Another Case Against GMO Foods


By Timothy J. LaSalle

For a technology that has sucked up billions of research dollars and prolonged agriculture's dependence on chemical inputs, GMOs (genetically modified organisms) have yet to justify their role in a world desperate for more sustainable ways to produce healthier food for more people. In a recent report by the Union of Concerned Scientists, a summary of on-farm production levels of genetically modified crops showed less than marginal gains in actual yield. In fact, the review concluded that "no currently available transgenic varieties enhance the intrinsic yield of any crops."

Let's Put GMO Food on the Shelf

Such findings beg the question: Who needs GMO food anyway? If GMOs are developed to increase yields, then they have failed. If they are marketed to reduce costs for farmers, and the price of GMO corn seed is now three times greater than it was just a few years ago, they have failed yet again. If these seeds are engineered to use less herbicides when, according to recent indications, many weeds are becoming Roundup-resistant, requiring a cocktail of herbicide applications in certain farming areas while crop land is just being abandoned in others, they have most certainly failed!

GMO defenders cite net yield increases per acre due to weed and pest management traits, apparently comparing GMO-chemical regimes with non-GMO-chemical regimes in traditional intensive corn-soy production systems. They don't compare the genetically modified pest-management results with non-chemical systems where organic corn tolerates higher weed populations without yield loss, and where insect damage becomes insignificant in most years once basic crop rotations are established and soil health improves. It seems GMO defenders have failed to take the varying approaches of these two systems into account, which leaves us with only a chapter of the whole story.

GMO Food Just Doesn't Make Sense

Despite the failures of GMOs, it is clear that their developers have not failed at making huge profits in a system where farmers are forced to market on volume, and have no market rewards for nutritional quality or penalties for ecological impact.

So what have consumers gained? Perhaps the answer is unclear. But I do know why we in the organic movement are so dead against GMO food. The answer is pretty simple: Genetically engineered seeds just don't make sense. How can a seed variety that is costly to patent (and legally can't be saved for replanting) help poor farmers around the world? How can a seed that needs increased levels of toxins to control weeds be the safest option, ecologically or from a human standpoint? How can a seed that is artificially injected with foreign proteins be harmless to eat?

GMO Food and Human Health: The Hidden Consequences

Whether genetically modified foods are safe for human consumption will remain a controversial issue. Yet some scientists who have been quieted or marginalized have found serious concerns about the safety of GMOs in laboratory animal studies. In many investigations involving GMO-fed animals, there have been cases of underdeveloped organs, reproductive problems, accelerated aging and even death.

As the four As (allergies, asthma, autism, and ADD) rapidly increase in U.S. health statistics, we must consider that GMOs could certainly be one of the causes. As a matter of fact, in a recent position paper by the American Academy of Environmental Medicine, physicians across the country called for a moratorium on GMO foods because "there is more than a casual association between GM foods and adverse health effects."

In the last few decades most of these health concerns have more than doubled, and, at times, tripled. The human body has not changed, but our diet undoubtedly has, and as of the 1990s, GMOs have become increasingly prevalent in our food supply. In her new book, The Unhealthy Truth, Robyn O'Brien outlines the logical connection between the astronomical increase in allergic response among our American population and our unbridled consumption of these altered foods. She states that almost 75 percent of our processed foods now contain neurotoxins, novel proteins, and allergens.

In Search of Safe Food

Meanwhile, we continue to consume these foods every day. Thanks to legislation and regulations shaped by the expansive lobbying efforts of GMO giants like Monsanto, we are not allowed to know which foods contain modified genes. Many European, Asian, and African countries have banned GMOs to protect their farming systems and food supplies, yet we are seemingly complacent that these controversial seeds have entered our food supply. In reality, about 92 percent of all U.S. soybean acreage is planted with GMO seed. Although you may not consume soy products outright, say in the form of soy milk or tofu, you are surely getting a heavy dose of GMO soy if you regularly eat non-organic processed foods. (Thanks to certification standards, when you buy organic you buy food grown without GMO seeds.)

With the tragic consequences of the chronic maladies mentioned above, why would we let these experimental seeds remain in our food source without demanding to know the long-term, generational effects they may have on human health? Why would we want our children to be the guinea pigs for brand-new, laboratory-created proteins that have undergone genetic modification?

First, we should demand our legislators implement a precautionary principle: GMOs should not be allowed into our food system until extensive long-term, third-party studies--not studies funded or in any way influenced by seed technology companies--have been performed. A less effective, but equally important, second is that all of our food must be clearly labeled if it contains GMO crop ingredients.

Source: www.treehugger.com

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Previous Comments

Kathy Lynch commented on 11-Nov-2009 11:20 PM5 out of 5 stars
Word is getting out there as you are doing and I as a holistic health counselor (WellSkills.com) are doing. It's up to the people to boycott GM foods and why not have a nationwide protest? How do we get that to happen? I'll be there.
Carl Doll commented on 12-Nov-2009 05:12 AM5 out of 5 stars
Seed Companies Control GM Crop Research. There can be no legal independent studies of GM crops until legislation to protect us from our food supply is passed.
Please read this Scientific American article and then write your legislators.
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=do-seed-companies-control-gm-crop-research
Buy & eat Organic!
Beth commented on 12-Nov-2009 11:53 AM5 out of 5 stars
As a Nutritionist I am concerned that the public does not know enough about this scandal. We need a wider spectrum of education regarding organic food starting with mothers(the ones that usually purchase food)- as the multinationals seem to have the ear of government- we need a groundswell from families telling the government what we actually want- not what they think we need
payday loans online commented on 25-Oct-2010 06:42 AM5 out of 5 stars
I think that GMO foods are good for the earth. Of course they are not so healthy as natural ones but you can feed more people on the Earth. Just have a look how many people are dying every single day in Africa. What is better: leave them dying or give GMO foods? I think the second choice is way better. However maybe it is only my own opinion.
the future commented on 07-Jun-2011 09:24 AM1 out of 5 stars
they are good. the end
GM Totten commented on 28-Aug-2011 09:53 AM5 out of 5 stars
If dioxen *agent orange is in the pesticides part of the gmo what is going to happen to the next two generations of children? Who will pay for all the cancer treatments? I heard this last night on Link TV. How do we get the public to know about this and
get it stopped/ According to the program there are no guns or bombs needed to kill us all. Just Monsanto. What can we do? It is really time to rally to control our health.Who will help us all?
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