Written by: Damien Powell
On June 24th 2018 I wrote a blog titled “YAHWEH’s diet vs. man’s diet”, in that blog I discussed hybrid foods that should not be consumed by man and that we should only be eating foods created by YHWH. I just wanted to confirm that I still believe we should not be eating GMO (genetically modified foods) because those are foods that scientist have manipulated by tampering with the DNA of the food to get their desired traits of size, color, and taking out the seeds that they naturally contain.
YHWH does tell us in Genesis 1:29 that He gave us seed bearing plants because the seed has life; therefore, that fruit or vegetable can germinate on its on without human intervention. How would a seedless fruit or vegetable propagate (breed, grow, cultivate, or generate) in nature? It wouldn’t, because it would become extinct with the seed. Otherwise, it will require intervention and care of a human being to survive.
Also, in Genesis 1:30 YHWH says
“And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to everything that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for food: and it was so.” Even in Leviticus 11:3 YHWH says that cows “chew the cud” which a special process that cow has in their four stomachs when they eat grass, which is what they were intended to eat. However, man has given them corn, soy, animal by-products and other unnatural food that cows were never meant to eat. 100% grass-fed, grass finished beef is what we need to be eating.
However, after further research there is no real evidence that foods like potatoes, celery, some corn, peaches, spinach and cabbages are hybrids. I just wanted to clarify this to everyone who read the article and deeply apologize for not giving more details on the subject. Examples below:
· Carrots are naturally purple and some offshoot colors of yellow, red and white, but in the 17th century Dutch growers made the first orange carrot. So, I cannot say whether they are good or bad for us to eat, just simply they were not the original color and that man intervened to change the color.
· Rice is naturally a purple, brown, or red color because of the bran (hull) that grows on the outside of it. The bran is removed which requires man-made processing to get white rice which makes it quicker to cook; therefore, removing the nutrients out of the rice.
· Before corn was corn it was native to Mesoamerica known as teosinte which is a Mexican grass considered to be one of the parent plants of modern corn. Teosinte doesn’t look much like maize, especially when you compare its kernels to those of corn. Learngenetics.utah.edu has an article which states “One of the first scientists to fully appreciate the close relationship between teosinte and maize was George Beadle. In the 1930’s, Beadle studied teosinte-maize hybrids, and showed that their chromosomes are highly compatible. Later, he produced large numbers of teosinte-corn hybrids and observed the characteristics of their offspring. By applying basic laws of genetic inheritance, Beadle calculated that only about 5 genes were responsible for the most-notable differences between teosinte and a primitive strain of maize. The original maize did not contain nearly as many kernels as the modern day corn.
· Foods like broccoli and brussel sprouts which were engineered by man do require human intervention and I’ll attach the article to this for clarification. In the previous blog I Ieft it open ended by just saying cabbage was a hybrid. There are wild cabbages that grow in nature.
An article written by Namtara Zodok below talks about broccoli and the difference between a hybrid and selective breeding. I just want to make believers aware of the options we are presented with. This is a difficult topic and the foods that are available are not as easy to identify as I thought last year. There are many different variables to consider as to what constitutes a hybrid versus selective breeding.
I will definitely say we need to avoid seedless fruits and vegetables, GMO food, artificial foods/flavorings, and hormone/antibiotic laden feed-lot beef as these are obvious violations to YHWH’s command and natural order.
“Broccoli is most certainly a man-made food. If there were no people, there would be no broccoli. It is the result of many years of picky - choosy selective breeding. Broccoli would not occur in the wild on its own. So if you ever find yourself lost in the woods, looking for something to eat, don't expect to stumble upon any broccoli!
Where does broccoli come from?
Broccoli comes from the selective breeding of wild cabbage (Brassica oleracea) plants starting around the 6th century BC. Its name, from the Italian broccolo, describes the flowering top of a cabbage - an homage to broccoli's origins. Since the Roman Empire, the people of Italy have valued broccoli as a good source of food and nutrition.
It was first brought to England in the mid 1800's by a man named Peter Scheemakers, a Flemish sculptor. It was eventually introduced to the Americas. Broccoli has only recently gained much popularity in the United States during this past century.
Is broccoli somehow harmful because it is man-made?
With all of its many proven health benefits, it would be a stretch to say that broccoli hurts people. Some might say that because broccoli has been tampered with in order to exist, that it is inherently less nutritionally potent or "electric" than its predecessor - the wild cabbage. We can only speculate.
Is broccoli the result of GMO (genetic modification / engineering)?
Selective breeding or "cultivation" is not the same as GMO. GMO requires a highly trained group of genetic engineers, a laboratory and lots of expensive equipment. They go into the plant at cellular level and make the desired changes. This process is very intrusive and has a profound effect on the overall identity of a plant.
Selective breeding however, is a lot less complicated, but it takes way longer to see notable changes in the plants physiology. Selective cultivation entails throwing out the less desirable plants, and only reproducing from the plants that possess the traits you are looking to keep.
In the case of the broccoli plant, that is exactly how it was done. Wild cabbage farmers would systematically discard the cabbage plant's less desirable flower buds, and keep the tastier, larger, faster growing ones. Then they would use these buds to breed with. Over much time and pickiness - the modern day broccoli plant eventually resulted.
Is broccoli a hybrid?
No. Broccoli is not a hybrid. A vegetable hybrid is the result of combining two different species of plant to make a new breed. Usually hybrids have more trouble reproducing than wild plants. They need help from humans to stay around. Selective breeding is how humans developed broccoli.
Other vegetables that were cultivated this way include:
· Cauliflower
· Brussels sprouts
· Cabbage
· Turnips/turnip greens
· Collards
· Kale
· Bok choy
So should we eat broccoli? Is it safe?
Broccoli is generally considered to be very nutritious. Since it hasn't really been tampered with on a genetic level, it’s probably ok, but it is not as "electric" as its wild predecessor. It does offer lots of hearty green goodness to any meal. World renowned healer Dr. Sebi (RIP) taught that any food that wouldn't grow wild and naturally on its own is to be avoided. Still broccoli is packed with green power so most nutritionists would disagree. It depends on whether you accept man made foods as being potentially healthy.