MONSANTO AND DIOXIN PRODUCTION

 Monsanto has also produced dioxins as a by product via manufacturing plastics which are some of the most toxic substances known to mankind. Dioxins are fat soluble and may build up in the food chain. Recently in 2011 dioxins entered the food chain when 14 million tons of liquid egg was contaminated with industrial waste dioxin. This liquid egg was then used to make numerous cakes for supermarkets in England and Wales. Despite knowing of the problem the cake distributors did nothing to remove the products for several weeks by which time an unknown number had been purchased and consumed. Morrisons and Tescos had the dioxin egg in its cakes. The dioxin came when biofuel was mixed accidentally with animal feed in Germany. Thousands of tonnes of liquid egg were contaminated and then dispersed through the food chain in the U.K. Clearly the food retailers were putting their profits above consumer safety here. The supermarkets breezily issued a statement saying that there was no health risks involved. The amount of dioxin adulterant found was 77 times the maximum safe dose. Dioxins are dangerous carcinogens and have no place whatsoever in food for human consumption (BBC News 2011). The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a statement saying that it did not have a definitive list of the supermarkets that had purchased the contaminated cakes, but Tescos and Morrisons were two that were known to them. This type of vague information does not inspire consumer confidence. Really, it is hardly surprising that many consumers are so concerned about the safety of their food that they are increasingly turning towards organic food that is hopefully of a purer quality. Dioxin contamination of food is not as rare as one might wish for. In 1999 dioxins were found in poultry and eggs in Belgium. Again the source of contamination was waste industrial oil containing PCB which was fed to the poultry. One has to critically question how such potentially dangerous alleged “mistakes” keep occurring. It seems barely credible that an operative could mistake toxic waste for animal feed. It is fortunate that such problems are picked up from time to time. These incidents make one question the safety of food. It is hard to comprehend why farmers would feel that clay should constitute a nutritious constituent of animal feed. No wonder so many consumers are demanding unadulterated or organic foodstuff. One cannot help but wonder how often such errors escape detection and what other strange adulterants are making their way into our food and drink.

In 1997 in America poultry and eggs were found to contain dioxins. Once again the dioxin was found to be in the animal feed. The feed was manufactured using clay as an ingredient. The clay was found to contain dioxin presumably from natural volcanic sources. Even if the dioxin was from a prehistoric eruption, one has to question why the manufacturers thought that clay should be a constituent of animal feed. One of the first visible symptoms of dioxin poisoning is a skin condition known as chloracne, which leaves the sufferer with boils and scarring. In September 2004 the Ukranian Presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko was poisoned at a dinner party with dioxin. Shortly after eating he felt very ill. Hospital tests found intestinal lesions but the cause was still unknown. Later he developed cutaneous lesions and hard facial lumps known as chloracne. He was diagnosed as having extremely high level of dioxins in his bloodstream and subcutaneous fat. He still went on to win the Presidential election despite the assassination attempt (Stirling 2005). The dioxins will remain in his body fat for years to come and he certainly has had a lucky escape.  In 1976 a huge explosion in Seveso in Northern Italy released a plume of dioxin into the atmosphere. Many animals died but there were no human fatalities (Mocarelli et al 1999).

Another scandal that has contaminated the food chain was the scandal of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), popularly known as “mad cows disease”. This frightening illness emerged when 400,000 infected cattle entered the food chain during the 1980`s. The U.K. was the worst affected country in Europe and millions of cattle were eventually slaughtered. The disease is caused by a prion that homes in on the brain and nervous system, slowly destroying it. The incubation may take as long as ten years after the initial consumption of tainted beef products. The problem originated when cattle that are herbivores, were fed animal bone meal feed contaminated with scrapie, a prion disease from sheep brains (Collee 1990). So far there have been nearly two hundred deaths with many more expected because of the long incubation period of several years. It seems that the consumer has a lot to be wary of.