Against Nature - The Truth about GMOs
Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) dominate our grocery store shelves. They are meant to feed the world with safe and nutritious food. But are they really holding up their end of the bargain?
Safety Concerns
As consumers, we assume all foods, especially manufactured foods, have been tested and
proven safe before making it to store shelves. Unfortunately, this is not the case. GMO foods have been found to cause allergic reactions, intestinal damage and digestive dysfunction, as well as liver damage and body toxicity.
Allergic Reactions. People living next to a GMO corn field developed skin, respiratory and intestinal reactions when the corn was shedding pollen. Another study reported skin, eye and upper respiratory tract reactions of laborers who picked GMO cotton. In fact, employees are required to take antihistamines daily in order to work in the fields.
Intestinal Damage and Digestive Dysfunction. Varying studies have shown stomach lesions and precancerous-like cell growth in the stomach and intestines of rats fed GMO food. Additionally, one study showed a 77% drop in digestive enzyme production when GMO soy was consumed.
Toxicity and Liver Damage. Studies on GMO foods have found increased lymphocyte and white blood cell activity which can indicate toxicity or infection. Other studies have
found inadequate kidney function, liver atrophy, abnormal liver cell growth and altered nuclei of liver cells in animals fed GMO food.
Regulatory Concerns
Unfortunately these results seem to be swept under the rug. The FDA ignores evidence about side effects and states they are “not aware of any information showing that foods derived by these new methods (GMO) differ from other foods in any meaningful way.” How is this possible? The FDA does not conduct or approve studies on GMO foods. Instead it is up to the company producing the product to tell the FDA that their product is safe. This creates a major conflict of interest when presenting information to the FDA. There are three issues with studies the government relies on to assume safety of GMO foods:
Industry Testing: It is the GMO industry who creates the testing parameters on their products, without any standard procedures to assess safety. Moreover, GMO foods
cannot show adverse reactions, which encourages companies to avoid finding any.
Masking Results of Studies: Because there is no standardized procedures, companies can dilute the effects of their GMO crops. They can do this by using too little GMO food in the
diet, feeding for short durations, using a small number of subjects, discounting animal deaths, leaving out data in their final reports and more ways to manipulate the results of their studies.
Discontinued Funding: There have been several examples of funding being discontinued once potential harm from consumption of a GMO food has been indicated in a study. This block on funding eliminates any opportunity for follow-up studies to confirm findings while deeming the study as inadequate because of lack of follow-up studies. For example,
one scientist found evidence that insecticidal proteins found in GMO crops could be allergenic, however, he was unable to obtain further funding for research in this area.
World Hunger Concerns
Even if you overlook the potential health risks, the GMO industry argues they are creating foods that will help end world hunger. In order for GMO crops to solve world hunger they should:
Be safe
Provide higher yield than conventional crops
Have consistent and reliable yields
Be better than competing options
World hunger must be solvable by increasing food productivity
Looking at these parameters, GMO crops do not meet any of these criteria. GMO crops are not the solution they claim to be. This is because:
There are yet any studies that prove their safety.
GMO crops actually produce lower yields and more inconsistent yields than their conventional counterparts.
GMO crops are unsustainable and therefore are not better than competing options from sustainable farming practices.
Hunger is not caused by food shortages, but rather from poverty.
This lack of solution for which it was intended adds to the list of reasons why GMO foods should be removed from your market shelves.
Know Your GMO
Unfortunately, GMO products will remain on the shelves for the foreseeable future. They will also remain in the environment. Once something is created you cannot turn back time. Voting with your wallet is the best way to make a change on what is offered at your market. Make a statement to the GMO industry that they are not needed. Not only will your health benefit from this, the health of your friends, family, community and environment will reap the rewards as well.
Knowing which crops are genetically modified is your first step. Current GMO crops include:
Alfalfa
Canola
Corn
Cotton
Papaya
Soy
Sugar Beets
Zucchini and Yellow Summer Squash
Additionally, processed foods most likely contain one or several derivatives of these crops – sugar from sugar beets; vegetable oils from canola, corn or cotton; and additives derived from corn.
There are also other crops that are currently monitored because of known or suspected contamination risk. These include: Acorn squash, Bok choy, Chard, Chinese cabbage, Delicata squash, Flax seed, Rice, Rutabaga, Siberian kale, Table beets, Turnip, and Wheat.
Avoiding GMO Foods
As you can see, this is a long list! But reading labels doesn’t have to be daunting. Here are three simple ways to know you’re avoiding GMO:
Certified Organic Seal – this seal certifies the food planted was not GMO.
Non-GMO Verified – this label requires rigorous testing before verification.
Know High Risk Foods – avoid the above foods if they are not organic or verified non-GMO.
RESOURCES:
Genetic Roulette, Jeffrey M. Smith