Before I began out on the endeavor of writing a blog post regarding GMO foods, I knew that I was against the idea, but I was not aware of the extent of it. Gathering information on GMO crops has been an extreme eye opener to me and has also made me slightly sick to my stomach. I am amazed at all the information that I have found on this topic, and how prevalent it actually is in our diet. In a letter written by Whole Foods Market addressing their consumers concerns that they were supporting the GMO industry by selling GMO foods, Whole Foods responded, "93% of soy, 86% of corn, 93% of cotton, and 93% of canola seed planted in the U.S. in 2010 were genetically engineered." They used this argument to illustrate that GMO has become so prevalent that every store in the U.S. sells GMO foods, whether they admit it or not. Sorry, Let me back up a little...what exactly is GMO anyways? GMO stands for genetically modified organism; which according to Wikipedia,
"is an organism whose genetic material has been altered using genetic engineering techniques. These techniques, generally known as recombinant DNA technology, use DNA molecules from different sources, which are combined into one molecule to create a new set of genes. This DNA is then transfered into an organism, giving it modified or novel genes. Transgenic organisms, a subset of GMOs, are organisms which have inserted DNA that originated in a different species."
Now that we know what GMO means, we can discuss the issues with the prevalence of GMO crops. Mercola posted a news article on his website that really grabbed my attention, stating that starving people in Africa are refusing GMO corn. What? Why? African countries fear that the genetically-modified grains might be planted rather than eaten, which could contaminate the entire region's food supply, since once these crops are planted it's almost impossible to stop their spread. "So what?" you say. Well, the region's economy relies on grain export to overseas markets, including Europe, which refuses to import genetically engineered foods. This also brings up another red flag, Europe refuses GE foods, why do they, but we don't?
The FDA has assumed that GMO foods are equivalent to the original and never required extensive studies to have them approved. Although, now this matter is going through the courts, researchers from the Committee of Research and Information on Genetic Engineering (CRIIGEN) fought a court battle where they won the rights to the research that was used to prove to government health organizations that their products were safe for human consumption. The leader in GE foods is a company called Monsanto, they were the ones to conduct the research experiments that were used to prove that these foods were safe. First of all, I'm no dummy to research, I know if you have money and time invested into something you can always alter data to prove the point that you would like to make. So the fact that the only research presented to the FDA was that from Monsanto, does not validate that these foods are indeed safe for human consumption. Now that CRIIGEN has been able to get ahold of all the raw data, the results aren't as clear-cut and positive as we were lead to believe. If you would like to read the full study published in the International Journal of Biological Sciences, click here.
So, now we know that there wasn't accurate research presented before the GMO crops became widespread. What I also forgot to mention earlier is that Monsanto's research only included one species of rats, even though GMO was presented to several countries, and the longest study conducted was only 3 months! There are also technology/stewardship agreements required for the purchase of genetically modified seed that explicitly prohibits research.
Let's now discuss the goal of introducing GE crops to farms, as well as the dangers of this concept. GE foods are engineered to be pest and disease resistant. That's all fine and dandy, but then what happens when bugs and bacteria develop a tolerance for these engineered foods? What will these pest and disease resistance foods do to the natural bacteria in our own bodies? These GE crops are also designed to grow in any environment, resisting frost, heat, unfit soil, etc. Many have also been created to be sterile so that farmers must purchase new seeds each year, instead of the traditional way of pollinating. Other GMO crops do cross pollinate and are spreading out of control, which is making it harder and harder for farmers to keep organic crops completely separate from GE foods. This problem has been affecting organic rape seed crops in Canada, and corn in the Midwest for example. You also have to take into consideration the meat that you eat, which may have been feed GMO grains and alfalfa.
New GE foods are being created all the time; they now have created specific grains for different individual purposes, such as grain for baking. A few months ago the FDA approved a super-fast growing salmon- the first (but doubtfully the last) genetically modified animal to be sold in the U.S.
Besides changing the concept of traditional farming, studies have also found some possible dangers to our health as well involving GMO's. Genetically modified peas were shown to cause lung damage in mice, GM potatoes showed possible cancer in rats, and bacteria in the gut was shown to be able to take up the DNA from GM foods. Jeffrey Smith, author of Seeds of Deception, found that at the time GMO's flooded the market related illness doubled. These foods not only have been shown to be toxic, but allergenic, carcinogenic, and anti-nutritional as well.
So what can we do about avoiding these oh-so prevalent modified foods? First of all as of right now, GMO foods are not mandated to be labeled, this is currently a topic being addressed, so cross your fingers that it will soon be enforced just like in Europe, Japan, China, and Korea. The problem is producers know that if foods are labeled GE, people will avoid these foods, meaning that there will be no profit. The FDA and USDA also don't require labels on products because they don't want to "suggest or imply" that these foods are any "different" from non-GMO foods. If foods are not labeled then how do you know if you are eating GMO or not? Well, chances are you are eating GMO, since about 75% of the food at the grocery store is GE.
Best advice for now is to buy organic! All organic foods must be free from all GMOs. There was also a rumor that told people that they could tell if produce was GM by looking at the 5 number code on the label, stating that if it starts with a 8 it is GM. This theory never circulated like it was said to. Also, since most foods are now being genetically modified avoid processed foods as well, opting for whole fresh real foods. Avoid the major GMO foods: corn, canola, soy, and cotton. For non-GMO shopping guides visit these websites:
- http://mercola.fileburst.com/PDF/GMObrochure.pdf
- http://www.nongmoshoppingguide.com/
- http://www.seedsofdeception.com/Public/BuyingNon-GMO/index.cfm
For more great articles on GMO or to learn how you can help make a difference visit these websites:
- http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/15/why-arent-g-m-o-foods-labeled/
- http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/02/27/10-reasons-why-no-one-needs-gm-foods.aspx
- http://sustainableweston.org/2011/05/22/plu-codes-do-not-indicate-gm-produce/
- http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2007/11/06/the-real-reasons-you-want-to-avoid-genetically-modified-foods.aspx
- http://www.seedsofdeception.com/Public/Home/index.cfm
Here is a trailer for a great video called, "The Future of Food," which illustrates the dangers of GMO:
Pura Vida!
Alica Ryan, NTP
