ACTION ALERT! Say NO to FrankenApples!
Oh boy friends, do I have a bone to pick with you. Or actually, I have an apple to pick with you. A genetically modified, frankenfied apple to pick with you.
Pretty soon, you’ll be eating apples that — can you guess it — never brown!
Never brown? Yup, that’s right folks, never browns.
Jesus, what is wrong with a freaking apple browning? Is there something that offends them about browning? Are people tired of apples browning?
Hellloooo, get over it! Nature made it that way for a reason! If you don’t like the browning, don’t eat an apple!
Speaking of browning, why do apples brown anyway? Well according to Scientific American, this is why:
When an apple is cut (or bruised), oxygen is introduced into the injured plant tissue. When oxygen is present in cells, polyphenol oxidase (PPO) enzymes in the chloroplasts rapidly oxidize phenolic compounds naturally present in the apple tissues to o-quinones, colorless precursors to brown-colored secondary products. O-quinones then produce the well documented brown color by reacting to form compounds with amino acids or proteins, or they self-assemble to make polymers. (source)
The browning of the apple basically serves as nature’s way of saying, “WARNING. THIS APPLE IS NOT FRESH.”
I guess people don’t want to know whether or not their apples are fresh. Kinda weird and unnecessary, if you ask me, but hey, what do I know, I’m just a blogger!
Doesn’t the Biotech have bigger, more important things to do like, you know, “solve” world hunger?
*Shakes head*
The problem with this whole apple-no-browning thing is the particular science they use behind it. According to the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund, the “masterminds” behind this operation are using a new, worrisome technique — RNA interference.
…This method uses genes from the same species in order to trigger a “silencing” mechanism that stops a certain protein from being produced.But the technology doesn’t just silence the genes that are intended. There is mounting evidence that the RNAi technology can have effects on other genes as well, preventing the production of proteins of many types. A 2012 Cell Research study indicated that ingesting RNA material from certain plant-based foods can have unexpected effects in mammals.(source)
I’m sure you already know this but these apples have indeed NOT gone through ANY safety trials. They are just assumed as safe and that’s all that matters. …Uh huh… right…
These FrankenApples are mainly for the fresh sliced apple industry (think McDonalds and all those cute, pre-cut packages of apples) but there is a seriously high chance of them being mixed into juices, baby food, applesauce…
…Contamination is not an avoidable situation. This year there have already been TWO instances of contamination and crops being where they shouldn’t be (you can read about it here and here). And that is just the documented cases.
GMO’s are ruthless, unpredictable, uncontainable and not safe (please show me the valid, independent studies validating their safety and then we can talk). FrankenApples are in no way beneficial to anyone but the creators of the product and have no place in our world!
TAKE ACTION — Say NO to FrankenApples!
If you want to stand up and have your voice heard you can do so by leaving a comment on the USDA’s site.
The deadline for comments is midnight on Monday, December 16, 2013. (Note: the original deadline was December 9, but USDA has extended it due to technical difficulties with the website).
Give them a piece of your mind by clicking HERE.
Food-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund has some great tips for submitting comments:
- We recommend that you write your comment ahead of time and save it on your computer — there is a time limit when using the Federal Register System, and you may get timed out if you write your comment from scratch.
- If your comment is less than one page, you can copy and paste it into the comment box. If it is longer, you can instead write “see attached” and UPLOAD a separate document, such as a Word or PDF file, with your comments.
- Be sure to click “submit comment” at the end of the process. You should be taken to a new screen with a confirmation number – if you don’t see one, then your comment has not been submitted to the USDA.
To read some great comment suggestions, click HERE
Here in the Okanagan in BC, Canada, they voted AGAINST introducing this to their orchards, Thank God. People are becoming more aware of the GMO issue here. We do need to protect our food, and not listen to Monsanto and others that are pushing this kind of stuff on to us.