA from the cells of genetically modified food is borrowed by the bacteria of the human intestinal microflora (3). The capture of genes and GM plasmids by the intestinal microflora was also indicated in the works of other researchers (3).

Summing up, we can say that any artificial manipulations with the genome lead to education new species plants or animals with unknown properties therefore genetically modified organisms, by definition, cannot be safe (21).

Why introduce GMOs?

In fact, genetic engineering is a crude and inept intervention in the most complex genetic mechanisms. Such interference inevitably gave rise to disturbances in the harmony of the DNA of plants, animals and people. Genetic engineering has created genetic deformities that nature has an automatic remedy for. The name of this defense is barrenness. When people crossed a horse with a donkey long before genetic engineering, they got a mule that has the speed of a horse and the endurance of a donkey. However, all mules are barren, as are barren and ligers - cats, obtained by crossing lions with tigresses. Nature does the same with all genetically modified organisms. The result of gross interference in DNA is the infertility of the experimental GM organism. But this is not so bad - a terrible consequence of eating GMOs in food is the gradual restructuring of the human genotype, ultimately causing infertility (2).

Obviously, now there is a global misanthropic program to sterilize the population of the Earth (20). And, as Richard Day (one of those initiated into the plan back in the 1960s) said, "People are too naive and don't ask the right questions" (14). GMOs are a real man-made plague of the 21st century.

On October 8, 2012, even a State Duma deputy from United Russia, head of the State Duma committee on taxes and fees, Evgeny Fedorov, announced the sterilization of the population (39). According to him, the sterilization of the population in Russia is carried out according to the plan and with US money, and that "in the coming years" Vladimir Putin will strongly oppose this state of affairs (39). True, Fedorov did not specify the methods of sterilization in his statement (39). It is known, for example, that infertility is caused not only by GMOs, but also by alcohol, cigarettes, and many vaccines, such as the tetanus vaccine and the cervical cancer vaccine (40, 41, 42). Personally, I have little hope that Putin will stop the GMO genocide “in the coming years”; it has been going on since 1999, and its pace is only growing.

It can be assumed that the second big goal of transnational biocorporations is the monopolization of the market for agricultural seeds (15). It has been proven that in the fields where GM crops grow, biodiversity disappears by 30%: worms, insects, bacteria die out, birds do not sing and grasshoppers do not chirp. These are the fields of death, over which there is a deathly silence. Genetically modified organisms, including agricultural GM crops, are not reproductive - after 1-2 generations they completely die out, and it is no longer possible to grow a healthy crop on the field where they grew, the field remains infected with transgenes for a long time. Thus, a country that has completely switched to growing GM crops is deprived of its own strategic seed supply and is forced to buy new seeds every year from transnational corporations that produce them (the largest of which is Monsanto, USA). Such countries, which have essentially lost some of their independence, are easily pressured by the threat of controlled famine (2). Few people know that in India, the introduction of GM seeds, with a ban on laying seeds for a new crop and with an obligation to pay royalties to GM companies, led to a rise in debt, leaving many farmers bankrupt (18, 43). Out of desperation, more than 25,000 peasants in India committed suicide between 1997 and 2012 (18, 43).

GM crops are increasingly becoming an instrument of global politics (30). It is indicative that after the end of the last war in Iraq, the Americans brought into the country all genetically modified products (30). When in 2010 there was an abnormal heat wave in Russia and crops died, the Americans immediately received an offer to accept their grain, which was also all transgenic (30, 31). At that time, American supplies were avoided thanks to a temporary ban on the export of domestic grain (31).

Do not join the WTO, you will eat only GMOs!

In 2006, President Putin, during his speech at the international forum "Civil G8-2006" in Moscow, said: “I tell you without any exaggeration: here is one of the problems that we are now facing in the course of the negotiation process for Russia's accession to the World Trade Organization, is that we are being forced to give up our right (I believe) to inform our own population in the trading network for products that are obtained using genetic engineering " (2, 11).

How did these negotiations end? Today it becomes clear that the negotiations ended with Russia's accession to the WTO and Russia's full acceptance of all the slavish obligations associated with this.

Here is how events developed further: in November 2006, the Minister of Economic Development and Trade of the Russian Federation German Gref signed a letter to the US Trade Representative in which Russia committed itself to fulfill certain requirements to expand the range of genetically modified organisms that should be used in the Russian food industry. According to this letter, Russia undertook not only to issue certificates for all transgenic plants that were at that time under consideration by the Ministry of Health, but also to legalize the cultivation of genetically modified plants in Russia (2).

In February 2010, Russia abolished the mandatory certification of food products, instead of it, only a declaration of conformity to quality was introduced. According to the new law, the state can now check this compliance no more than once every three years! The law also provides for a fine for the sale of low-quality goods from one to two thousand rubles for individuals and up to 10,000 rubles for legal entities, which sounds like a mockery of common sense. Let me remind you that the now canceled law on mandatory certification was adopted in 1993, then it allowed to reduce the volume of low-quality and dangerous goods imported into the country from all over the world (6, 10).

In January 2012, a new menu was introduced in municipal kindergartens in Moscow and the Moscow Region, which immediately provoked a wave of protest from parents (17). The diet for preschoolers was cut, vegetables and fruits, natural juices, butter, yogurt, cottage cheese were excluded from the menu, portions of meat and fish were reduced, while sausages, frozen pancakes and other convenience foods were added, soybean oil, instant vitamin drinks (with dyes, flavors and preservatives), bread with vitamin supplements, canned cucumbers, bottled melange instead of eggs (17). Many parents would bring their children to kindergarten with their own food, but this is not allowed (17).

At the end of March 2012, the Moscow Mayor's Office banned food labeling as "non-GMO" (8).

In June 2012, the chief sanitary doctor of Russia, the head of Rospotrebnadzor, Gennady Onishchenko, began to actively promote the idea of ​​starting the cultivation of agricultural GM crops in Russia (6). Rospotrebnadzor sent the corresponding proposals to the State Duma (11). According to Onishchenko, “in order to ensure the protection of public health, food and environmental security, it is necessary for Russian scientists to create GMO lines adapted for cultivation in Russia, as well as to introduce GMOs into the agro-industrial sector of Russia” (11). The State Duma is currently discussing the relevant laws (6). It should be noted that these words of Onishchenko contrast sharply with the words of President Medvedev: on July 8, 2008, at the G8 summit, when asked which of the world's cuisines he likes best, Dmitry Medvedev answered: “I like good food. This is our cuisine, which is well prepared. And Japanese food can be delicious, European food can be tasty, the main thing is that it be done with high quality. To have good products, not genetically modified” (12).

In August 2012, Russia joined the WTO, and now, at the request of the United States, if Russia decides to issue a law restricting the use of GMOs in Russia, it is obliged to notify the United States and comment on its decision. In essence, this is a limitation of Russia's sovereignty (2). There is a great danger that now, in connection with Russia's accession to the WTO, the share of imported goods containing GMOs will increase (6).

Attention: Russia has just joined the WTO, and the fields in many regions of Russia have already been sown with GM seeds, despite the fact that it is not yet allowed at the legislative level! (sixteen)

What foods contain GMOs?

How to navigate the food market for an ordinary person who does not want to eat GMO products and feed their loved ones with them?

First of all, it is necessary to announce the list of genetically modified organisms already existing in the world (for 2007), which is frightening in its diversity. The number of these crops is constantly growing, as are the areas occupied by GM crops.

So, the list of crops that have their own GM counterpart in the world: alfalfa, wheat, rapeseed, cassava, cloves, cotton, flax, corn, rice, saffron, soybeans, sugar beet, sorghum, sugar cane, sunflower, barley.

Vegetables that have their GM counterpart: broccoli, zucchini, carrots, cauliflower, cucumber, eggplant, lettuce, onion, peas, peppers, potatoes, spinach, pumpkin, tomato.

Fruits and berries that have a GM analogue: apple, banana, nutmeg, cherry, coconut, grapes, kiwi, mango, melon, papaya, pineapple, plum, raspberry, strawberry, watermelon.

Other agricultural crops that have their own GM counterpart in the world: chicory, cocoa, coffee, garlic, lupine, mustard, oil palm, poppy, olive, peanut, tobacco, eucalyptus.

In addition, today more than 15 fish species, including salmon, carp and tilapia, have their transgenic counterparts (2).

Many Russian food industry enterprises use imported GM raw materials (2). Currently in Russia, 5 GM crops are officially allowed for purchase, sale, use in food production and in the production of animal feed (but not for agricultural cultivation): soybeans, potatoes, corn, sugar beets and rice (5). However, this does not mean that other GM ingredients could not enter our market, because. their import into Russia is not controlled in any way, and GMOs entering Russia from abroad are not specially labeled in any way (2). For example, 50% of all papayas grown in Hawaii and Thailand are transgenic (2). In Russian stores, papaya can often be found in bags with a mixture of dried fruits and nuts. It is quite possible that this is um-papaya (2).

It is curious that the approval of these five GM crops (soybean, potato, corn, sugar beet and rice) as safe for humans occurred suspiciously quickly in Russia: the test was carried out by the Institute of Nutrition of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences on only one generation of rats, although sound scientific reason required a minimum test for five generations. Re-testing by independent researchers showed that the offspring of rats fed with GM soy were born with deformities caused by gene mutations, and the third generation of rats could not be obtained at all, in other words, the rats became sterile (2).

Gm-soy has received the widest distribution in Russia. 95% of the world's soybeans today are genetically modified (11). Approximately the same situation with corn (11). Gm-soy is often added to sausages, sausages, sour cream, milk, other dairy products, candy, confectionery, and infant formula (1, 4). It happens that gm-soy is added to bread (4). GM soy is doubly harmful: both because it is genetically modified, and because any soy contains phytoestrogen (a female sex hormone of plant origin), which additionally negatively affects the human reproductive function and brain (1). If we are talking not even about GM soy, but about ordinary soy, then an adult is not recommended to eat more than 30 grams. soy per day (2), and children are advised not to eat it at all. Transgenic soybeans and corn are often added to foods as structurants, sweeteners, colorants, and protein enhancers (11). GM soy in the form of soybean oil is often used in sauces, spreads, cakes, and deep-fried foods (11). It is used to make tofu cheese.

GMOs can often be found in meat products: sausages, frankfurters, sausages, pates, minced meat, canned meat, empanadas, cutlets, dumplings (2). In cheap meat processing products, the content of GMOs can reach 70-90%. It is also possible to find gm-soy in chicken and raw meat, especially in frozen ones, because. before freezing and shipping, solutions containing gm-soy are often added to them using syringes, which increase the weight of the product (2). Apparently, all meat supplied to Russia from Argentina contains gm-soy (2).

40% of all meat in Russia comes from abroad, and this is often the meat of livestock that is fattened with GM soy, which means that it also contains GMOs (7).

Often GMOs can also be found in the following products (1, 2, 4, 11):

children food,
chocolate, sweets, cookies, waffles, cakes, confectionery,
carbonated drinks,
ketchup, tomato paste, mayonnaise, sauces,
vegetable oils, corn, popcorn,
bananas, kiwi,
chips, instant puree, starch, fructose,
yoghurts, glazed curds, milk, sour cream, other dairy products,
crab sticks,
instant soups, breakfast cereals, cereals,
bread, pastries.

In baby food and yogurt, GMOs are typically found as soy milk or soy isolate, in confectionery as soy flour, soy lecithin, in baked goods as cornmeal, in soda as sugar from gm beets and various additives (2).

Genetically modified tomatoes, strawberries, peppers, carrots and eggplants are also on the market (11, 4). As a rule, they are distinguished by the ability to be stored for a long time, an ideal presentation and a strange taste; for example, GM strawberries are not as sweet as natural strawberries (4). GM potatoes, on the contrary, are not able to be stored for a long time and rot after 3-4 months of storage (2). Therefore, it is used in the production of chips and starch, which is added to many products (2).

There are transgenic marrows and marrow caviar (11). Comes across gm-sugar beet and sugar made from it (11). There are also imported GM onions (onions, shallots, leeks) and imported GM rice (11).

Honey may contain gm oilseed rape (11). If the label says “imported honey” or “manufactured by several countries”, then it is better to refuse such honey (11).

Many varieties of dried fruits, including raisins and dates, can be coated with soy oil (11). Opt for dried fruits that don't list vegetable oil (11).

Avoid breakfast cereals (11). They can contain GMOs not only in the form of corn flakes, but also in the form of supplements and vitamins obtained using GMOs (11).

Make sure that the cheese and sour cream that you buy is exactly cheese and sour cream, and not “cheese product” and “sour cream product”.

Who supplies us with GM products?

Names of some companies that supply GM raw materials to their customers in Russia or are producers themselves (2, 11, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 44):

• Monsanto Co., USA;
• «Central Soya Protein Group», Denmark;
• LLC "Biostar Trade", St. Petersburg;
• CJSC "Universal", Nizhny Novgorod;
• Protein Technologies International Moscow, Moscow;
• Agenda LLC, Moscow;
• ZAO ADM-Food Products, Moscow;
• JSC "Gala", Moscow;
• CJSC Belok, Moscow;
• Dera Food Technology N.V., Moscow;
• Herbalife International of America, USA;
• Oy Finnsoypro Ltd, Finland;
• Salon Sport-Service LLC, Moscow;
• Intersoy, Moscow;
• Kraft Foods (trades under the brands: Halls lollipops, Dirol chewing gum, Stimorol, Jacobs coffee, Carte Noire, Maxwell House, Air chocolate, Cadbury, Picnic, Milka, Toblerone, Alpen Gold, Estrella chips, Wonderful evening chocolates, Cote d' Or, cookies Bolshevik, Barney);
• PepsiCo (trades under the brands: drinks Pepsi, 7up, Montain Dew, Mirinda, Aqua Minerale, Rodniki Rossii, Adrenaline Rush, Frustyle, Ecotail Hello, Lay's chips, Cheetos, Xpycteam, Tropicana juices, Lebedyansky, Ya, Tonus, Fruit Garden, Tusa Dzhusa, Dolka, Hello, J7, 100% Gold Premium, Favorite garden, Northern Berry fruit drinks, Miracle Berry, Lipton iced tea, Russian Dar kvass, dairy products House in the village, Cheerful milkman, Wimm-Bill-Dann, Miracle, Frugurt , BioMax, Prevention 120/80, 33 cows, Imunele, Kuban cow, Lamber cheese, Granfor, baby food Agusha, Zdrivery);
• The Coca-Cola Company (trades under the brands: drinks Coca-Cola, Bon Aqua, Fanta, Sprite, Fruittime, Burn, kvass Mug and barrel, Dobry juice, Moya Semya, Botaniq, Rich, Nico);
• Heinz (produces Picador ketchup, as well as Heinz ketchup, mayonnaise, sauces and baby food);
• Mars (confectionery A. Korkunov, M & M "s, Snickers, Mars, Dove, Milky Way, Skittles, Twix, Bounty, Celebrations, Starburst, Rondo, Tunes, Orbit chewing gum, Wrigley, Juicy Fruit);
• Hershey's (makes confectionery);
• Kellogg "s (produces Pringles chips, as well as breakfast cereals, crackers, toast, waffles, cereal products under the brands Kellogg's, Keebler, Cheez-It, Murray, Austin, Famous Amos);
• Unilever (trades under the brands: Lipton tea, Brooke Bond, Beseda, mayonnaise, ketchup and sauces Calve, Baltimore, Hellmann’s, Rama margarine, Pyshka, Delmi, Algida ice cream, Inmarko, Knorr seasoning, Creme Bonjour milk cream);
• Nestle (trades under the brands: Nescafe coffee, Nesquik drink, Nuts chocolate, Shock, KitKat, Russia - Generous Soul, Bon Pari sweets, Maggi seasoning, Bystrov porridge, Nestle, Gerber baby food, as well as ice cream, ready-made breakfasts, etc. under brand Nestle);
• Danone (produces dairy products Danone, Danissimo, Rastishka, Actimel, Activia, baby food NUTRICIA, Nutrilon, Danone, Malyutka, Malyutka);
• CJSC "DI-ECH-VI-S" (fast foods Rollton);
• CJSC "Viciunai" (crab sticks Vici);
• Chupa-Chups LLC (sweets);
• LLC "MLM-Ra" (frozen meat products of the trademarks "MLM", "Privet, obed", "Boyarin Myasoedov", "Weight products");
• JSC "Daria Semi-finished products" (frozen dumplings, dumplings, cutlets, pasties t.m. Daria);
• OJSC Talosto-Products (dumplings Sam Samych, Bogatyrsky, pancakes Masteritsa, cutlets Bogatyrsky, FIN FOOD, Varenushki dumplings, Talosto ice cream);
• MPZ "Kampomos" (sausages);
• ML "Mikoyanovsky" (sausages t.m. Mikoyan);
• JSC "Tsaritsyno" (sausages);
• OJSC "Lianozovsky sausage factory" (sausage products of the Lianozovsky, Fomich trademarks);
• Cherkizovsky MPK (sausage products of Cherkizovsky trademarks, Meat Province);
• LLC "Meat-packing plant Klinskiy" (sausages);
• MPZ "Tagansky" (sausages);
• Ostankino MPK (sausages);
• Red October (confectionery);
• Babaevsky (confectionery);
• RotFront (confectionery);
• Similac (baby food);
• Friesland Nutrition (baby food);
• Kolinska (baby food);
• Semper (baby food);
• Valio (baby food).

Advice

The natural question of a Russian citizen is how to protect yourself and your children? Unfortunately, due to the weak state control over the quality of products and the lack of labeling "contains GMOs", it is certainly very difficult to exclude GMOs from the diet today, but some general advice can be given on how to minimize the use of GMOs.

Don't eat fast food, which can almost always contain GMOs and other harmful substances (11).

The fewer stages of industrial processing the product you buy has gone through, the more likely it is non-GMO. Favor whole, unprocessed foods (24). You should not buy cakes, pastries, cookies of industrial production, they often contain GMOs and almost always other harmful substances (11). Try to cook pastries and other products yourself. You can make bread in a bread maker, yogurt in a yogurt maker, juice in a juicer, you can make your own mayonnaise, sauces and more at home (11). It is advisable to bake bread at home without yeast, on sourdough in the oven or bread machine (24). When making bread at home, I recommend using flour from durum wheat (for example, Krasnodar or Altai Territory) (11).

Avoid meat products: sausages, sausages, sausages, etc. (24). An exception, perhaps, are the meat products of the companies Velcom, Dymov, Pelmeni Turakovskie (33, 34, 35, 36, 37). It's best to eat whole herbivore meat, with preference for domestically-produced beef or lamb, which is easily distinguished by its brighter meat color and finer fibers ( 24Trusted Source ).

Avoid eating liver (11). It has the ability to accumulate poisons obtained by animals with food (11).

I recommend eating seasonal plant products and better domestic ones: sorrel in the spring, cucumbers and tomatoes in July, apples and watermelons in August-September, then until spring - homemade preparations (home canning) (24). It is better to buy these seasonal products not in supermarkets (where they can be imported), but in the markets and from the villagers. Potatoes, garlic, onions, carrots, and beets are best bought from villagers in autumn (24). Potatoes should not be oval-correct, but embossed, i.e. natural form (24).

If fruits and vegetables in the market are gnawed and wormy by someone, that's good. If worms eat it, then we can too.

Don't buy food out of season. If you buy, for example, strawberries or tomatoes in the winter, the likelihood that they will be genetically modified is very high (11).

Milk should be bought imported from farms (preferably in barrels) (24).

Domestic eggs and chickens are more useful (the difference between a domestic chicken is tough meat, a hard bone that can only be broken with a hammer) (24).

Purchase baby food with extreme caution (11). It is best to prepare baby food at home (23).

In stores, look for products labeled “GMO-free”, “Soy-free”. However, as independent examinations show, such inscriptions are not a guarantee that the product does not contain GMOs (33, 34, 35, 36, 37).

Often, sour cream manufacturers replace animal protein with soy protein in it, but we do not feel this due to flavoring additives (45). To identify a fake, I recommend dissolving a teaspoon of sour cream in a glass of boiling water: the fake will precipitate, and the real one will completely dissolve (45).

GMOs are more commonly found in imported foods than in domestic ones (11). Products from the USA, Canada, Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, China, India, Spain and Portugal should be especially wary, as GMO cultivation is widespread there.

GMOs are more likely to be found in foods with a long shelf life than in foods with a short shelf life.

GMOs are more commonly found in cheap foods than in expensive ones (11).

It is best to buy products not in chain supermarkets, but in markets (23).

In addition to markets, look for shops and stalls with names like Organic Foods, Organic Foods, Healthy Eating, Non-GMO Foods, Bio Market, etc. There are still very few such stores, but they are gradually becoming more and more.

Read the composition written on the label (11). It can be used to indirectly determine the probability of GMO content in the product (11). Often gm-soy is hidden behind such names of ingredients as "vegetable protein", "vegetable fat", "vegetable whey", "E322", "lecithin", "soy flour", and gm-corn behind the names "corn flour", "corn oil", "polenta" (11). Under the guise of starch, GM potatoes or GM corn may be contained in the product (11). In bakery products, GM ingredients may be referred to as “flour improver”, “dough impregnation agents”, “ascorbic acid” (11).

Consider other most common components, the transgenic origin of which is very likely:

Riboflafin (B2), otherwise E101 and E101A, can be produced from GM microorganisms. It is often added to cereals, soft drinks, baby food and weight loss products (11).

Caramel (E150) and xanthan (E415) can also be produced from GM grains (11).

Maltodextrin (other names are molasses, dextrinmaltose, E459) is a type of starch used as a stabilizer in baby food, powdered soups and powdered desserts, cookies and biscuits (11).

Glucose, or glucose syrup, is a sweetener often made from cornstarch (11). Found in drinks, desserts, and fast foods (11).

Dextrose is also a sweetener, often made from cornstarch (11). Found in cakes, chips and cookies to achieve brown color (11). Also used as a sweetener in sports drinks (11).

Aspartame (aka aspasvit, aspamix, E951) is a sweetener that is often produced using a GM bacterium (11). Has a lot of complaints from consumers in the US (11). Aspartame is found in sodas, gum, ketchup, and more (11).

Monosodium glutamate (E621), a very common flavor enhancer (11).

Other additives that may contain GM components:

E153 Vegetable charcoal,
E160d Lycopene,
E161c Cryptoxanthin,
E308 Synthetic gamma-tocopherol,
E309 Synthetic delta-tocopherol,
E471 Mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids,
E472a Esters of mono- and diglycerides of acetic fatty acids,
E473 Esters of sucrose and fatty acids,
E475 Esters of polyglycerides and fatty acids,
E476b,
E477 Propylene glycol fatty acid esters,
E479a Oxidized soybean oil,
E570 Fatty acids,
E572 Magnesium (calcium) stearate,
E573,
E620 Glutamic acid,
E622 Monosubstituted potassium glutamate,
E633 Calcium inosinate,
E624 Ammonium glutamate monosubstituted,
E625 Magnesium glutamate (11).

All products can be made either according to GOST (state standard) or according to TU (technical specifications). These letters are indicated on the product label. As a rule, products according to GOST are of higher quality in comparison with products according to TU. The absence of GMOs in the product is also more likely when it comes to products produced in accordance with GOST. Today, the legal situation in our country has developed in such a way that if the manufacturer incorrectly indicated the composition on the product, then it is impossible to hold him liable if the product is made according to TU, and there is little possibility of holding him liable if the product is made according to GOST.

With prolonged heat treatment of a product containing GMOs, its harm to humans is reduced, since foreign genes are partially destroyed (11).

Eat little, don't overeat (1). Eat either strictly on time, or when you are really hungry, then the most complete destruction of the food that comes to you occurs (1).

Listen to your body (1). If he does not perceive some product, discard it (1).
Try to grow food yourself in your summer cottages (23).

Track information about GMOs, fight for a ban on the use of GMOs, demand the introduction of mandatory labeling on products indicating the content of GMOs so that you have a choice!

Spread the knowledge about the dangers of GMOs among friends and acquaintances! The problem is that most people just don't know how bad GMOs are for them. Let them read this article, recommend watching a film by Galina Tsareva and reading a book by William Engdahl "Seeds of Destruction. The secret background of genetic manipulation ". Do not decide for people that they may not be interested. Do not be afraid that you will be misunderstood, you should not be afraid of this, but of the real consequences of the massive introduction of GMOs on the planet! No one will tell people the truth about GMOs for us. A person who understands how monstrously GMO destroys his body and all life on the planet will be more selective about the choice of food.

Today's Russian consumer, if he wants to survive, must face the fact that there is no longer a government that will take care of him so that only healthy food enters the market, and now he himself must arm himself with knowledge and be more selective about the choice of food.

To maintain health undermined by GMOs and other food poisons I recommend to use mushroom extracts Bio Resurse (eleven). Bio Resurse extracts remove GMOs and many poisons from the body! These extracts are a brilliant invention of an outstanding Russian scientist Nikolai Viktorovich Levashov . Thanks to the generator he developed, which is constantly turned on when growing mushrooms, Bio Resurse extracts have a strong ability to cleanse the body of various harmful substances, both chemically active (toxins, toxins, dead cells, any toxic substances, etc.), and biologically active (viruses, pathogenic bacteria and bacteriophages, foreign genes and plasmids, etc.). In addition, these extracts enhance human immunity and help get rid of various health problems.

You can track information about GMOs on the following resources:

www.gmo-net.info
www.rodvzv.ru
www.oagb.ru
www.irina-ermakova.ru
www.vk.com/antigmo
www.foodcontrol.ru

Part 2. Harmful chemistry on our table

Look for the cause of your illness at the bottom of your plate, or how they kill us - 2:

In addition to GMOs, they continue to poison us with various other poisons, some of which are discussed below.

Do Coca-Cola and Pepsi contain carcinogens that cause cancer?

The California government's decision in March 2012 to list 4-methylimidazole, which is used in caramel coloring for Coca-Cola and Pepsi drinks, as a carcinogen, prompted companies to reformulate these sodas (25). Otherwise, bottle labels will warn about the risk of cancer when drinking such drinks, reports the Associated Press (25). In one long-term, large-scale medical study, scientists were able to link 4-methylimidazole to the occurrence of cancer in mice and rats (25). Coca-Cola and PepsiCo said the new recipe will be used throughout the US (25). It turns out that Russian consumers will continue to drink Coca-Cola and Pepsi, made according to old recipes?

Why are we being made into cannibals?

In March 2012, American media reported that the US Federal Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had effectively authorized PepsiCo to launch a new flavor-enhancing soda based on human embryonic abortion cells (26). The food giant will be allowed to enter into a contract with Senomyx, which uses dead embryonic kidney cells (HEK 293 – Human Embryonic Kedney) to develop flavor enhancers (26). The alleged introduction of a fetal cell-based flavor enhancer product to store shelves has drawn sharp criticism from ordinary Americans and, in particular, religious communities in the United States (26).

Hyperactivity syndrome in children is caused by dyes and preservatives

British scientists from the University of Southampton proved in 2007 that food coloring and preservatives can cause hyperactivity disorder in children (27, 28, 29). The hyperactivity syndrome is characterized by the inability of the child to concentrate, uncontrollability, and unreasonable attacks of aggression (27, 28, 29). The syndrome adversely affects the mental development of the child (27, 28, 29).

The following additives were studied at the University of Southampton:

dye E102 (tartrazine),
dye E104 (quinoline yellow),
dye E110 (sunset yellow),
dye E122 (azorubine, carmoisine),
dye E124 (ponso 4R, crimson 4R),
dye E129 (charming red, allura red),
preservative E211 (sodium benzoate) (27, 28, 29).

These additives are often found in the following foods: carbonated and non-carbonated drinks, candy, confectionery, ice cream, fruit preserves, puddings, desserts, chips, snacks, milkshakes, children's cheeses, children's breakfasts, and a variety of fast foods (27, 28, 29 , 50).

A sad example of the use of these products are American schoolchildren. They often eat similar foods at school and at fast food outlets. About 50% of all American schoolchildren are obese, most schoolchildren suffer from impaired concentration, and in the morning the school nurse, as a rule, distributes special pills to children so that they can concentrate and listen to the teacher. And it has become the norm. Many children also receive antidepressants from the school psychologist (50).

Psychologists say that parents take their children to the fast food system for one simple reason - they are just too lazy to take care of their children, it is much easier for them to take the child to some place where they can celebrate a birthday or sit on a day off than cook food themselves (50).

Carcinogen acrylamide in snacks(47)

Chips, crackers and french fries contain a large amount of carcinogens produced in the process of frying in vegetable oil. They also contain the dangerous carcinogen acrylamide, a substance that, according to oncologists, causes genetic mutations and the formation of tumors in the abdominal cavity.

Especially a lot of carcinogens are formed due to prolonged frying or the repeated use of the same vegetable oil in the frying process.

These carcinogens are formed, albeit in smaller quantities, and during home frying. That is why doctors recommend boiling meat and steaming vegetables, so that useful substances are better preserved, and carcinogens are not formed.

About the microwave and steamer(56, 57)

Academician N.V. Levashov claims that the microwave radiation that occurs during the operation of a microwave has a destructive effect on vitamins and other beneficial substances contained in foods. In addition, microwave radiation extends beyond the microwave, and also negatively affects the brains of people nearby. In order to neutralize the microwave radiation coming from the microwave, it is necessary that its walls be made of lead 10-20 cm thick. In this regard, N.V. Levashov advises to completely abandon the use of microwaves.

In 1976, microwave ovens were banned in the USSR due to their harmful effects on human health, as many studies were carried out on them. The ban was lifted in the early 1990s. after the collapse of the USSR.

Unlike microwaves, a steamer has many advantages. In a modern kitchen, it, in fact, performs the function of a Russian stove. Steamed dishes, unlike those that are boiled, fried and stewed, retain a maximum of vitamins and nutrients and do not acquire extra calories. During normal cooking, about 80% of all vitamins are destroyed in vegetables, and only about 15% in a double boiler. Due to the careful preservation of all vitamins and other useful substances, food in a double boiler turns out to be much tastier. Fish and vegetables are especially delicious in a double boiler.

On a double boiler, you can not only cook food, but also warm it up, defrost it. Hot steam can be used to sterilize baby bottles and canning lids. Important advantages are the cheapness of double boilers (about 2000 rubles in 2012) and their ease of use.

trans fats(47)

Trans fats are man-made isomers of fatty acids. Trans fats are obtained by passing hydrogen through vegetable fat. From the obtained hardened vegetable trans fats, for example, mayonnaise is made. Trans fats tend not to spoil, and the products that are made from them do not deteriorate with them. Trans fats are found in chips, crackers, pastries, cakes. Trans fats cause obesity, heart disease and cancer.

Monosodium glutamate (47, 48, 49)

Monosodium glutamate (E621) is an extremely dangerous food additive, a common flavor enhancer found in seasonings, sauces, fast food, canned food, frozen convenience foods, chips, crackers, sausage, McDonald's products and many other products. Monosodium glutamate tends to accumulate in the body and cause asthma attacks, Alzheimer's disease, and depression. Monosodium glutamate negatively affects the child's brain, causing hyperactivity syndrome.

methanol in soda (47, 50, 52)

The artificial sweetener aspartame (E951) is very often added to carbonated drinks, ketchup, kvass, juice, yogurt, sweets, chewing gum and ice cream. Doctors say it is high time to ban it, especially in the production of products for children. They also warn that aspartame, even in small doses, harms the developing embryo. The reason for the danger of aspartame is that if the product containing it is heated to 30 gr. Celsius, then aspartame in it decomposes into phenylalanine and methanol. Phenylalanine is not a dangerous amino acid, but methanol is a toxic substance. Frequent consumption of foods containing aspartame can cause depression, anger, and tumors, including lymphomas and cancer.

On the packaging of some products they write: “contains phenylalanine, the product is contraindicated in those suffering from phenylketonuria”; remember products with this inscription, they contain aspartame.

Some other soda facts:

• Indian farmers use ordinary carbonated drinks to spray plants from an airplane - it works like pesticides!
• If you put chicken liver in a glass of Coca-Cola, it will completely dissolve in 12 hours. You can imagine what a blow is inflicted on a child's stomach when drinking Coca-Cola.

Carcinogen nitrosamine in sausage(50)

In sausages, the main harmful substances are nitrates, which are added to preserve the presentation. Nitrates, entering the stomach, combine with amines, which are found in meat, and form nitrosamines in the stomach. Nitrosamine is the most dangerous carcinogen that can provoke the appearance of a malignant tumor.

Milk in aseptic packaging(50)

Why can factory milk be stored for 12 months at room temperature? It's all about preservatives and aseptic packaging. An aseptic package is a package impregnated with either an antibiotic or a strong disinfectant, but milk, being in this package, will naturally acquire the properties of these substances, because no one canceled the solubility of poisons! Therefore, all aseptic packaging is hazardous to health.

Processing dried fruits with liquid haze(45, 50, 51)

If the dried apricots on the counter have an ideal, even appearance, then this indicates that they were dried using liquid haze - carcinogenic chemical compounds that are used to process dried fruits in a high-voltage electrostatic field, this is done to speed up the drying process. If dried apricots dry naturally in the sun, then it will have a very unpresentable appearance, but it will retain all amino acids, antioxidants and vitamins.

Formaldehyde in salted herring (50)

In light-salted herring, so that it does not deteriorate, they add camping fuel, also called urotropin, which in itself is not deadly for humans, but it does not preserve herring for a long time. In this regard, the manufacturer often adds vinegar to the product, due to which the shelf life of salted herring increases and a side effect appears - the synthesis of urotropine and vinegar gives rise to formaldehyde, a deadly carcinogen. In order not to get poisoned, herring lovers are advised to buy heavily salted fish and soak it in water.

Jar of Condensed Bacteria (54)

At the majority of Russian enterprises for the production of condensed milk, production technologies and sanitary conditions are far from ideal today. Do not be surprised if after eating condensed milk you feel unwell or poisoned.

In March 2007, the National Association for Genetic Safety (NAGB) conducted another inspection as part of public monitoring of the Russian food market. During the audit, condensed milk from the Seventh Continent, Perekrestok retail chains and convenience stores was examined.

The purchased product samples were transferred for research to the laboratory of ANO "Soyuzexpertiza" and to the Research Laboratory Center "Prodex".

Checking 12 samples of condensed milk showed that only 4 (!) of them met the quality requirements.

Of the non-conforming products, 5 contained bacteria that are dangerous to health and cause fatal diseases: Clostridium botulinum, a bacterium that causes botulism (1 sample) and E. coli bacteria.

"The poison of the microbe that causes botulism is considered one of the strongest in the world", - commented on the situation, the president of the OAGB, Alexander Baranov. - “No less alarming is the presence in food of bacteria of the Escherichia coli group (E. coli), which lead to malfunctions of the gastrointestinal tract. In young children, infection with this germ is often fatal.".

In 40% of the studied samples, a discrepancy between the products and the dairy class was also revealed. The analysis revealed their combined composition with the replacement of milk fat with vegetable fats, which is a gross violation of the law "On the Protection of Consumer Rights", since this information is not on the label.

Samples of condensed milk that did not meet quality requirements and are hazardous to health:

• Condensed milk "Glavprodukt" produced by CJSC "Verkhovsky Milk Canning Plant". Result: the causative agent of botulism was identified and the presence of bacteria of the Escherichia coli group was detected.
• Condensed milk "On fructose" produced by CJSC "Protein". Result: the presence of bacteria of the Escherichia coli group was detected.
• Condensed milk "Vologda Summer" produced by JSC "Sukhon Dairy Plant". Result: an increased number of mesophilic microorganisms was found.
• Condensed milk "House in the village" produced by OJSC "Glubokoe Milk Canning Plant". Result: an increased number of mesophilic microorganisms was found.
• Condensed milk "Merry Milkman" produced by OJSC "Anninskoye Moloko". Result: the presence of bacteria of the Escherichia coli group was detected.
• Condensed milk "Perekryostok" produced by CJSC "Alekseevsky Milk Canning Plant". Result: spore-forming, thermophilic microorganisms and mold were found.
• Condensed milk "Dairy Country" produced by LLC "Concord". Result: spore-forming, thermophilic microorganisms and mold were found.
• Condensed milk produced by OAO Belgorod Dairy Products. Result: spore-forming, thermophilic microorganisms and mold were found.

Samples of condensed milk that met the quality requirements:

• Condensed milk "Alekseevskoye" produced by CJSC "Alekseevsky Milk Canning Plant".
• Condensed milk "Rogachev" produced by Rogachev MKK.
• Condensed milk "Shepherd" produced by LLC "Venevsky Canning and Dairy Plant".
• Condensed milk "Ostankinskoe" produced by OJSC "Ostankino Dairy Plant".

In conclusion, I would like to recommend that lovers of condensed milk cook it for 2.5 hours before opening the can. The result is additional heat treatment and delicious boiled condensed milk, unlike boiled condensed milk with vegetable additives sold in stores.

Chocolate

Few people know that the recommended dose of chocolate for children by the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences is no more than 4 grams. in a day. And we are talking about natural chocolate. In the event that chocolate contains genetically modified additives - soy lecithin or soy flour, it is better to refuse it altogether.

Beware the salt!(45, 53)

Tireless enemies, poisoning almost all our food, got to the salt. Yes, ordinary salt has now also been turned into a serious poison. Therefore, we need to be doubly careful when choosing products in stores, including carefully reading labels.

“Salt is white death” - this phrase has been scaring us since childhood, all and sundry - both ignorant doctors and no less ignorant gurus from a “healthy” lifestyle, who claim the unconditional benefits of a salt-free diet.

But this diet can seriously harm your health. The fact is that as soon as salt ceases to enter the body in the required amount, then a failure occurs in the so-called. potassium sodium pump. This is a special mechanism of cellular metabolism, in which the cell absorbs potassium and releases sodium, and which protects blood vessels from constriction and spasms. In other words, salty food in the optimal amount helps prevent thrombosis, that is, salt reduces the risk of developing a heart attack. However, this applies to normal salt. I foresee the question: “What, is there an abnormal one?” Alas, there is.

Recently in Russia, anti-caking agent E535 / 536 began to be added to salt. Dishes cooked with this salt have a subtle bitter taste. In a product of the widest application, which people have used for centuries without any "improvements" and "decorations", naturally Poisons added! See for yourself.

E535- sodium ferrocyanide. Anti-caking agent, brightener. Yellow crystals or crystalline powder. It is obtained from the waste mass after gas purification at gas plants by chemical synthesis. As the name suggests, the substance contains cyanide compounds. Salt with the addition of E535 is DANGEROUS TO LIFE, because. such salt begins to slow down the movement of blood in the body. The action of this salt is very slow and destructive. It can take many months before the waterslicker realizes that something is wrong with him. One of the early signs may be a feeling of coldness in the fingers. This salt is widely distributed. Even sometimes there is no mark on the package with salt about the content of the E535 additive in it. Usually such salt is slightly darker and whiter than regular salt. And it tastes worse.

E536- potassium ferrocyanide. Potassium cyanide derivative or otherwise potassium cyanide, a known instant poison. Potassium ferrocyanide is registered as food additive E536, which prevents caking and clumping of products. Toxic. Its production produces additional cyanides, including hydrocyanic acid(depending on the method of obtaining E536).

More and more new ways of adding poisons to all normal products are being sought, and new, artificial ones are being invented, which, at a minimum, do not bring any benefit, and in most cases harm.

Yeast(55)

According to academician A.M. Savelov-Deryabin, for the first time baker's yeast was created in Nazi Germany. The Soviet Union adopted this technology from defeated Germany in 1945. Before that, bread in Russia was always made with sourdough, not yeast. This was done, obviously, with the best of intentions - after all, there is more bread with yeast, it became possible to cope with hunger. How correct was this decision? Academician Savelov-Deryabin claims that in mold fungi (and these include baker's yeast, and yeast added to kefir, kvass and beer) the most favorable environment for a cancer cell is created, it has been noticed that in such an environment a cancer cell multiplies by 2-2 .5 times faster than usual, and viruses and microbes are thousands of times faster. In addition, mold fungi enhance the process of fermentation and the accumulation of alcohols, i.e. Mold fungi are the most pathogenic environment for the human body.

More and more people in Russia are learning about the dangers of yeast bread, and now many stores and bread stalls are already selling yeast-free bread. In addition, many themselves began to bake sourdough bread at home in the oven or bread machine.

Vegetarian children (58, 59, 61)

Vegetarian adults often make their children vegetarian from birth, making the choice for them. Studies of thousands of children from vegetarian families have shown that if a child does not receive animal protein, then there is a high probability of a delay in his mental and physical development, including a children's vegetarian diet can cause rickets and degeneration. Especially important in the diet of children are meat and butter.

Probably, adults can organize for themselves a full-fledged safe vegetarian diet, but it is obviously impossible to do this for children.

Part 3. A new threat to life - the poison bromide

Look for the cause of your illness at the bottom of your plate, or how they kill us - 3:

The enemies of Russia are constantly trying to expand the range of hidden weapons for the genocide of our people. And a new terrible threat - bromide poison. Below I want to quote in full the article by Eva Merkacheva “Poison is the head of everything”, published in Moskovsky Komsomolets No. 26023 of August 24, 2012:

“Grain and flour in Russia may begin to be treated with a toxic gas that causes mutations.

The poisonous gas bromide, which killed many agricultural workers during the Soviet era, has returned to modern Russia. Now, to the dismay of experts, they are again officially allowed to process grain, flour and cereals: it is included in the state catalog of pesticides. The scientists who once developed methyl bromide and won its use outlawed consider it a triple-action weapon. First, the gas can accumulate in the grain, and the bread becomes not just poisonous, but "food" for mutations. Secondly, it destroys the ozone layer, which is why it was banned for use worldwide by the Montreal Protocol. Thirdly, he kills those who work with him. Who needed to let the genie out of the bottle - in the investigation of the MK special correspondent.

Methyl bromide, or metabromine (as it is called when used as a pesticide), is a volatile gas, a pesticide of the first hazard class. Scientists unanimously say: a terrible thing. But once, in the Soviet years, they made big bets on it as a pesticide that kills pests in grain, flour, cereals and animal feed.

I participated in the "birth" of methyl bromide in our country, - says the head of the laboratory of the All-Russian Research Institute of Grain, Professor, Doctor of Biological Sciences Gennady Zakladnoy. – We have developed several technologies for fumigation (destruction of pests) with this poison. He bribed with the fact that he was cheap and killed all kinds of insects. But since the early 90s, as soon as alternatives to methyl bromide appeared, I personally and my colleagues opposed it. We did this for one simple reason - many people died because of its use. I myself, as an expert, took part in the investigation of deaths at mills, bakeries and warehouses. Here, for example, carried out fumigation at the mill. The time has passed, during which the gas should have completely disappeared, the instruments showed that the air is normal. But methyl bromide ended up in the drawers of the desk. The mill worker came in the morning, began to rummage through it and died on the spot. There was a case in Moscow in the 80s, in the capital's fumigation detachment. The employee was carrying a cylinder that was leaking fractions of milligrams of gas because the valve was not completely turned on. At the Sklifosovsky Research Institute, where he was taken the next day, the man was given antidotes, but it was too late. Or here is the most ridiculous case in the 90s in Sokolniki. They fumigated the warehouse with methyl bromide, and a couple of guys climbed over the fence - they wanted to steal two bags of flour. It was Sunday, they knew that no one was there. So they remained lying there... I still remember how we buried in Cherepovets an acquaintance of a worker of a bakery who died unexpectedly. He was only 42 years old. I asked for a blood test for methyl bromide, and my suspicions were confirmed: the poison was many times higher than normal.

Worst of all, even a gas mask cannot guarantee absolute protection. There were cases of fatal poisoning when ... one hair from the head got under the locking petal of a gas mask! This tiny gap was enough for a person to die in terrible agony.

Insidious killer

The problem is that methyl bromide is colorless and odorless. Suspecting its leak is virtually unrealistic. The only way to determine its presence in the air is indicator halide burners. But they begin to slightly change the color of the flame only at a bromide concentration of more than 50 mg / m3 in a cube, and the maximum allowable rate is 1. That is, if the burner has shown, then it's time to run after white slippers, since intoxication has already occurred. Scientists understood that the real number of deaths from gas could not even be calculated. There are no obvious signs of poisoning. And who would think of checking the level of some kind of bromomethyl in the blood of every dead person?

In fact, much worse is the fact that methyl bromide is the only fumigant that enters sorption with grain elements and remains in it. Even in the Soviet years, the permissible residual amount of gas was approved. But the problem is that it is very difficult to control it. Research studies were carried out at the Research Institute, which showed that even if fumigation is carried out in one mode (the amount of gas and exposure time are standard), then in some case there may be an excess of metabromine in the grain.

Meanwhile, getting into the body with bread, cereals, the poison will slowly accumulate in it. And experiments on rats have shown that exceeding the minimum dose can lead to serious disturbances in brain activity, kidney function, and even mutations.

What's the point of taking that risk when there are so many safe pesticides out there? - exclaims Mortgage. - A dozen of them, for example, are based on phosphine gas only. This is also a highly poisonous gas, but, firstly, it does not enter into chemical sorption with grain at all, and secondly, even with the slightest leak, you can immediately smell it (it emits a nasty smell of rotten fish, which pierces even through a gas mask) and escape . So everyone breathed a sigh of relief when bromide stopped being used.

Wait, don't ruin

In 2006, merchants tried to include methyl bromide in the State Catalog of Pesticides and Agrochemicals Allowed for Use on the Territory of the Russian Federation. Then the All-Russian Research Institute of Grain and the Federal Scientific Center for Hygiene. F. Erisman. I quote the conclusion signed by four leading experts: “... we do not consider it possible to register the drug metabrom as a fumigant for the treatment of cereal grains, legume seeds, cereals, compound feed ...” Experts even required to conduct studies to register it as a soil fumigant in greenhouses (to indicate whether methyl bromide could then be found in lettuce, eggplant, peppers, parsley, dill and celery grown on such land).

And now, after 5 years, they managed to legalize gas under the trade name "metabrom". It was included in the list of pesticides for 2012. This time, it was not some commercial firm that did it, but the Federal State Unitary Enterprise “Federal Republican Fumigation Detachment”. I note that it is subordinate to the Rosselkhoznadzor and its main task is to protect our country from the penetration of quarantine objects into it. But in addition to, so to speak, the main work, the detachment is also engaged in “side work”. Namely, it processes grain and flour from simple (non-quarantine) pests for money. And what is interesting, since it was he who registered the metabrom, now he has a monopoly on its use throughout the country.

By the way, elevators and flour mills are obligated to conclude a contract for decontamination with the fumigation unit (as a state office), and not with someone else. On this occasion, the FAS was “excited”, there were several courts. The Supreme Court sided with the enterprises. In his ruling dated May 28, 2012, he confirmed: the paragraph of the Procedure for organizing work on decontamination by the gassing method, which stipulates that enterprises subordinate to Rosselkhoz should do this, has become invalid.

But back to metabrom. What does fumigation with this substance look like? Imagine an ordinary warehouse filled with about 3,000 tons of grain. Gas is brought in cylinders (it is in a liquid state under pressure), the valve is opened, and it evaporates. At the same time, the warehouse should be perfectly sealed, and the workers should not only wear gas masks, but also in protective suits, since methyl bromide enters the body through the skin, among other things.

But in the Soviet years, at least there were people who knew how to work with gas, - experts of the All-Russian Center for Plant Quarantine say. “Now many of them are either dead or retired. We need the latest instruments that would show the concentration of the drug in the air, training courses, etc.

There is none of this,” says Vasily Yatlenko, a member of the expert council of the Mir Security magazine. – In the meantime, there is information that the Republican Fumigation Squad wants to register the metabrom for 2013 as well. According to our data, the drug began to be actively used in various fields of agriculture. While it should be in Russia not only for grain processing, but generally banned!

The fact is that Russia signed the Montreal Protocol, designed to protect the Earth's ozone layer. And in accordance with the protocol, all countries had to come to zero production and use of methyl bromide back in 2010, because it is the strongest ozone destroyer. The protocol makes exceptions only for quarantine treatments. And there is a decree of the Government of the Russian Federation, which states that all substances that destroy the ozone layer can be imported and exported from the country only in cases provided for by the exception of the Montreal Protocol. Of course, the usual processing of grain does not fit in there at all.

"Gas will still serve ..."

Therefore, it is surprising where the Federal State Unitary Enterprise "Federal Republican Fumigation Detachment" takes metabrom, which is banned by the world community. To produce it stopped, according to scientists, all countries except Israel. But even from there, judging by the documents, he did not enter Russia. Here is what they answered at the Belgorod customs office, through which, in theory, he should have gone: “The export and import of ozone-depleting substances to the states that are parties to the Montreal Protocol is carried out on the basis of a license issued by the authorized body of the state. For the period from 2011 to the present, customs declaration of methyl bromide has not been carried out.”

Meanwhile, on the Internet they offer wholesale metabrom in batches of at least 5 tons. But where? Stocks from Soviet times? Smuggling? Dealing with this is the direct responsibility of the investigating authorities.

By the way, in the Astrakhan region, the metabrom scandal erupted at the end of last year. True, it was not about grain, but about wood.

Enterprises could not supply timber to Iran because they were not given permission, the Astrakhan Chamber of Commerce and Industry says. – Before sending it must be processed. So the Republican Fumigation Squad, which carries out disinfection, does it exclusively with methyl bromide. We are categorically against it. Such fumigation is extremely dangerous for humans and the environment, and requires special conditions. And our berths are all located in the residential area. Yes, and this is a direct violation of international norms that prohibit the use of this poison.

Every month, 60-70 thousand cubic meters of wood were sent from Astrakhan, and fumigation of one costs 100 rubles. That is 6-7 million rubles of net profit. There is something to fight for. And, in general, fumigation, according to some reports, earns in Russia several tens of millions of dollars a year.

The Fumigation Squad thinks the scientists who just made a fuss are almost crazy. They assure that the poison is not so dangerous and that there is no need to worry at all. Rosselkhoznadzor is on the side of its “wards”. Officials say this to experts - do not discredit, they say, gas, it will still serve ... Who exactly? Scientists are sure that if it is used everywhere (which officials insist on), it will lead to disaster. And if he falls into the hands of criminals, and he will get rid of unnecessary people with his help? It's almost the perfect murder weapon. He sprayed a small can on the street and the quarter died out... It is no coincidence that extremists became so interested in gas.

Why did the gas banned by the Montreal Protocol begin to be used for grain processing?
How and where does poisonous gas come from to Russia?
How can producers ensure that a poison that causes mutations does not remain in the grain, if even scientists are not sure of this?
Will they write on the packages of bread that it is baked from raw materials treated with methyl bromide?

By the way, in 2010, a former employee of the Ministry of Agriculture, responsible for monitoring the use of hazardous pesticides, was arrested in Israel. The official authorized the illegal sale of tens of tons of methyl bromide. Part of the poisonous gas was later found in farm warehouses. A few years earlier, criminals stole 6 tons of methyl bromide from a warehouse in southern Israel. According to investigators, Palestinian extremists were most likely involved in the theft, who could have conceived a major terrorist attack using this poisonous gas. Given the harmful effect it has on the ozone layer, the production and use of methyl bromide is prohibited in many countries, so the version of the theft of the substance for commercial purposes - selling it abroad is not excluded.(60)

Sources:

1. Doctor of Biological Sciences Ermakova I.V., interview doc. film "Transgenization is a genetic bomb"(dir. Galina Tsareva, 2007).

2. D / f "Transgenization is a genetic bomb", dir. Galina Tsareva, 2007 The film was made with the help of Greenpeace Russia and the CIS Alliance for Biosafety.

3. Doctor of Biological Sciences Ermakova I.V. "GMO - Weapon or Mistake?", magazine "Peace and security" No. 4, 2009.

4. Doctor of Medical Sciences, head. department of allergology of the Institute. Mechnikova Gervazieva V.B., interview doc. to the film"FAS supported the decision of the capital's mayor's office to abolish the label "Won't contain GMOs"

29. Candidate of Medical Sciences Alexander Telegin "Food coloring makes kids crazy", portal of the publishing house "World of News".

30. Speech by Doctor of Biological Sciences Ermakova I.V. at the Fifth meeting of the Permanent Conference of the National Patriotic Forces of Russia on September 25, 2012.

31. Interview with Academician N.V. Levashov newspaper "President", articles "Anti-Russian Anticyclone" and "Anti-Russian anticyclone 2", 2010

32. Film "Poison from the Elite: Biological Weapons", dir. Galina Tsareva, 2010 The results of the study of meat products

conducted by the National Association for Genetic Safety in November-December 2005.

38. Findings from the Baby Food Study conducted by the National Association for Genetic Security in May 2004.

39. Video meeting of the State Duma deputy from United Russia Yevgeny Fedorov with the activists of the KPE party 08.10.2012.

41. open statement Chairman of the Russian Charitable Society Alexander Goncharov, 10/22/2010.

42. Reporting of the First Channel of Russian TV, aired on 10/31/2011.

43. Official website of the CIS Alliance for Biosafety, article “If we join the WTO, we will eat GMOs!”, political scientist A. Zhdanovskaya.

44. NaturalNews.com, article "It"s not the bugs in Similac that make me sick - let"s recall the other ingredients (opinion)", Mike Adams, 09/27/2010.

45. Russian News Agency, article "Be careful, salt!" “Professor V.G. Zhdanov visiting Academician A.M. Savyolova-Deryabin» .

56. Academician N.V. Levashov at a meeting with readers, video answering the question about the dangers of microwaves.

57. Portal Your Figure, article "Steamer: Health Benefits", Elena Nechaenko, 09/13/2011.

58. Academician N.V. Levashov at a meeting with readers, video answering the question about proper nutrition and vegetarianism.

59. Medical scientific and practical journal "Attending Doctor", article "Vegetarianism in children: pediatric and neurological aspects", V.M. Studenikin, S.Sh. Tursunkhuzhaeva, T.E. Borovik, N.G. Zvonkov, V.I. Shelkovsky, 06/29/2012.

60. Moskovsky Komsomolets newspaper No. 26023 of August 24, 2012, article "Poison is the head", Eva Merkacheva.

61. Portal Membrana, "Nutriticians demand that children eat meat" , 22.02.2005.

5. Economic risk of using GMOs

The list of economic risks arising from the use of GMOs in food production and agriculture for Russia will grow as it integrates into the global economic space.

The main blow could be dealt to Russia's image as a producer of natural products. It is known that in the world the demand for environmentally friendly products is growing steadily. In particular, in 2002 a delegation from the German Ministry of Agriculture and Consumer Protection visited Russia. At meetings with manufacturers, it was repeatedly stated that Germany plans to import a number of agricultural products from Russia in the future, provided that they do not contain GMOs and contain minimal chemicals. Russia has great potential in this area, but the mass cultivation of GMOs will forever rule out such a prospect.

GM plants are advertised as a panacea for agricultural pests and diseases, but in reality this is not the case. GM crops have already ruined generations of Indian farmers. Over the past few years, thousands of farmers in India have committed suicide, while others are selling their organs in an attempt to pay off their debts.

The reason is the enormous losses due to the cultivation of GM cotton. Contrary to the promises of the Monsanto company, the plants were susceptible to a lot of diseases and produced virtually no crop, while the price that farmers paid for the seeds to the companies was on average 4 times higher than the cost of conventional cotton. However, representatives of Monsanto believe that the troubles that have befallen farmers are not associated with the poor quality of transgenic cotton, but with a violation of its cultivation technology.

There is another problem related to the economics of growing GMOs. All gene inserts that are inserted into the plant genome to obtain GMOs are subject to intellectual property, therefore, their use is paid. But besides the regular payments that farmers have to pay to companies for the use of transgenic GM seeds, farmers and even ordinary summer residents who do not grow GM plants on purpose can suffer significant financial losses.

In 2004, Monsanto accused 500 farmers of illegally using the company's patented seeds. Not all of them have been prosecuted, but it is not known whether the farmers actually planted the seeds without paying, or if the seeds were carried to the fields by the wind, or if they were pollinated, as happened in the case of Canadian farmer Percy Schmeiser. His high-profile case went around the pages of world newspapers: suspecting that GM rapeseed was grown in a neighboring field, he checked his crops and discovered transgenic plants. However, Schmeiser did not have time to demand compensation for harm to him, as a producer of organic rapeseed, since Monsanto itself sued him and turned the case in its favor, and the farmer was forced to pay a fine of many thousands.

Farmers who deliberately grow GMOs are also dissatisfied. Some farmers think that growing GM soybeans is profitable, because Roundup herbicide protects the fields well from weeds and is not very expensive, but others consider it just another corporate ploy. Farmer Vernon Gansebohm of Nebraska, USA, told the Omaha World Herald in 2004, “They're lowering the price of Roundup but raising the price of seed. Yes, patents are expensive, but prices are rising exponentially. I'm not the only one concerned about this."

The question arises why American farmers are actively growing GMOs? In addition to state subsidies and other assistance from the state, there is another very simple explanation for this. For the past 10 years, US farmers have been facing declining profits. In particular, the price of a metric ton of soybeans in 1998 fell by 62% compared to 1990, and landowners had to increase the area under crops to stay in business. In such a situation, any technology that involves the use of large areas, and GM crops are aimed precisely at the use in large farms and return in the form of a homogeneous mass product, is in great demand. Especially in the conditions of constant encouragement from the state of the cultivation of GM plants.

Growing transgenic crops is beneficial in all respects only to companies that create them for specific marketing purposes. All commercially used or planned to use transgenic plants (gene inserts in them) belong to developer corporations. The same corporations benefit from selling herbicides, so most of the GM plants they produce have a gene for resistance to such herbicides. If this ultimately turns out to be unprofitable and the negative consequences are too great, companies will simply switch to another production. And what will happen to countries and farms that have switched to transgenic crops and are completely dependent on biotech companies? In the US, bankrupt farmers are likely to receive new subsidies, but what about the rest?

A very popular thesis is that GM crops will solve the problem of hunger. Today, 800 million people in the world suffer from lack of food every day, 320 million of whom live in India. However, in 2002, the country destroyed about 60 million tons of grain (it rotted or was burned), since the purchasing power of intermediaries and the population is so low that there was simply no one to buy these seeds. Indian experts doubt that GMOs will somehow change this situation, since the root of the problem lies not in the lack of food, but in the lack of access to material goods and resources.

Zambian farmers, whose government has also repeatedly refused even humanitarian aid containing GM grains, are also unsure of the need for transgenics for starving African countries. GM corn, which international organizations and the United States stubbornly impose on Africa, is not needed by the local population, if only because corn has never been a traditional crop for the continent, it is not adapted to the African climate and soil. Zambia, for example, is characterized by the cultivation of cassava, sorghum and millet. This is one of the poorest countries in Africa, but tons of unclaimed grain rot there every year. According to the National Association of Peasants and Smallholder Farmers of Zambia, in 2003 in the northern and northwestern regions of the country, 300 thousand tons of cassava disappeared in warehouses, since no one could buy them.

6. Biosecurity and bioterrorism

Biohazard (biohazard) is a new term that you will not find in the medical dictionary. Most often, biohazard is defined as a danger to human health and life associated with exposure to agents (pathogens) of a biological nature. There is also a broader interpretation of this concept.

The dictionary of terms and concepts on biohazard includes not only "pathogenic biological agents (PBA)" and "pathogens", but also "valuable biological materials" - i.e. materials requiring administrative management, control, protective and surveillance measures in laboratories and biological centers. This is a fairly broad concept that includes not only pathogens and toxins, but also materials of great scientific, historical and economic importance. In the list of the least controlled and most dangerous threats to humanity, the vast majority of experts name bioterrorism and "environmental wars" (climate change, etc.).

Biological terrorism is officially recognized as one of the main potential threats to international security as a result of terrorist acts already committed and an analysis of the development of biological science and biotechnology.

In the 20th century, more than 100 confirmed cases of the illegal use of biological agents were recorded, of which 19 were terrorist acts. In the second half of the century, there are 66 crimes involving biological agents. However, none of the attempts to use them for the purpose of mass destruction, fortunately, was not successful. A total of 8 crimes involving the use of biological weapons resulted in civilian casualties (29 died and 31 were injured).

In 1984, religious sectarians used salmonella microbes ( Salmonella typhimurium) in restaurants in towns in Dales County, Oregon, causing food poisoning in 751 people but no deaths. However, the number of such incidents has increased dramatically in recent years. According to the FBI, 267 criminal cases were initiated before 2000 (in 187 cases, biological agents were used in one form or another), in 2000 - 257 cases were initiated (in 115 cases, attempts were made to use biological weapons).

In 2001, the United States was subjected to a biological attack using the anthrax agent, which led to a number of deaths. So far, the main questions are "who, how, why?" there is no exact answer. Although the US government has focused its attention on investigating the activities of an American virologist working at the American Institute of Military Medicine for Infectious Disease Research in Fort Datrick, Maryland, it is still unclear whether these events were related to the September 11 attacks 2001. The virologist worked privately as the head of biosecurity contracts. In his work, he was closely associated with one of the remaining professionals who played a significant role in the biological weapons program until 1969. The suspected virologist's activism and his relationship with the professional provided him with access to classified information regarding drug production technology. He also had access to a government-owned facility that handles the anthrax strain AMES and produces dry anthrax spore powder.

According to facts collected by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 18 letters containing anthrax spores left a mailbox located in Princeton, New Jersey. Another 4 cases occurred in the next eight weeks. The quality of prepared and distributed pathogenic spores varied. Some of the samples were crudely cooked, but those that reached Senators Dashle and Leahy were highly dispersed, so they were easily spread by airborne droplets. It was in these bags that the spores had the highest concentration and microbiological purity. Preliminary studies showed that all envelopes contained a variant of the known AMES strain. This strain was used in the US biological defense program in the early 1980s. Due to its biological activity, it has become the standard for use in model experiments in animal husbandry when obtaining new anthrax vaccines. It is known that 15-20 laboratories in the UK, USA, Canada, and possibly Israel worked with this strain. Now, genetic microbiologists are faced with the task of determining the slight differences in the genomes of cultures obtained in these laboratories, and identifying a culture that even remotely resembles the one used by the terrorists.

The range of organizations and individuals capable of using biological agents as a tool of terror, differing in group composition, funding sources, ideology, motivations and methods used, is very diverse. It includes large, well-funded organizations, opposition rebel groups, religious and cult sects that promote the ideology of the "end of the world", various nationalist groups, separate splintered political movements and groups, as well as lone terrorists.

According to the data given in the collection "New Terror: in the face of the threat of using biological and chemical weapons", in 17% of cases of the use of such weapons by terrorists, they were spread by air, in 11% - through water, in 15% - through food or drinks, in 13% - through injections or other contact, 16% - through drugs. Unfortunately, in 28% of cases, the method of distribution could not be determined. The United States today includes Egypt, Israel, Iraq, Iran, China, Libya, North Korea and Taiwan as countries "possibly spreading chemical and biological weapons".

The idea of ​​using biological agents as weapons is hardly new. For a long historical time, cases of using biological agents to inflict damage on the enemy have been known. However, the possibility of their application depended on the level of scientific awareness of society about infectious diseases. Before the advent of the theory of the microbial nature of infectious diseases, it was believed that diseases are caused by polluted odors, infection occurs through the spread of "miasms", that is, "bad fumes". In ancient civilizations (Hellenic, Roman, Persian) there are known cases of contamination of the drinking water supplies of their opponents with the help of half-decomposed dead animals. A similar method was used in Italy in the 12th century by Barbarossa. The poisoning of drinking supplies with animal corpses was also used in the 19th century in the United States during the Civil War.

The concept of using various objects (things, books) as the spread of infectious diseases among the enemy was also developed in the 18th century. In 1763, Sir Jeffrey Amherst, commander of the British forces in North America, became concerned about the activity of non-British natives along the western frontier from Pennsylvania to Detroit. When he learned that smallpox had developed among the British troops at Fort Pitt, he decided to use the infection as a biological weapon against the Native Americans. According to his plan, blankets and handkerchiefs of smallpox patients were transferred to hostile tribes. The smallpox epidemic originated among the Native American tribes, but it is difficult to determine whether this outbreak was the result of British military biological activity. Native Americans did not have immune defenses against many of the infections brought from the Old World, and so there could be many different ways of getting this infection from other European settlers.

With the development of the theory of the microbial nature of many infections in the 19th century, a new stage in the creation of biological weapons began. Now pathogenic microorganisms could be isolated and grown in sufficient quantities in pure culture in the laboratory. Therefore, the results of scientific microbiological research and new technological equipment could be simultaneously used for military purposes.

The idea of ​​biological weapons was especially developed in the 20th century. During World War I, Germany intended to use cholera and plague pathogens against humans, and anthrax and glanders against farm animals. However, the use of biological weapons during the First World War did not go beyond intentions. At that time, attention was concentrated on the effects of the use of chemical weapons. The reaction to the use of these weapons led to the appearance in June 1925 of the Geneva Protocol (Protocol on the prohibition of the use in war of asphyxiating, poisonous or other similar gases and bacteriological agents). 133 countries have signed this protocol, one country (El Salvador) has signed but not ratified. The protocol contains a statement that the parties agree to consider themselves bound in relation to each other by prohibiting the use of these weapons in war. The treaty prohibited the use of chemical and biological weapons, but could not limit or regulate their development and production.

Between the first and second world wars, a number of countries accelerated their biological weapons research programs. The efforts of the Japanese explorers and the military in this were the most successful. Until the end of the Second World War, work on the creation of biological weapons was carried out in many military units. The most famous was Detachment 731, led from 1937 to 1941. military physicist-microbiologist Ishii Shiro. The detachment was stationed on the territory of Manchuria, occupied by Japan. At its peak, the division's staff numbered approximately 3,000 and was located in 150 buildings. There were at least five support operations, each involving between 300 and 500 people. Such military scientific groups were responsible for the extensive development and research of biological warfare, using prisoners (usually prisoners of war, criminals or political dissidents) and animals.

According to some estimates, during 13 years of biological warfare research in Manchuria and China, about 10,000 people died. The result of this activity was the creation by the beginning of the forties of a menu of infectious diseases caused by bacteria, viruses and rickettsiae. The Japanese also conducted dozens of field experiments in Manchuria and China, in which the contamination of water and food supplies, aerial spraying and the use of small bombs containing fleas with plague pathogens were carried out. Local outbreaks of plague, cholera and typhoid infections have occurred due to ongoing research.

The military biological activity of other countries during this period was minimal compared to Japan. German efforts have focused primarily on the development of protective microbiological agents, vaccines and antimicrobials. In this work, concentration camp prisoners were used as experimental material. At the same time, anthrax bombs were developed and tested on an island in the North Sea off the coast of Scotland. This island was heavily contaminated with pathogens until the 1980s, when it was successfully decontaminated using sea water and formaldehyde.

The danger of bioterrorism is determined by a number of prerequisites:

1. 
   The use of various types of biological weapons by terrorists can cause an epidemic in a short time, leading to the death of a huge number of people, animals and crops. It is estimated that the spraying of 100 kg of anthrax spores is many times greater than the effects of a megaton nuclear bomb.
2. 
   There are a significant number of potential sources of biological weapons in the world. The development of medicine in general and the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases in particular requires the isolation and then storage of bacterial strains that serve to create various vaccines and inoculations. However, potentially these strains also remain the source of all those diseases for which they are intended to treat. According to rough estimates, 453 collections of various bacterial strains belonging to various organizations are concentrated in 67 countries, 54 medical centers have anthrax, 18 - plague. The number of sources of deadly bacteria and the not always adequate protection of their storage sites can make medical and biological centers a willing or unwilling source of supplying terrorists with biological weapons. According to US data, at least 10 countries possess biological weapons or are conducting research on them. The example of Russia clearly demonstrates that the very legal definition of what is and is not a biological weapon reflects the danger of using biological material both for the benefit of humanity and for its destruction.
3. 
   The production of some types of biological weapons does not require any special equipment and is relatively uncomplicated. In nature, there are already a large number of microorganisms potentially dangerous to humans, and the raw materials for their production are often a product of human economic activity.
4. 
   Biological weapons are easily transported and quite difficult to detect during checks.
5. 
   Almost every infection, and the list of microorganisms that can potentially be used by terrorists, includes 48 organisms (25 viruses, 13 bacteria, 10 toxins), requires its own methods of treatment and prevention, which greatly complicates the possibility of preparing to repel a potential attack.
6. 
   Due to the uncertainty of when and where bioterrorism might be attempted, and what biological agents might be used as a tool of terror, the threat or attempted use of biological weapons always persists. Infectious diseases that can develop as a result of a biological attack have non-specific clinical symptoms, such as fever, especially in the first hours and days after their development. Therefore, it is necessary to know certain differential diagnostic signs in order to assume the range of the most likely pathogens even before applying special identification methods. There are some difficulties in rapid microbiological diagnosis, especially of pulmonary forms of infectious diseases. Because of this, all individuals with a clinical picture of a suspected infection should be started on appropriate antibiotic therapy immediately.
7. 
   Genetic engineering experiments with various organisms, including pathogenic bacteria and viruses, create an additional powerful biological threat. Today it is especially necessary to pay attention to experiments in the field of genetic engineering. This is the so-called vector technology, which is used to transfer genes from one organism to another, and a highly infectious material for embedding a foreign gene into a completely different organism. The risk of using vectors to create genetically engineered organisms has not been assessed. In addition, genetically modified organisms themselves, as absolutely new organisms for the biosphere, can affect it in the most unexpected way. The very uncertainty of such an impact is for some reason perceived as proof of safety. Apparently, the time has come to think about stricter control of biological material and develop a more stringent complex in the field of biosecurity. A biological threat can only be countered by a strong system of biological control and public health.

The attractiveness of biological weapons for terrorists is due to the following reasons:

• 
  biological weapons are readily available, pathogens of dangerous diseases can be found in nature (with the exception of smallpox);
• 
  biological weapons are easy to manufacture;
• 
  all countries have medical microbiological laboratories, microbiological enterprises that can be converted for the production of biological weapons;
• 
  biological weapons are convenient to store and transport compared to chemical or radiological weapons.

Important criteria for determining the suitability of biological agents for terrorist use are:

• 
  high infectivity and contagiousness;
• 
  required damaging effectiveness (predictable clinical manifestations of the disease, a certain level of morbidity and mortality);
• 
  significant persistence in the environment;
• 
  the ability to wide epidemic distribution;
• 
  availability and simplicity in the production of prescription forms;
• 
  ease of application and spread of the pathogen;
• 
  complexity of indication and identification of the agent in environmental objects after application;
• 
  the absence or insufficient effectiveness of currently available means of immuno- and emergency prevention, means of treating the disease.

According to leading experts in the field of biological hazards, the greatest threat is seen in the possibilities of creating a new generation of biological weapons - the third, that is, "post-genomic", the so-called molecular weapons. In international literature, it is referred to as ABW - Advanced Biological Warfare. These are completely new, already discovered and yet undiscovered regulators of biochemical processes, often consisting of only a few tens of nucleotide bases and therefore easily penetrating through cell membranes and actively influencing various biochemical processes. They pose a much greater danger than traditional pathogens - plague, smallpox, anthrax, etc.

7. Control over the use and distribution of GMOs.

GMOs are in the spotlight right now. In Europe and Russia, a special label has been developed for products, which shows that they do not contain transgenic additives. The European Union even creates ecological zones free from transgenic organisms and imposes a moratorium on their use in baby food.

All transgenic organisms are carefully tested for safety for humans and the environment as a whole before entering the market.

In Russia, as well as in the countries of the European Union (EU) and in many other countries, the use of GM technology, the subsequent release of GMOs into the environment, their use in agriculture, the production and sale of food products are strictly regulated. The relevant legislation is developing most dynamically in the EU and is reviewed by the European Parliament almost every year. Currently, the use of GMOs in the EU is mainly regulated by Directive 65/2004/EC and Regulations 1829/2003 and 1830/2003.

EU legislation defines the rules for the use of GMOs in agriculture and in food production in different ways. If for foodstuffs there is a minimum limit for the permissible content of genetically modified sources (GMI) in foodstuffs, then it is not provided for seeds / sowing material. This standard allows, in cases where the content of GMI in the product does not reach the threshold value (relative concentration of 0.9% for the EU), not to label this product as containing GMI. At the same time, the standard for the maximum allowable GMI content is valid at the ingredient level, and a threshold of 0.9% is set for each ingredient that is part of the food product. Thus, if as a result of screening qualitative diagnostics GMIs were found in a food, the relevant ingredients should be investigated and the content of GMIs in each of them should be established.

In accordance with the sanitary standards in force in Russia, the threshold value was initially set at 5%, and in this case, the absolute concentration of GMI in the food product is implied. Currently, this level in the Russian Federation is set at 0.9%. Experience shows that most diagnostic methods allow one to reliably estimate the relative concentration of GMI, while it is extremely difficult to determine the absolute content of a plant ingredient in a complex processed food product. Thus, the imperfection of the regulatory framework in Russia to date largely limits the scope of quantitative diagnostics of GMI in raw materials and makes it meaningless to measure the quantitative content of GMI in food products.

Detection and identification of DNA and/or proteins can be significantly more difficult when examining highly processed or refined ingredients such as starch, sugar, or vegetable oils. Moreover, a number of treatments may result in the inability to detect or identify GMIs in the product. The previous EU directive approved a special list of products (including sugar and vegetable oils) that could not be labeled even if they were made from GM raw materials. The current EU legislation obliges the manufacturer to carry out labeling even in cases where modern diagnostic methods do not allow determining the origin of the food. To this end, a special procedure has been introduced to account for the use of GMOs at each of the stages - cultivation, harvesting, storage, transportation, processing, etc. EU requirements oblige organizations involved in the production or use of GMOs to keep the relevant documentation for 5 years, which, if necessary, will allow tracing the distribution of GMOs and identifying potential sources of contamination.

The need for monitoring, qualitative and quantitative study of the presence of GMOs in agricultural crops and food products produced from them has led to the need for analytical methods that can detect, identify GMOs and determine their quantitative content in the test sample. As a rule, these methods are based on the analysis of DNA or protein, as the basic components of GMOs. In some cases, for certain types of GMI-derived foods, such as vegetable oils, which have an altered fatty acid profile and are low in DNA and protein, chromatography or near-infrared spectroscopy may be used as additional or alternative methods.

Diagnostics of GMIs should also take into account the design features of specific GMOs and biological variability. Methods are needed to distinguish between GMOs that were created using the same genetically engineered constructs, as well as GMOs carrying one, two or more constructs or their copies.

Certified methods for labeling GMO-containing products are usually based on the detection of specific DNA fragments using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and/or protein detection by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).

The process of diagnosing GMI in food products in general terms fits into the following scheme:

1. Screening qualitative diagnostics. At this stage, the presence of GMI in the composition of a food product or agricultural raw material is investigated. It is necessary to use highly sensitive and reliable analytical methods that provide accurate and reliable diagnostics in all control laboratories, which can only be achieved through interlaboratory verifications and intercalibrations.

2. Identification. At this stage, it is identified which GMIs are present in the tested product, and whether they are allowed for use.

3. Quantitative diagnostics. The results of quantitative measurements carried out using PCR or ELISA allow you to determine the content of GMI and determine whether this product is subject to mandatory labeling, notifying the presence of GMI. For accurate quantitative studies, it is desirable to have information about the types of treatments that have been subjected to the test material in order to take into account the past DNA / protein degradation and evaluate the accuracy of the measurements.

At present, methods based on the use of different types of PCR are the most developed and most widely used at all stages of diagnostics. However, other analytical technologies, in particular, DNA chips and mass spectrometry, can be successfully used for the purposes of GMI diagnostics.

Bibliography

1. 
   A.A. Zhuchenko The role of genetic engineering in the adaptive system of plant breeding // S.-kh. biology. 2003. No. 1. S. 3.33.

1. 
   V. Kashyap Pesticides and transgenic plants as an international agroecological problem. M.: Izd-vo RUDN University, 1998. 167 p.

1. 
   V.V. Kuznetsov, A.M. Kulikov, I.A. Mitrokhin, V.D. Tsydendambaev. GMOs and biological safety // Ekos-inform. 2004. No. 10. S. 1.64.

1. 
   A.M. Kulikov. GMOs and the risks of their use // Plant Physiology. 2005. V. 52. S. 115.128.

1. 
   V.V. Kuznetsov, A.M. Kulikov. Genetically modified risks and products derived from them: real and potential risks. Russian Chemical Journal, 2005. 69 (4). pp. 70-83.

1. 
   V.V. Kuznetsov, A.M. Kulikov, I.A. Mitrokhin, V.D. Tsydendambaev. "Genetically Modified Organisms and Biosecurity". Ecoinform, No. 10, 2004.

1. 
   O.A. Monastic. Food security in Russia: yesterday, today, tomorrow // Ekos-inform. 2004. No. 4. C. 1.64.

1. 
   E.G. Semenyuk. Agroecological aspects of the use of genetically modified agricultural crops // Agrochemistry. 2001. No. 1. S. 80.93.

1. 
   E.G. Semenyuk. Problems of risk assessment of transgenic plants // Agrochemistry. 2001. T. 10. S. 85.96.

1. 
   M.S. Sokolov, A.I. Marchenko. Potential risk of cultivation of transgenic plants and consumption of their crops // S.-kh. biology. 2002. No. 5. S. 3.22.

And it all started back in 1972. The American engineer, scientist Paul Berg, was able to combine two alien genes into one, which could not have formed independently in nature. This gave the "green light" for experiments with various living organisms. The resulting transgenetic organisms began to be given various names: already familiar - "GMO", "recombinant", "genetically engineered", "live modified" and even "chimeric".

However, this discovery did not bring great joy to the scientific community. Experimenters began to think about the consequences. And quite rightly so. The level of danger of the created organisms has not been clarified to the end. How will they behave further in nature, exchanging "chimeric" genes? What can this lead to? The doubts were so serious that scientists, including the enterprising P. Berg, drew up a collective document asking them to suspend transgenic development. The petition printed in the media did its job, and the project was temporarily frozen. But the history of the creation of GMOs did not end there. For 3 years, scientists have been developing rules for safe work with transgenic organisms.

In 1976, the project was unfrozen and the team of researchers continued their scientific activities. Three decades have passed, the experiments have not done any harm, and some precautions have been abolished.

After 2 years, Herbert Boyer opens a company that creates a transgenic product that produces human insulin. 14 years later, in 1992, China began growing insect-resistant tobacco. Another 2 years passed and in 1994, thanks to the Monsanto company from the USA, the first transgenic tomato appeared, which was put into mass production. The vegetable was not afraid of transportation, could maintain a presentable appearance for 6 months and ripen indoors when the air temperature rises to + 23-25 ​​° C. It is 1994 that is considered the beginning of the mass production of transgenic food products.

A year later, in 1995, the same Monsanto began to seriously grow genetically modified soybeans that are not afraid of weeds. Then came the turn of corn, cotton, tobacco, rapeseed, potatoes and other crops. Now this company owns 50% of the transgenic seed market in the world.

After another 4 years, “chimeric” rice appeared. The number of farmers who want to get "unkillable" vegetables has grown exponentially.

The first negative effects were published in 1998 by the English scientist A. Pusztai. In a TV show, he found the courage to say that rats fed on genetically modified potatoes showed irreversible changes in the body with violations of internal organs. He was fired. And a year later, an independent group of scientists, having studied his work, publicly confirmed the accuracy of the data presented by A. Pusztai. This forced the British authorities to ban the sale of GMOs without a license, which cannot be said about the United States.

As of 2014, more than 15% of all the area in the world allocated for crops is occupied by the cultivation of transgenic products. Naturally, the United States tops the list, followed by Argentina, Canada, Brazil, China and India.

Return