(NaturalNews) In a shocking warning letter to USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack, a highly experienced, ex-military pathogen researcher warns that the use of Roundup via GMO crops is resulting in the emergence of a deadly new pathogen -- previously unknown to science -- that's causing widespread spontaneous abortions among cattle. The pathogen appears in high concentrations among even non-GMO crops that are "managed" through the use of glyphosate (Roundup) for weed control.

 

The letter is authored by COL (Retired) Don M. Huber, a former Emeritus Professor at Purdue University. Huber was also the coordinator at the American Phytopathological Society, an organization that studies plant diseases and pathogens. Huber also sat on the committee for Emerging Diseases and Pathogens, chaired by an Agriculture Research Service (USDA) employee from Fort Detrick, Maryland.

 

Fort Detrick, you may remember, is also where the U.S. military conducts much of its biological warfare research through its United States Army Biological Warfare Laboratories (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._A...). A few years ago, deadly pathogens "went missing" from this lab (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dy...).

 

Huber, in other words, is not just some ranting civilian. He's someone who has worked around pathogens for many decades and whose warnings about pathogenic threats must be taken seriously. In his letter, Huber warns about a new pathogen, unknown to science, "...that appears to significantly impact the health of plants, animals, and probably human beings. Based on a review of the data, it is widespread, very serious, and is in much higher concentrations in Roundup Ready (RR) soybeans and corn -- suggesting a link with the RR gene or more likely the presence of Roundup."

 

This pathogen appears to be link to widespread spontaneous abortions among cattle. As Huber explains, "450 of 1,000 pregnant heifers ...experienced spontaneous abortions."

 

That's a spontaneous abortion rate of 45 percent!

 

Huber goes on to say that this pathogen "...could result in a collapse of US soy and corn export markets and significant disruption of domestic food and feed supplies. ...This new organism may already be responsible for significant harm..."

 

Huber's letter was made available to Tom Vilsack well before the USDA's recent decision to deregulate GE alfalfa (http://www.naturalnews.com/031139_G...), meaning that the USDA deregulated GE alfalfa even after being made aware of this severe threat to human and animal health.

 

The threat to human health

As Huber explains, this previously unknown pathogen causes spontaneous abortions and infertility. "Laboratory tests have confirmed the presence of this organism in a wide variety of livestock that have experienced spontaneous abortions and infertility. Preliminary results from ongoing research have also been able to reproduce abortions in a clinical setting."

 

That alone means this pathogen may be a huge threat to ranchers and cattle operations, but there's more to this story: The HUMAN threat.

 

"[The pathogen] is found in high concentrations in Roundup Ready soybean meal and corn, distillers meal, fermentation feed products, pig stomach contents, and pig and cattle placentas," says Huber.

 

Guess where soybean meal is used? Throughout the processed food supply. Both soybean meal and GMO corn are widely used in thousands of foods found in grocery stores and even health food stores like Whole Foods. This means human consumers are almost certainly being exposed to this pathogen through the food supply right now, as there are often mistakes in food processing that don't always kill the pathogens through cooking or pasteurization.

 

Is this part of the explanation behind human spontaneous abortions and rising rates of infertility?

 

More frighteningly, is this all part of a population control agenda being pursued by the U.S. government through the USDA? Given the threat that this pathogen presents to both human and animal life, why would the USDA deregulate so many Roundup Ready GMO crops unless it actually wanted to see more infertility and spontaneous abortions taking place?

 

Pathogen also threatens plant life

It's not just animals and humans that are threatened by this mysterious and deadly pathogen, by the way. Crops are also threatened by it.

 

"The organism is prolific in plants infected with two pervasive diseases that are driving down yields and farmer income -- sudden death syndrome (SDS) in soy, and Goss’ wilt in corn. The pathogen is also found in the fungal causative agent of SDS (Fusarium solani fsp glycines)."

 

Did you read that carefully? The pathogen caused by the use of Roundup and GMO crops drives down crop yields through plant disease! And yet, the whole selling point behind GMOs was supposed to be "increased yields!" That's why farmers have been strong-armed into using GMOs in the first place. And yet, in reality, what we see are GMO crop failures, not increased yields. See this article by Jeffrey Smith for more: http://www.naturalnews.com/031138_M...

 

Huber isn't the only one warning about the toxic effects of Roundup on life, by the way. A paper published in Chemical Research in Toxicology also concluded that Roundup causes birth defects in frogs and chickens: Glyphosate-Based Herbicides Produce Teratogenic Effects on Vertebrates by Impairing Retinoic Acid Signaling (http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021...)

 

An emergency halt to all GMOs

Huber's letter drives home the most important point in all this: We need to STOP GMOs right now, at least until more research can be conducted. As Huber states:

 

"[We request] an immediate moratorium on the deregulation of RR crops until the causal / predisposing relationship with glyphosate and / or RR plants can be ruled out as a threat to crop and animal production and human health. It is urgent to examine whether the side-effects of glyphosate use may have facilitated the growth of this pathogen, or allowed it to cause greater harm to weakened plant and animal hosts. It is well-documented that glyphosate promotes soil pathogens and is already implicated with the increase of more than 40 plant diseases; it dismantles plant defenses by chelating vital nutrients; and it reduces the bioavailability of nutrients in feed, which in turn can cause animal disorders."

 

But rather than stopping GMOs, the USDA has approved three new GE crops in just the last several weeks! The USDA, it seems, has decided to risk the sustainability of life on our planet -- plant life, animal life and even human life. The USDA is now becoming as dangerous as the FDA!

 

The USDA, through its recent decisions, is without question a threat to life on Earth.

 

The coming ecological catastrophe

Mark my words, friends: We are facing dark times ahead, thanks in part to these reckless actions being taken by the USDA. We are facing the likelihood of widespread crop failures which will obviously lead to food riots and starvation. We're rolling the dice on the future of life on Earth, placing our bets on the profits of the biotech industry while violating the laws of nature.

 

Once these deadly pathogens are out in the wild, there's no recapturing them. I predict that, in the years ahead, GMOs will cause an ecological catastrophe that results in widespread suffering and death. Everybody is threatened by GMOs - cattle ranchers, dairy owners, pets, children, adults and even the crops themselves. Nothing is safe from the scourge of death and destruction now being unleashed upon our world by these evil corporations (http://www.naturalnews.com/030967_M...) working in conspiracy with corrupt, criminal-minded government all across the world -- governments that are actively conspiring against their own people to unleash spontaneous abortions, infertility and eventual starvation.

 

Make no mistake, all of you who read NaturalNews: Your government is conspiring with an industry of death to roll out GMOs that will result in abortions, suffering, starvation and ecological catastrophe. And they are doing this under the label of "science," claiming that any restrictions of GMOs would be "unscientific." (http://www.naturalnews.com/031093_u...)

 

They are claiming that GMOs will prevent starvation and "feed the world!" But the evidence reveals the far darker truth behind the scheme: It's really about poisoning the world, reducing the population, and seizing control over the production and distribution of food.

 

Why aren't people protesting against GMOs?

The truth about this matter is now becoming increasingly apparent to nearly everyone. But I have a question: When will the people take to the streets to protest this?

 

Don't you find it interesting that people in places like Madison, Wisconsin will protest threats to their incomes, but virtually nobody takes to the streets to protest GMOs and other threats to sustainable life on our planet? Why aren't the people up in arms over GMOs, marching in front of the USDA offices and demanding the arrest and prosecution of people like Tom Vilsack who have emerged as enemies of life?

 

It really makes you wonder where peoples' priorities are these days. While they're busy protesting their paycheck in Madison, the federal government is secretly plotting behind their backs to abort their fetuses, starve their children, contaminate their crops and destroy their ranch animals. This is the definition of EVIL, folks. The dark era of "Satanic government" is upon us, and now they're plotting with the biotech industry to literally destroy life on our planet.

 

You need to understand, this is no longer about mere profits or political power. This is an agenda of death now being pursued by the USDA. Government-sponsored pestilence. The four Horsemen of the Apocalypse and all that. This is downright Biblical in proportion because now we're talking about threats to life across the planet.

 

Below, I've reprinted the full letter from Huber:

 

The letter to the USDA from Professor Huber

Dear Secretary Vilsack:

 

A team of senior plant and animal scientists have recently brought to my attention the discovery of an electron microscopic pathogen that appears to significantly impact the health of plants, animals, and probably human beings. Based on a review of the data, it is widespread, very serious, and is in much higher concentrations in Roundup Ready (RR) soybeans and corn -- suggesting a link with the RR gene or more likely the presence of Roundup. This organism appears NEW to science!

 

This is highly sensitive information that could result in a collapse of US soy and corn export markets and significant disruption of domestic food and feed supplies. On the other hand, this new organism may already be responsible for significant harm (see below). My colleagues and I are therefore moving our investigation forward with speed and discretion, and seek assistance from the USDA and other entities to identify the pathogen’s source, prevalence, implications, and remedies.

 

We are informing the USDA of our findings at this early stage, specifically due to your pending decision regarding approval of RR alfalfa. Naturally, if either the RR gene or Roundup itself is a promoter or co-factor of this pathogen, then such approval could be a calamity. Based on the current evidence, the only reasonable action at this time would be to delay deregulation at least until sufficient data has exonerated the RR system, if it does.

 

For the past 40 years, I have been a scientist in the professional and military agencies that evaluate and prepare for natural and manmade biological threats, including germ warfare and disease outbreaks. Based on this experience, I believe the threat we are facing from this pathogen is unique and of a high risk status. In layman’s terms, it should be treated as an emergency.

 

A diverse set of researchers working on this problem have contributed various pieces of the puzzle, which together presents the following disturbing scenario:

 

Unique Physical Properties

 

This previously unknown organism is only visible under an electron microscope (36,000X), with an approximate size range equal to a medium size virus. It is able to reproduce and appears to be a micro-fungal-like organism. If so, it would be the first such micro-fungus ever identified. There is strong evidence that this infectious agent promotes diseases of both plants and mammals, which is very rare.

 

Pathogen Location and Concentration

 

It is found in high concentrations in Roundup Ready soybean meal and corn, distillers meal, fermentation feed products, pig stomach contents, and pig and cattle placentas.

 

Linked with Outbreaks of Plant Disease

 

The organism is prolific in plants infected with two pervasive diseases that are driving down yields and farmer income -- sudden death syndrome (SDS) in soy, and Goss’ wilt in corn. The pathogen is also found in the fungal causative agent of SDS (Fusarium solani fsp glycines).

 

Implicated in Animal Reproductive Failure

 

Laboratory tests have confirmed the presence of this organism in a wide variety of livestock that have experienced spontaneous abortions and infertility. Preliminary results from ongoing research have also been able to reproduce abortions in a clinical setting.

 

The pathogen may explain the escalating frequency of infertility and spontaneous abortions over the past few years in US cattle, dairy, swine, and horse operations. These include recent reports of infertility rates in dairy heifers of over 20%, and spontaneous abortions in cattle as high as 45%.

 

For example, 450 of 1,000 pregnant heifers fed wheatlege experienced spontaneous abortions. Over the same period, another 1,000 heifers from the same herd that were raised on hay had no abortions. High concentrations of the pathogen were confirmed on the wheatlege, which likely had been under weed management using glyphosate.

 

Recommendations

 

In summary, because of the high titer of this new animal pathogen in Roundup Ready crops, and its association with plant and animal diseases that are reaching epidemic proportions, we request USDA’s participation in a multi-agency investigation, and an immediate moratorium on the deregulation of RR crops until the causal/predisposing relationship with glyphosate and/or RR plants can be ruled out as a threat to crop and animal production and human health.

 

It is urgent to examine whether the side-effects of glyphosate use may have facilitated the growth of this pathogen, or allowed it to cause greater harm to weakened plant and animal hosts. It is well-documented that glyphosate promotes soil pathogens and is already implicated with the increase of more than 40 plant diseases; it dismantles plant defenses by chelating vital nutrients; and it reduces the bioavailability of nutrients in feed, which in turn can cause animal disorders. To properly evaluate these factors, we request access to the relevant USDA data.

 

I have studied plant pathogens for more than 50 years. We are now seeing an unprecedented trend of increasing plant and animal diseases and disorders. This pathogen may be instrumental to understanding and solving this problem. It deserves immediate attention with significant resources to avoid a general collapse of our critical agricultural infrastructure.

 

Sincerely,

 

COL (Ret.) Don M. Huber

Emeritus Professor, Purdue University

APS Coordinator, USDA National Plant Disease Recovery System (NPDRS)

Feb. 23, 2011

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