Renewable Farming

Would anyone at Iowa State have the facts and fortitude to write this editorial?

“This Editorial” we’re referring to is not our own. It was written by Dr. Jim Roach, associate professor in the University of Kentucky College of Medicine. He is state chair of the Kentucky Lung Cancer research board. His editorial, “Genetically modified foods are a health scourge”, was published Sept. 25 in the Lexington, KY, Herald-Leader. You can view a reprint of the article as a PDF at this link.

Dr. Roach discusses the double impact of transgenic proteins in foods, coupled with residues of herbicides such as glyphosate, main ingredient in Roundup. Here’s part of his reasoning:

Dr. Jim Roach

“Already 70 percent to 80 percent of us are deficient in magnesium, and half in zinc, due to processed foods. Hugely, glyphosate kills bacteria both in the soil and intestinal tract. As soil bacteria free up critical minerals, GM foods have only one-fifth of the magnesium and zinc of regular food, meaning GM processed foods have only a tiny fraction. 

“Together, these deficiencies are major contributors to hormone imbalance, infection, autoimmune disorders, all mental disorders, diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease and dementia. Glyphosate is essentially a low-grade antibiotic, killing off most intestinal bacteria, especially lactobacilli. These bacteria are essential for the integrity of the intestinal lining, whose injury floods the bloodstream with toxins, especially the brain, breasts and nerves. 

“Every child I treat with brain disorders, such as autism or ADHD, has severe food sensitivities triggered by intestinal injury. Resulting inflammation and toxin overload with genetically impaired detoxification is fundamental in the pathology of these disorders. 

“New research worsens these concerns: GM soy has been found to boost carcinogen formaldehyde, and dramatically reduce the primary detoxifier glutathione. Combined with common genetic mutations, toxin elimination is massively impaired.”

Dr. Roach’s observations are also observed by other physicians, notably Dr. Arden Andersen, who holds advanced medical degrees in public health and practices “remedial” nutrition against chronic diseases at his clinic in Overland Park, Kansas.

Incidentally, our headline is not original: It came from a farmer friend of ours in northwest Iowa, who alerted us to Dr. Roach’s editorial. Our friend says, “I wish we had someone at Iowa State who had the vision and intestinal fortitude to write an article like this.”