Webinar Summary & Resources

Imagine where we might go together. Imagine what the world could become if we took the human ingenuity that’s gone into the genetic modification of organisms around the world, and instead we took that human ingenuity to actually ignite life itself.

– Dr. Zach Bush

How + Why GMO’s Got Started

At its inception, Monsanto cloned a gene from a form of agrobacterium that was found growing at a Roundup factory. Researchers found that this particular bug’s amino acid production was not affected by glyphosate and was still able to maintain protein production when exposed to the strong chemicals. A protein from this bacteria was inserted into corn that did not previously exist inside the plant. Their goal was to enable the corn to also survive extreme antibiotic use. In 1996, the U.S. approved the first genetically modified corn, setting a precedent for a “new way of farming”.

(16:14) There are 22 amino acids that exist for all proteins. Within these are a subset of 9 essential amino acids that cannot be made by human cells. Humans rely on natural environmental systems and food to produce these essential amino acids. Some of these necessary building blocks are found via the shikimate pathway, which is present in bacteria, fungi and common plants.

Glyphosate inhibits plant growth by blocking an enzyme known as EPSP synthase within the shikimate pathway. EPSP synthase is involved in the production of multiple essential amino acids and other molecules that account for upto 35% of the plant’s mass.

The genetic modification technique that is used, for instance, in the “Roundup Ready” crops typically involves inserting genes into a crop’s genome to boost EPSP synthase production so the plant can survive the chemical spraying. The ‘gain of function’ gene inserted is derived from bacteria, and it is not naturally occurring in the multicellular plants, animals or humans that it is inserted into. (20:18) Because of this bacterium’s tendency to over-express a single protein, it is highly adept at creating tumors in over 140 species of different plants.

(23:51) The agrobacterium used for this genetic modification process only has to abut a plant cell to transfer the genetic information. In a natural environment, the transfer of new genetic material into DNA is a highly regulated, specific process within an organism. However, this artificial transfer is not specific or targeted. The transferring mechanism can then create “slippery genes” because it can insert into any neighboring multicellular organism, not just the intended organism. These nonspecific transfers overcome the receiving organism’s regulatory processes and therefore can become a part of the DNA. (25:49) This genetic modification process also uses the cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMv 35s), which is one of the most highly penetrating viruses for food crops out there. This virus is a gene promoter that “flags” the organism into making a lot of protein from the inserted DNA trait.

(28:06) The newer version of genetic engineering uses CRISPR-Cas9 technology. CRISPR is an enzyme insertion technology that differs from the earlier transfer using bacteria. With this process, we can now directly inject a strand of mRNA into a system and get the Cas9 enzyme to amplify the whole process. It then turns these cells into genetic manufacturing devices in a more direct way than the older process, and it accelerates gene engineering.

The CRISPR process bypasses the innate biologic regulatory systems with synthetic RNA so that the process happens much faster. Ironically, when Cas9 is naturally occurring, it is one of the primary mechanisms that keep organisms from viral infection and acts as part of the innate immune system. With this technological modification process, it instead manipulates genetic information and inserts it directly into the genome, bypassing all natural regulatory processes; and the new genetic trait can be passed down to the next generation.

(1:05:57) The EPA keeps two separate pathways for the approval of these inputs: one process for approving the GMO’s themselves and an entirely separate process for approving the chemicals sprayed on those GMO’s. This fractured process means the regulatory bodies never have to evaluate long-term and far-reaching effects.

(1:08:21) Dr. Zach Bush also shows us an example of how the EPA can continue the use and distribution of these chemicals despite judicial intervention.

(1:11:00) The active ingredient in Liberty Link is glufosinate which inhibits the production of glutamine, one of the most critical nutrients in the human body for both immunity and reproduction. Plants die within 4 days of this herbicidal application. Combined with the widespread use of glyphosate, we have now eliminated 4 of the 22 essential amino acids necessary to build a human body. Glyphosate and glufosinate also work synergistically to dismantle the human gut lining and create infertility.

(1:16:43) Dr. Zach Bush gives us a tour of some of the marketing used by these chemical companies showing how Bayer, for instance, is able to keep their products on the market despite millions of dollars of payouts and litigation. They value their monetary profits and stakeholder relationships more than anything else.

(1:19:57) The latest “Roundup Ready” soybeans tolerate the use of glyphosate, dicamba and glufosinate, so we can now poison a single crop with all three of these deadly compounds. These soybeans are already approved and in use in the U.S. Cotton is also a highly chemically treated crop, and genetically modified cotton makes its way into our clothes and feminine products with the residue of these chemicals.

(1:23:13) This system of industrially dirven agriculture and products means there are more and more chemicals sprayed on fewer and fewer crops each year; and it means that farmers are always having to buy new seed and new inputs. The family highlighted in the Farmer’s Footprint documentary almost doubled the amount of bushels per acre within 18 months of ceasing the chemical spraying and GMO seeds. This increased their productivity and also their bottomline, which enabled them to expand. The solutions are not only at hand, but they lead to better outcomes immediately. If we continue to allow third parties, banks, regulatory systems and chemical companies to control the economics of our food, there will never be an end to the slippery slope that we are on. Take the time to meet farmers and get to know the people who grow your food. Connect them with opportunities that can support them into growing into a regenerative food system.

Let’s put the consumer back in touch with the farmer, and we will see an intelligent design come out of the food industry.

– Dr. Zach Bush

The Myths of GMO Corn

(1:28:53) There are approximately 90 million acres of corn grown in the U.S. grown each year. And, in the last decade since the introduction of GMO crops, the yields have actually plateaued for the first time since 1926.

“There is no evidence that genetically engineered crops actually changed the trajectory of yield improvements in this country.”

– Dr. Zach Bush

(1:32:08) Is this corn feeding the world? No. Only 10-15% of the corn grown in the U.S. is exported. The vast majority of this corn goes into feeding animals in the industrial agriculture system (including fish). Most of the increase in demand for corn since 1980 is entirely for ethanol, which is used as a fuel additive that is actually highly corrosive to engines. If we understand the process by which GMO corn is grown, it is greenwashing to say that ethanol is a better alternative for the environment than fossil fuel. The demand for ethanol is manufactured so that chemical companies can push more of their products onto farmers.

(1:34:45) Not only are we not feeding the world, but we aren’t even feeding ourselves. Kansas is 95% agricultural use by acre, yet Kansas imports 95% of its food. This is because they aren’t growing real food; they are growing GMO corn for ethanol. In Kansas, 1 in 5 children struggles with hunger. The amount of poverty that this agriculture system creates in our farm states has become so extreme that we are literally starving.

(1:36:56) Dr. Zach Bush proposes that farm waste, not corn, is a more efficient and regenerative biofuel source. The 2016 Billion-Ton Report determined that the U.S. currently produces 400 billion pounds of biomass waste annually. This waste is not being efficiently used, with only 30% of that used for compost or other energy recycling programs. This leaves 260 billion pounds of carbon biomass available for other biofuel production.

The Damaging Health, Environmental + Economic Effects of Herbicides

(1:39:33) The use of glyphosate and other industrial agricultural chemicals has fundamentally changed the cancer map in the U.S.. We have 80-85% of the glyphosate sprayed in the U.S. collecting into the Mississippi River tributaries, which terminate in the Mississippi delta region. Before 2006, this area was never the epicenter of cancer; but it is now where we see the highest rates of cancer throughout the whole world. This is where

(1:43:11) In Indiana, 60% of the rivers and 80% of the lakes are unsafe for drinking or recreational use. Not only can shifting our agriculture benefit the health of humans and the environment, but it also can have a positive economic impact. The Governor of Pennsylvania recently put aside a small amount of budget for converting farmers to regenerative models. Within one year, they became the #2 largest producer of organic foods in the country.

(1:45:41) Because many herbicides used in chemical farming are water-soluble, these toxins quickly and easily contaminate an entire water system. An environmental study published in 2007 on the Mississippi River delta area found that glyphosate was detected in 77% of air samples and greater than or equal to 86% of rain samples. (1:46:57) The EPA’s reaction to these damages is to avoid all responsibility and liability as they continue to approve these products for widespread use.

(1:50:40) Trace levels of glyphosate in the gut undermine and destroy the microbiota and lining inside the gut. The result is in an immediate impact of neurochemical disruption such as mood disorders, sleep disorders, inflammation and sexual drive collapse. Even if there is a singular exposure event to these toxins and no subsequent exposure, there is still a generational impact as each generation accrues more and more metabolic injury. Dr. Zach Bush shows the alarming rates of disease such as dementia, depression, diabetes, cancer, obesity and autism and how their spiking prevalence correlates to our use of chemical agriculture exposure. Now, all of us by age 28 are showing some signs of neurodegeneration and memory loss. If we keep going at this rate, we are headed for 1 in every 3 children with autism by 2035.

(1:54:26) Within a single generation, we have doubled the rates of cancer in men. Cancer is an entirely environmental disease, and we doubled the toxicity of that environment from 1990-2015. Dr. Zach Bush points out a study done with triplets in which two of the children had autism spectrum disorder and the other had a seizure disorder. The difference between these children was not their genetics but instead a strain of clostridium that is resistant to different chemicals in our environment. (1:57:00) This study clearly demonstrates the relationship between glyphosate as a causal agent in autism.

(1:58:04) Microbial dysbiosis underpins the breast cancer phenomena in the U.S. As we dump these herbicides into our food, we change the microbial distribution in the body. This not only happens in the gut of autistic children, but it also happens in the breast microbiome. Every single organ system in the body, including the brain, has its own microbiome. In a healthy state, these environments express biodiversity. In an unhealthy state, such as that caused by the antibiotics found in agricultural chemicals, our microbiomes become homogenous and cause disease.

(1:59:03) Dr. Zach Bush takes us through several graphs that demonstrate the precise correlation between glyphosate usage and many different types of cancer incidence including: myeloid leukemia, bladder cancer, thyroid cancer and liver cancer. (2:01:35) Statistics showing death from senile dementia also perfectly overlap with the increased use of glyphosate.