For most women today, a diagnosis of breast cancer is not the end of the world. It is only a temporary distraction – one that can be treated with advanced medical modalities and with fewer side effects than before.
A compound found naturally in broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables may reduce some of the harmful effects of Type II diabetes in overweight adults. — Photos: TNS
This means that we cannot just think about breast cancer in the context of treatment alone, but within the broader picture of moving on with life and preventing recurrence.
We can do a lot with the food we eat – choosing the right types of natural and wholesome foods, preferably organic, can give us access to the right nutrients, which can work in sync with many other as-yet-undiscovered compounds in food (particularly fruits and vegetables) to maintain optimal health and balance in the body.
However, it is becoming more difficult to put such foods on our table. Due to modern growing and harvesting methods and environmental toxins in the atmosphere, foods today contain less-than-optimal levels of essential fats, vitamins, minerals and other micronutrients.
Even when you do consume these nutrients, your body’s ability to absorb them may be depleted by the battering it has received from the disease and the treatment regimen. Here are a few ways you can help your body heal from breast cancer, and how to avoid the things that harm your body.
Helping Your Body
If your body is unable to absorb nutrients well, you may need supplementation. Supplementing your diet with vitamin D can have protective effects against cancer, as low vitamin D levels may increase the risk of breast cancer, as well as the risk of dying from it.
Omega-3 fatty acids, DHA and EPA have numerous antiproliferative effects on breast cancer cells and enhanced protective effects when combined with several chemotherapeutic agents. DHA and EPA are also recommended for breast cancer survivors as they are believed to reduce inflammation and fatigue.
Another omega-3, GLA, can also promote the anti-inflammatory effect by helping to maintain balance in the fatty acids.
Cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage, have long been known to have anti-cancer properties. The main active compounds in the vegetables that possess these protective roles are isothiocyanates and DIM (3,3’-Diindolymethane).
DIM inhibits cancer cell growth in oestrogen-receptor positive and negative cells, and also modulates oestrogen metabolism. Melatonin is a hormone that may help to improve survival in some cancers and may enhance the effectiveness of conventional therapy.
Curcumin, the active component of turmeric, is believed to inhibit many types of tumours while sensitising cancer cells to other therapies like chemotherapy.
There are also several vitamins that can help cancer patients after therapy. These include vitamin E and vitamin K2. The latter, which is the most stable of all forms of vitamin K, is associated with reduced cancer incidence and death.
As Asia is the cradle of traditional therapies, it comes as no surprise that several native herbs and spices also complement cancer treatment. One example is Scutellaria barbata, a herb that grows in South Korea and southern China. An extract of this plant has been shown to inhibit cancer cell growth and induce cancer cell death in advanced breast cancer.
Curcumin, the active component of turmeric, is believed to inhibit many types of tumours while sensitising cancer cells to other therapies like chemotherapy. Two components of milk thistle, silymarin and silibinin, have antiproliferative and antimetastatic properties.
Lastly, we look at the powerful role of functional ingredients, namely antioxidants. Catechins, which are found in green tea, have numerous antimetastatic and antiproliferative benefits, while also enhancing other therapies.
Red wine and grapes contain an antioxidant called resveratrol, which has the potential to influence the methylation of genes in women at high risk of breast cancer. Resveratrol may also have beneficial effects for women undergoing radiation therapy, as it is believed to reduce the toxicity of the radiation.
Quercetin can potentially inhibit breast cancer proliferation and induce apoptosis (programmed cell death) in the cancer cells. This antioxidant can also alter the metabolism of oestrogen to less toxic compounds, making it more beneficial for HER2/neu-positive cancer.
Finally, grape seed extract has been shown to inhibit the development of breast cancer cells in response to several common toxins. It may also inhibit the enzyme aromatase, a factor in hormone-sensitive cancers.
You must seek the advice of your doctor or nutritionist before taking any of these or other types of nutritional supplements. If you take the wrong types or in the wrong dose, supplements can interfere with the effects of treatment for cancer and other diseases.
Harming your body
Some components present in our food can increase the risk of breast cancer. One example is DDT, a pesticide ingredient that is also a hormone-disrupting chemical. DDT interferes with the functioning of oestrogen and increases the risk of birth defects, infertility and type 2 diabetes. It can increase the risk of breast cancer by four times.
You may wonder why DDT is still a concern if it was banned almost 20 years ago in Malaysia. Unfortunately, the effects of DDT last for decades after exposure to it.
A large study of 20,000 women and 10,000 of their daughters has found that women exposed to higher levels of DDT while in their mother’s womb were nearly four times more likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer, compared to women exposed to lower levels of DDT in the womb.
These findings provide evidence that the harmful effects of DDT are seen across generations. DDT and similar chemicals tamper with the body’s natural oestrogen functioning, also increasing a person’s risk of birth defects, infertility and type 2 diabetes.
DDT can last in the soil for a very long time – it takes two to 15 years for half the DDT in soil to break down. Therefore, food sources can still contain DDT long after the pesticide has been used on the crops.
We can be exposed to DDT from foods like meat, poultry, fish and shellfish, which had been exposed to DDT up to 15 years ago, and from imported foods from countries where DDT is still used. Eating fewer animal products and eating locally-produced food can lower our exposure to DDT.
We must continue to be vigilant against environmental causes of breast cancer that can pose a threat to generations of women. Also stop smoking; live healthily to avoid antibiotics and drugs; reduce animal proteins, dairy, well-cooked meat and high glycaemic carbohydrates; and avoid alcohol and fried foods.
Monsanto has a long and infamous history of manufacturing and bringing to market such chemicals as DDT, Agent Orange, aspartame, Roundup and dioxin1 — chemical compounds from which society continues to feel the effects.
August 24, 2016
Story at-a-glance
Monsanto has an infamous history of marketing toxins such as DDT, Agent Orange, Roundup, dioxin, PCBs and aspartame
Once the largest producer of PCBs in the U.S., Monsanto is now being sued on multiple fronts for health and environmental damage from PCB pollution
Chemical poisoning begins before your baby is even born as these chemicals pass the placental barrier, affecting neurological and hormonal development
By Dr. Mercola
Monsanto has a long and infamous history of manufacturing and bringing to market such chemicals as DDT, Agent Orange, aspartame, Roundup and dioxin1 — chemical compounds from which society continues to feel the effects.
In an effort to distance the current corporation from past deeds, Monsanto refers to the company prior to 2002 as "the former Monsanto" in their news releases.2However, nothing has really changed aside from their PR machine.
While Monsanto has branched into genetic engineering (GE) of plants, the sale of patented GE seeds simply feeds the need for the company's pesticides. Monsanto is STILL primarily a purveyor of toxins, not life.
Monsanto began forging a unique and financially advantageous relationship with the U.S. government starting with the company's involvement in the Manhattan Project that produced the first nuclear weapons during World War II. During the Vietnam War they were the leading producer of Agent Orange.
The specialization in the production and distribution of toxic chemicals continues today.
Their influence over government runs so deep that despite the fact 64 other countries have been labeling genetically engineered (GE) foods for years, the U.S. now has the distinction of being the first country to un-label GE foods at the urging of a company producing mass amounts of GE seeds.
Monsanto and Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs)
In the latter part of the 1920s, Monsanto was the largest producer of PCBs. This chemical was used in lubricant for electric motors, hydraulic fluids and to insulate electrical equipment.3 Old fluorescent light fixtures and electrical appliances with PCB capacitors may still contain the chemical.
During the years PCB was manufactured and used, there were no controls placed on disposal. Since PCBs don't break down under many conditions, they are now widely distributed through the environment and have made the journey up the food chain.4
Between the inception and distribution of the product and its subsequent ban in the late 1970s, an estimated 1.5 billion pounds were distributed in products around the world.5
Monsanto was the primary manufacturer of PCBs in the U.S. under the trade name Aroclor. Health problems associated with exposure to the chemical were noted as early as 1933 when 23 of 24 workers at the production plant developed pustules, loss of energy and appetite, loss of libido and other skin disturbances.6
According to Monsanto's public timeline, it was in 1966 that "Monsanto and others began to study PCB persistence in the environment."7 However, seven years earlier, Monsanto's assistant director of their Medical Department wrote:
"… [S]ufficient exposure, whether by inhalation of vapors or skin contact, can result in chloracne which I think we must assume could be an indication of a more systemic injury if the exposure were allowed to continue."8
In 1967, Shell Oil called to inform Monsanto of press reports from Sweden, noting that PCBs were accumulating in mammals further up the food chain. Shell asked for PCB samples to perform their own analytical studies.9
With full knowledge of the devastation expected to the environment and humanity, it wasn't until 11 years later, in 1977, that Monsanto reportedly pulled production on PCB.10
PCBs Are Probable Human Carcinogens
The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the National Toxicology Program, and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIEHS) have identified PCBs as either probable, potential or reasonably likely to cause cancer in humans.11
If it seems like these agencies are couching their words, they are. Human studies have noted increased rates of liver cancer, gall bladder cancer, melanomas, gastrointestinal cancer, biliary tract cancer, brain cancer and breast cancer when individuals had higher levels of PCB chemicals in their blood and tissue.12
However, the EPA limits the ability of researchers to link a chemical as a carcinogen unless there is conclusive proof. While this proof is evident in animal studies, you can't feed these chemicals to humans and record the results. Thus PCBs are a "probable" carcinogen in humans. Other health effects from PCBs include:
Babies born with neurological and motor control delays including lower IQ, poor short-term memory and poor performance on standardized behavioral assessment tests
Disrupted sex hormones including shortened menstrual cycles, reduced sperm count and premature puberty
Imbalanced thyroid hormone affecting growth, intellectual and behavioral development
Immune effects, including children with more ear infections and chickenpox
Once PCBs are absorbed in the body they deposit in the fat tissue. They are not broken down or excreted. This means the number of PCBs build over time and move up the food chain. Smaller fish are eaten by larger ones and eventually land on your dinner table.
Chemical Poisoning Begins Before Birth
A recent study at the University of California demonstrated that PCBs are found in the blood of pregnant women.13 Before birth, the umbilical cord delivers approximately 300 quarts of blood to your baby every day.
Not long ago, researchers believed the placenta would shield your developing baby from most pollutants and chemicals. Now we know it does not.
The umbilical cord is a lifeline between mother and child, sustaining life and propelling growth. However, in recent research cord blood contained between 200 and 280 different chemicals; 180 were known carcinogens and 217 were toxic to the baby's developing nervous system.14
The deposits of chemicals in your body or the body of your developing baby are called your "body burden" of chemicals and pollution.
A steady stream of chemicals from the environment during a critical time of organ and system development has a significant impact on the health of your child, both in infancy and as the child grows to adulthood.
Tracey Woodruff, Ph.D., director of the University of California San Francisco Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment, was quoted in a press release, saying:
"It was surprising and concerning to find so many chemicals in pregnant women without fully knowing the implications for pregnancy. Several of these chemicals in pregnant women were at the same concentrations that have been associated with negative effects in children from other studies.
In addition, exposure to multiple chemicals that can increase the risk of the same adverse health outcome can have a greater impact than exposure to just one chemical."
Butyl Benzyl Phthalate — Another Monsanto Product
Butyl benzyl phthalate (BBP), also manufactured by Monsanto, was recently implicated in cell fat storage.15 This specific phthalate was found in human fluids and had an effect on the accumulation of fat inside cells.
BBP is used in the manufacture of vinyl tile, as a plasticizer in PVC pipe, carpets, conveyer belts and weather stripping in your home and office.
Like other phthalates used in the production of plastics, BBP is not bound to the product and can be released into your environment. It may be absorbed by crops and move up the food chain.16 The biggest source of exposure is food.
Drive-through hamburgers and take-out pizzas may be increasing your intake of phthalates. The danger is not in the food itself but in the products used to handle it. The study analyzed data from nearly 9,000 individuals, finding the one-third who had eaten at a fast food restaurant had higher levels of two different phthalates.17
Potentially, BBP may adversely affect your reproductive function. However, at lower doses it also has an effect on your kidneys, liver and pancreas.18 Increased risks of respiratory disorders and multiple myelomas have also been reported in people who have exposure to products manufactured with BBP.19 An increasing waistline from BBP exposure may also reduce your fertility.
Low Sperm Count and Infertility Affecting Animals and Humans
A 26-year study of fertility in dogs, published recently, has distinct similarities to infertility rates in humans. In this study, researchers evaluated the ejaculate of nearly 2,000 dogs. Over the 26 year period, they found a drop in sperm motility of 2.4 percent per year.20
Additionally, both the semen and the testicles of castrated dogs contained by PCBs and phthalates, implicated in other studies to reduction in fertility. Phthalates have been implicated in both decreased sperm motility and quality of your sperm,21 affecting both fertility and the health of your children.22
Researchers used dogs in this study as they live in the same environment as their owners, and often eat some of the same food. This correlation between sperm function and concentration, and environment and food in dogs and humans is significant.
In those 26 years there was also a rise in cryptorchidism in male pups (a condition where the testicles don't descend into the scrotum) born to stud dogs who experienced a decline in sperm quality and motility.23 Cryptorchidism and undescended testicles, occurs at a rate of 1 in 20 term male human infants and 1 in 3 pre-term babies.24
Problems with infertility are also affecting marine animals at the top of the food chain. In the western waters of the Atlantic, the last pod of Orcas are doomed to extinction. High levels of PCB have been found in the fat of over 1,000 dolphins and Orcas in the past 20 years. Now taking a toll on the animal's fertility, this pod of Orcas has not reproduced in the 19 years it has been under study.25
Orcas were living in the North Sea until the 1960s. At that time PCB pollution peaked in the area and the Orca whales disappeared. The same happened in the Mediterranean Sea, where the whales flourished until the 1980s. This pod off the coast of the U.K. is the last living pod in that area.
Monsanto's Argument in PCB Lawsuits
Although Monsanto denies culpability and knowledge of the danger behind the chemical PCB, you'll discover internal documentation in this video that they did, in fact, know of the danger while manufacturing and distributing the product. Monsanto is currently embroiled in several lawsuits across eight cities and the argument is over who owns the rain. The cities are suing Monsanto in Federal Court, saying PCBs manufactured by Monsanto have polluted the San Francisco Bay.26
Monsanto attorney Robert Howard argues that because the city does not own the water rights, the city does not have the right to sue. And, because the PCBs have not damaged city property, such as corroding pipes, Howard claims it is a state problem. Scott Fiske, attorney for three cities, countered with the city's regulatory interests in management of storm water as a fundamental function of the city.27
While Fiske claims he can prove Monsanto knew the product was hazardous as early as 1969, Howard maintains the company should not be liable for the use of the chemicals it produced.
In 2001, Monsanto attorneys in the Owens v. Monsanto case, acknowledged only one health threat from exposure to PCBs: chloracne, and instead argued that since the entire planet has been contaminated, they are innocent of all liability.28 The attorney for Monsanto was quoted in the Chemical Industry Archives, saying:
"The truth is that PCBs are everywhere. They are in meat, they are in everyone in the courtroom, they are everywhere and they have been for a long time, along with a host of other substances." 29
The cities currently engaged in lawsuits against Monsanto for damage to the environment and waterways include Berkley, Oakland, San Jose, Portland, Spokane, Seattle, Long Beach and San Diego. All eight cities attempted to combine their cases against the agrochemical giant but were unsuccessful when one judge found the issues were different enough to warrant separate cases.30
Monsanto's Deep Pockets
Monsanto petitioned the Federal Court to dismiss Portland's lawsuit, claiming it would countersue, adding years to the process. It is likely Monsanto would increase the scope of the case and include companies who used the product and released the PCBs.31Meanwhile, three plaintiffs in St. Louis received better news in May 2016 when a jury awarded them a total of $46.5 million, finding Monsanto negligent in the production of PCBs.32
This suit claimed Monsanto sold PCBs even after it learned about the dangers, bringing to court internal documents dated 1955, which stated: "We know Aroclors [PCBs] are toxic but the actual limit has not been precisely defined."33 To date this win over Monsanto has been rare. Williams Kherkher, attorney for the plaintiffs, explained in EcoWatch:34
"The only reason why this victory is rare is because no one has had the money to fight Monsanto."
Kherkher and other firms pooled their resources in this case and expect wins in upcoming lawsuits. The firm has accumulated the names of approximately 1,000 plaintiffs with claims against Monsanto and PCBs.
SAD NEWS: House Passes DARK Act Compromise
The House passed a compromise to the DARK Act that will force food distributors to disclose the presence of genetically engineered (GE) ingredients with a smartphone scan code. President Obama has signed the bill that removes states’ rights for labeling GMOs. The bill is full of loopholes, which may allow genetically modified ingredients to slip through unannounced.
Genetically modified organisms (GMOs), aka GE foods, are live organisms whose genetic components have been artificially manipulated in a laboratory setting through creating unstable combinations of plant, animal, bacteria and even viral genes that do not occur in nature or through traditional crossbreeding methods.
GMO proponents claim that genetic engineering is “safe and beneficial,” and that it advances the agricultural industry. They also say that GMOs help ensure the global food supply and sustainability. But is there any truth to these claims? I believe not. For years, I’ve stated the belief that GMOs pose one of the greatest threats to life on the planet. Genetic engineering is NOT the safe and beneficial technology that it is touted to be.
The FDA cleared the way for GE Atlantic salmon to be farmed for human consumption. Thanks to added language in the federal spending bill, the product will require special labeling so at least consumers will have the ability to identify the GE salmon in stores. However, it's imperative ALL GE foods be labeled clearly without a smartphone scan code because not everyone owns a smartphone.
The FDA is threatening the existence of our food supply. We have to start taking action now. I urge you to share this article with friends and family. If we act together, we can make a difference and put an end to the absurdity.
Boycott Smart Labels Today
When you see the QR code or so-called Smart Label on a food product, pass it by. Products bearing the Grocery Manufacturer’s Association’s (GMA) Smart Label mark are in all likelihood filled with pesticides and/or GMO ingredients.
The GMA’s 300-plus members include chemical technology companies, GE seed and food and beverage companies. Monsanto, Dow and Coca-Cola are just some of the heavy-hitters in this powerful industry group, which has showed no qualms about doing whatever it takes to protect the interest of its members.
Don’t waste your time searching through their website, which may or may not contain the information you’re looking for. If they insist on wasting your time and making your shopping difficult, why reward them with a purchase?
A little known fact is that the GMA actually owns the "Smart Label" trademark that Congress has accepted as a so-called “compromise” to on-package GMO labeling, and that’s another reason why I believe the Smart Label mark is the mark of those with something to hide, such as Monsanto.
Will you financially support a corrupt, toxic and unsustainable food system, or a healthy, regenerative one? There are many options available besides big-brand processed foods that are part of the “GMA’s verified ring of deception.” You can:
Shop at local farms and farmers markets
Only buy products marked either “USDA 100 percent Organic” (which by law cannot contain GMOs), “100 percent Grass-Fed,” or “Non-GMO Verified”
If you have a smartphone and you don’t mind using it, download the OCA’s Buycott app to quickly and easily identify the thousands of proprietary brands belonging to GMA members, so you can avoid them, as well as identify the names of ethical brands that deserve your patronage
Last but not least, encourage good companies to reject QR codes and to be transparent and clear with their labeling. This will eventually ensure that all GMO foods can easily be identified by the GMA’s “verified ring of deception” mark that is the Smart Label.
Campbell’s, Mars, Kellogg’s, ConAgra and General Mills all vowed to voluntarily comply with Vermont's GMO labeling law by labeling all of their foods sold across the U.S. Will their plans change now that the law has been passed by Congress and signed by the President? That remains to be seen, but if you like these companies, I would encourage you to reach out to them and ask them to remain steadfast in their promise.
Non-GMO Food Resources by Country
If you are searching for non-GMO foods, here is a list of trusted sites you can visit.
Snuck Into Your Food, but It Should Be Banned as Found Linked to Cancer Once you eat food containing this, it ends up in your gut where it can decimate your beneficial bacteria and wreak havoc on your health. Research has also linked it to reproductive problems and endocrine disruption, and according to a new study, 93 percent of Americans have detectable levels of this chemical in their urine.
Story at-a-glance
Monsanto’s products include saccharin, aspartame, Agent Orange, PCBs, DDT, Roundup (the active ingredient of which is glyphosate) and herbicide-resistant genetically engineered seeds
Since 1974, 1.8 million tons of glyphosate have been applied to US fields; two-thirds of that volume has been sprayed in the last 10 years; 9.4 million tons of glyphosate was used worldwide
Tests show 93 percent of Americans have detectable levels of glyphosate in their urine, at an average level of 3.096 parts per billion (ppb)
By Dr. Mercola
In the featured video, journalist Abby Martin discusses Monsanto's rise to power and how the company has managed to saturate the global environment with its toxic chemicals, largely through immoral means.
In May, the University of San Francisco revealed the results from a testing project that began in 2015. The tests, commissioned by the Organic Consumers Association (OCA), found that 93 percent of Americans have detectable levels of the chemical glyphosate in their urine.1
Glyphosate is the most widely used agricultural chemical in the world, and it's an active ingredient in Monsanto's broad-spectrum herbicide Roundup. As noted by the Detox Project:2
"Glyphosate, labeled a 'probable human carcinogen' by the World Health Organization's cancer agency IARC in 2015, has now been revealed to be ubiquitous in the first ever comprehensive and validated LC/MS/MS testing project to be carried out across America...
Glyphosate was found ... at an average level of 3.096 parts per billion (ppb). Children had the highest levels with an average of 3.586 ppb. The regions with the highest levels were the West and the Midwest with an average of 3.053 ppb and 3.050 ppb respectively."
Glyphosate Contamination Is 'Everywhere'
Glyphosate has been found in a wide array of samples, including blood, urine, breast milk, drinking water and more. Results from a German study3 published in 2012 showed that even people who have no direct contact with agriculture have significant concentrations of glyphosate in their urine.
In fact, every single urine sample collected from city dwellers around Berlin tested positive for glyphosate, with values ranging from 0.5 to 2 nanograms per milliliter (ng/ml), which is between five and 20 times the permissible upper limit for glyphosate in German drinking water, set at 0.1 ng/ml.
Why do most people have traces of this probable carcinogen in their bodies, regardless of where they live?
The answer is because glyphosate is sprayed on virtually all food crops around the world. In fact, glyphosate is the most heavily used weed killer in history. Roundup is the most commonly used formulation but glyphosate can also be found in other pesticide formulas.4
Since 1974, 1.8 million tons of glyphosate have been applied to US fields; two-thirds of that volume has been sprayed in the last 10 years.5
In 2014 alone, farmers sprayed enough glyphosate to apply 0.8 pounds of the chemical to every acre of cultivated cropland in the US Between 1974 and 2014, 9.4 million tons of glyphosate was used worldwide.
Glyphosate Threatens Ecological, Animal and Human Health
As noted by The Center for Biological Diversity, the heavy use of glyphosate — particularly on genetically engineered (GE) Roundup Ready crops, which are also developed by Monsanto — has been implicated in the dramatic decline in Monarch butterflies.
Evidence6,7 has also linked glyphosate to Bee Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) and honeybee starvation,8 along with toxicity to soil, woodland plants, amphibians, fish, aquatic environments and mammals,9 causing reproductive problems and endocrine disruption.
According to other recent research, glyphosate may also promote antibiotic resistance by disrupting gut bacteria and dysregulating manganese utilization (manganese accumulation in bile acids allows Salmonella to gain a stronghold there).
Monsanto, a 'Sinister Threat to the Planet's Ecosystem'
Considering the many concerns raised by scientists about the toxic nature of glyphosate and formulations containing glyphosate (which typically turn out to be even more toxic than glyphosate in isolation), you'd think the US government, if not Monsanto itself, would take action to protect human health.
Instead, they've done the converse. In fact, it could easily be said that without the support by government officials and regulators, Monsanto would never have been able to achieve its current power status.
As noted by Martin:
"Monsanto has already proven it cannot be trusted to care about anything but money, especially when lives are at stake.
A quick look at the corporation's scandalous history reveals it is a sinister threat to the planet's ecosystem, economies around the world, as well as the livelihoods and very lives of millions of people."
The company's history goes all the way back to 1901, when John Francis Queeny founded Monsanto Chemical Works in St. Luis, Missouri. His father-in-law, a sugar merchant named Emmanuel Mendes de Monsanto provided funding.
"During the sugar shortage in World War I, the Monsanto Company convinced America the solution was buying its fake sweetener, saccharin," Martin says. The company was also enlisted to help with American bomb making.
"From its inception, the corporation employed the shadiest of tactics to avert laws that infringed on profits," Martin says. To circumvent the regulations and high taxes in St. Luis, Monsanto moved its business four miles south, establishing its own town, Monsanto, Illinois.
Not surprisingly, regulations were lax in the town of Monsanto, and corporate taxes were low. As a result, the town attracted a number of other factories. According to Martin, "the town's head even admitted to The Wall Street Journal that it was created to be a sewer. Today, it's a toxic wasteland."
A History of Concealment
Monsanto became a leading producer of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), producing nearly all PCBs sold in the US, an estimated 1.25 billion pounds. As noted by Martin, the toxicity of PCBs were known, and concealed, by Monsanto executives.
Today, lingering PCB pollution has led to at least 700 lawsuits on behalf of people who claim their exposure to PCBs caused non-Hodgkin lymphoma.10
In 2002, Monsanto was found guilty of decades of "outrageous acts of pollution" in the town of Anniston, Alabama, where it dumped PCBs into the local river and secretly buried the toxic chemical in a landfill.11
The charge of "outrageous" in Alabama law requires the act to be "so outrageous in character and extreme in degree as to go beyond all possible bounds of decency so as to be regarded as atrocious and utterly intolerable in civilized society."
Indeed, internal documents revealed Monsanto had full knowledge of the severity of the pollution problem it caused for at least three decades, and decided to cover it up. As reported by The Washington Post at the time:12
"In 1966 ... Monsanto managers discovered that fish dunked in a local creek turned belly-up within 10 seconds, spurting blood and shedding skin as if dropped into boiling water. In 1969, they found a fish in another creek with 7,500 times the legal PCB level. But they never told their neighbors, and concluded that 'there is little object in going to expensive extremes in limiting discharges' ...
[D]ocuments – many featuring warnings such as "CONFIDENTIAL: Read and Destroy" – suggested a company-wide preoccupation with maintaining its $22-million-a-year PCB monopoly regardless of health or environmental risks. 'We can't afford to lose one dollar of business,' one internal memo declared.
A committee the company formed to address controversies about PCBs had only two formal objectives: 'Permit continued sales and profits' and 'protect image of ... the corporation.'"
US Government Shields Monsanto From PCB Fallout
Seattle recently filed a lawsuit against Monsanto for PCB pollution. They want Monsanto to pay to help clean up pollution it caused in the Duwamish River and also wants to hold the company responsible for making the river's fish too contaminated to eat.13
San Diego has also sued Monsanto for polluting the Coronado Bay with PCBs,14 while San Jose, Oakland, Berkeley, California and Spokane, Washington have filed lawsuits against Monsanto for continuing to produce and promote PCBs despite knowing their hazards.15
However, it remains to be seen whether these lawsuits will ever move forward. Congress is in the process of updating the Toxic Substances Control Act and the House of Representatives has conveniently slipped in a clause that many are calling a "gift" to Monsanto, as the paragraph shields the company from legal liability related to PCBs.
Monsanto's War Contributions: Atomic Bomb, DDT and Agent Orange
Most people are unaware that in 1943, Monsanto joined the US war machine. Monsanto head Charles Allen Thomas received an invitation from the Pentagon, asking him to join the Manhattan Project. Monsanto's laboratories subsequently produced polonium for the atomic bomb, which ended up being dropped on Hiroshima, Japan.
According to Martin, Monsanto was also responsible for irradiating American citizens on US soil, supplying radioactive iron for human experiments. Between 1945 and 1947, Vanderbilt University researchers fed radioactive iron to nearly 900 pregnant women to test the effects of radiation on the human body and fetus.
Monsanto also produced one of the world's first pesticides, dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, better known as DDT. Advertised not only as harmless but actually good for human health, DDT was widely used without any safety precautions whatsoever to kill off disease-carrying mosquitoes.
For three decades, marketing campaigns assured DDT's safety and benefits, despite the growing number of scientific investigations suggestion otherwise. Today the toxicity of DDT is well-recognized, but it was public pressure that forced the US government to finally ban the chemical in 1972.
Monsanto's contributions to the US war machine continued during the Vietnam War, when the company became a leading producer of Agent Orange, a defoliant that had severe health consequences for those exposed to it, thanks to the presence of dioxin. According to Martin, Monsanto and the US government were aware of the toxic nature of dioxin, but hid it from the public.
Still to this day, Vietnamese people, American veterans and chemical plant workers suffer the consequences of exposure. In the town of Nitro, where Monsanto dumped dioxin for years without informing the residents, people also suffer elevated rates of cancer and other health problems. Byproducts from the manufacture of Agent Orange were also dumped into New Jersey's Passaic River for decades, turning it into one of the most contaminated waterways in the US.
Monsanto Tries to Rebrand Itselfbe labeled clearly without a smartphone scan code because not everyone owns a smartphone.
The FDA is threatening the existence of our food supply. We have to start taking action now. I urge you to share this article with friends and family. If we act together, we can make a difference and put an end to the absurdity.
Boycott Smart Labels Today
When you see the QR code or so-called Smart Label on a food product, pass it by. Products bearing the Grocery Manufacturer’s Association’s (GMA) Smart Label mark are in all likelihood filled with pesticides and/or GMO ingredients.
The GMA’s 300-plus members include chemical technology companies, GE seed and food and beverage companies. Monsanto, Dow and Coca-Cola are just some of the heavy-hitters in this powerful industry group, which has showed no qualms about doing whatever it takes to protect the interest of its members.
Don’t waste your time searching through their website, which may or may not contain the information you’re looking for. If they insist on wasting your time and making your shopping difficult, why reward them with a purchase? A little known fact is that the GMA actually owns the "Smart Label" trademark that Congress has accepted as a so-called “compromise” to on-package GMO labeling, and that’s another reason why I believe the Smart Label mark is the mark of those with something to hide such as Monsanto.
Will you financially support a corrupt, toxic and unsustainable food system, or a healthy, regenerative one? There are many options available besides big-brand processed foods that are part of the “GMA’s verified ring of deception.” You can:
Shop at local farms and farmers markets
Only buy products marked either “USDA 100 percent Organic” (which by law cannot contain GMOs), “100 percent Grass-Fed,” or “Non-GMO Verified”
If you have a smartphone and you don’t mind using it, download the OCA’s Buycott app to quickly and easily identify the thousands of proprietary brands belonging to GMA members, so you can avoid them, as well as identify the names of ethical brands that deserve your patronage
Last but not least, encourage good companies to reject QR codes and to be transparent and clear with their labeling. This will eventually ensure that all GMO foods can easily be identified by the GMA’s “verified ring of deception” mark that is the Smart Label.
Campbell’s, Mars, Kellogg’s, ConAgra and General Mills all vowed to voluntarily comply with Vermont's GMO labeling law by labeling all of their foods sold across the U.S. Will their plans change if the current “compromise” gets passed by the Senate? That remains to be seen, but if you like these companies, I would encourage you to reach out to them and ask them to remain steadfast in their promise.
Non-GMO Food Resources by Country
If you are searching for non-GMO foods, here is a list of trusted sites you can visit.
