Much ado about something: the rise of GMOs in your food

I am a big proponent of reading labels.  I love digging into the small font on the back of the package to find out if and in what amounts the product contains HFCS, hydrogenated fat, protein, fiber, sodium, sugar, and ingredients I can neither spell nor pronounce.  It is empowering.  The corporations cannot fool the educated masses, right?  Not so fast.  Things have gotten a bit complicated in the past few years.  Due to advances in biotechnology, the products in your kitchen cabinet might contain ingredients that do not appear on any labels.  Yep, you guessed it ... GMOs (genetically modified organisms) are on the rise and what they mean for your health is not clear.  What is clear is that products containing GMOs should be labeled so the consumer can make educated purchasing decisions.

Monsanto is the pioneer behind the science of applying biotechnology to agriculture. Bovine Growth Hormone was the first major application of biotechnology to food production.  By the time BGH was approved by the FDA, Monsanto had moved on to its next project:  developing GMOs, specifically seeds genetically modified to resist the spraying of Monsanto's hugely profitable herbicide, Roundup.   

I started reading "The World According to Monsanto" earlier this year to learn more about GMOs and literally had to stop because I got so depressed.  Have you heard of Agent Orange?  How about PCBs?  Roundup?  Bovine Growth Hormone?  Yep, Monstanto invented all of them.  Not one or two of them, ALL of them. 

Monstanto is the leading producer of GMO seeds in the United States.  "Today, the vast majority of the nation's two primary crops grow from seeds genetically altered according to Monsanto company patents. Ninety-three percent of soybeans. Eighty percent of corn."  http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/28/AR2009112802471.html?wprss=rss_print.  You might think this is not a problem in your life because you do not eat soybean or corn products.  Think again.  Soybeans, like corn that is turned into HFCS, is manufactured into a filler for many processed foods.  Soy protein isolates or textured soy protein are heavily used by the fast food and snack industries to extend profits.  In fact, the FDA estimates that 3 out of 4 processed foods in a typical United States supermarket contain GMO ingredients.

You can either thank or curse Monsanto for the huge proliferation of GMOs in our food system.  Some people (including big Agribusiness proponents), think GMOs are the answer to solving the problem of world hunger.  They allow farmers to grow more crops, faster and cheaper, in order to feed the world.  They may be right, but they are taking a huge gamble on our health in the process.  



It is not simply the fact that these products are genetically modified that is scary.  This is a relatively new science, and the pros and cons are still being weighed by scientists.  The scary part we are aware of is what these products are genetically modified for:  to withstand heavy doses of toxic herbicides and pesticides.  This means greater productivity and lower costs for farmers who use GMO seeds, and bigger profits for the companies who manufacture foods containing GMO corn and soy byproducts in their foods.  But what does it mean for your health?


No one really knows, and that in and of itself is scary.  Why are these untested GMOs in our food system?

Recent reports suggest that GMOs might not be as safe as Monsanto would like everyone to believe.  First,  a report in the International Journal of Biological Sciences links Monsanto's GMO corn to organ failure in rates.  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/12/monsantos-gmo-corn-linked_n_420365.html.  The study concludes:  "These substances have never before been an integral part of the human or animal diet and therefore their health consequences for those who consume them, especially over long time periods are currently unknown."  Yikes.

Second, Monstanto's GMO seeds "have been genetically engineered to permit direct, 'over the top' application of the Monsanto [herbicides] allowing farmers to drench both their crops and crop land with herbicides so as to be able to kill nearby weeds (and any other green thing the herbicide touches) without killing the crops."  http://www.mindfully.org/GE/RRS-Yield-Drag.htm.  Yum-- that is exactly what I want my food to go through before I eat it:  an herbicide bath.  Equally troubling is the environmental damage caused by the heavy use of herbicides (see the previous post regarding HFCS for more information).

Third, scientific studies suggest that the rise of GMOs may be partially responsible for the huge increase in food allergies.  Ever wonder why there are so many soy allergies today?  You can thank GMOs for that.


Organ failure ... herbicide baths ...  food allergies.  Thanks Monsanto!

So what can I do to avoid GMOs and the proliferation of pesticides/herbicides in my food, you ask?  Great question.  There are a few things.  Your first option is to move to France.  France, along with several other European countries, have enacted bans on the cultivation of GMO crops. Moreover, products containing GMOs are required to have labels so French consumers can make informed purchasing choices.   In France, you can eat your heart out and not worry about GMOs in your food.  You can be confident that your nutella crepes are GMO free! 

If moving to France is not feasible at this time, do not fret.  There are a few things you can do to live GMO-free in the good ole USA.  First, there are several websites that will help you avoid GMOs: 

http://www.nongmoshoppingguide.com/tips-for-avoiding-gmos.html

http://www.examiner.com/organic-food-in-national/how-to-avoid-gmo-foods

http://mercola.fileburst.com/PDF/GMObrochure.pdf

These website provide great tips like buying foods that are certified organic.  While there is no guarantee that these products will be GMO free, they cannot intentionally contain GMOs.  In addition, by avoiding products containing the top-four GMO crops and byproducts (corn, soybean, canola, cottonseed), you will be making a good start.

And look for foods with a "Non-GMO" label. Currently, there are no laws that require labeling of foods with GMOs, but companies can voluntarily label products that do not contain GMOs.  Support these companies.

Next, take action. It is a travesty that Monsanto has been successful in convincing the government that GMO corn is no different from regular corn in its nutritional qualities and therefore needs no special label. Write to your local representative and ask them to support a GMO labeling legislation. Or put on your campaign hat and support efforts to add a GMO labeling law to the California ballot in November.  http://mercola.fileburst.com/PDF/GMObrochure.pdf.  Or if you live on the East Coast, you can participate in the upcoming Right2Know March.  http://www.marketwatch.com/story/right2know-march-announces-events-during-313-mile-walk-to-the-white-house-for-labeling-of-genetically-engineered-food-2011-09-19

Finally, consumers just like you have filed lawsuits challenging the labeling of GMO-containing products.  A class action against ConAgra for labeling its Wesson Oils as "100% natural" was filed recently in federal court.  Because, the suit alleges, Wesson Oils are made from GMO corn and soybeans, they are not "100% natural" and cannot be labeled as such.  Hopefully lawsuits like this will be successful and companies like ConAgra will be punished for deceptive and misleading labeling of products containing GMOs. 

You have the power to demand accurate labeling of products containing GMOs.  Exercise it. 

Go forth and eat well!