The Effects of Genetically Modified Foods

What are Genetically Modified Organisms or GMO Foods?

Scientists have been and are currently introducing genetic material into organisms to alter, create and affect changes in living plants and animals. These radical changes scientists are developing create specific, desirable traits that might never evolve naturally and in my opinion are extremely dangerous.

Collectively called recombinant DNA technology, this practice changes the core genetic make-up of organisms. This genetic manipulation gives scientists the ability to create any trait that they wish, or suppress natural traits they don’t want. There are several reasons this unnatural genetic manipulation may affect you.

1. It’s usually not clear which consumables have been genetically manipulated.
2. You don’t know the long term health effects of these genetically modified foods. Initial research has shown that short-term reactions can be severe.
3. Agro-chemical companies and the government are planning to charge farmers fees to grow their GMO crops, thereby negatively affecting the economy and environment.

Cultivated Genetically Modified Foods

From bacteria (E. coli) and fungus, fruits and vegetables to animals, genetic manipulation is becoming more and more common in our society. In the US market now, 60-70% of the processed foods are genetically modified.  In 2006, United States GMO crops reached just shy of 135 million acres, with the total global area exceeding 250 million acres!¹

This is a short list of the genetically modified food crops that are grown in the US today:

And each week more are being created at an alarming rate!

Processed Consumer Goods Made With GMO Ingredients

The bio-chemical industry is fiercely going after two crops, corn and soy, because of their high demand for use throughout our processed goods and biofuel industries.

For companies to increase and control the yield of these crops, it would mean controlling a large part of the processed goods and biofuels markets. It would also mean considerable profit as they can patent these crops and technically OWN THEM!

For now, you won’t see GMO on the labels of foods in the US. Currently, producers are not required to tell you, because, believe it or not, the Federal government has declared it’s their choice to determine what is good for you and what foods are safe for your consumption — and we know how far that is gotten us.

Following is a short list of processed foods made with genetically modified organisms:

The list of GMO products on the market today is long and growing. So, I recommend doing your research because the USDA made the following determination:  These products don’t need to be labeled with GMO content information unless the product presents the threat of causing allergic reactions in humans. Amazing, huh?

Several sites on the internet today are working hard to track and compile such information regarding these man-made foods. The items above are compiled from several lists including the 2003 food guide from The True Food Network².

The long-term dangers of Genetically Modified Foods are uncertain, but we have already seen severe short-term reactions

In 1989, a Japanese company paid out a $2 billion dollar settlement to several thousand American citizens who became ill from a genetically modified version of L-Tryptophan³. Several dozen Americans died from ingesting L-Tryptophan before it was taken off the market. Today, some health practitioners are returning to non-GMO L-Tryptophan for use in treating sleep disorders.

In 1996, animal tests, conducted after the danger was inflicted on humans, proved that there was a severe danger from genes spliced from Brazil nuts and soybeans. The danger: allergic reactions so severe that the individuals could suffer anaphylactic shock, possibly leading to death⁴.

In 2006, Japan suspended long grain rice imports from the US after tests revealed that the rice contained trace amounts of GMO that were not approved for human consumption. In the US, we still accept variations of the banned genetic modification to the rice⁵.

It all started by the government giving blanket approval to the “Frankenstein” tomato. You see, by 1994, the government made a stunning decision, one that reeks of something foul. They decided that since the Flavr Savr® performed “so well in its tests” that its results would stand for any further GMO produce. Because of that, no further testing would be required before presenting it to consumers for consumption.⁶

Are there fees that farmers will have to pay to grow GMO crops?

Genetically Modified Foods are now being marketed as the crops of the future. You can have everything you want in produce, meat and milk, and they can make it happen. Don’t doubt the economic gain that these agro-chemical companies are seeking.

The following two plans are under development by Monsanto of the US, and AstraZeneca of Britain. They fall under the trait-specific technology, called Genetic Use Restriction Technology (T-GURT).

“Technology Protection,” is how they sell it. “Terminator” technology makes plants that would produce sterile seeds after one season. This means, farmers have to buy more seeds for the next harvest.

“Traitor” technology is a trait-specific technology that develops traits which would remain dormant in crops. Farmers can choose to activate this trait by spraying their crops with a proprietary chemical compound. This means, they’ll have to buy the proprietary compound to treat their crops in order to activate it. There are even biochemical companies requiring farmers to sign agreements to not save any of their seeds for re-planting. This means that instead of using the seeds for the next planting season, they have to get rid of them and buy more seeds.

Why would business and the government do something like this?

The USDA, Monsanto and AstraZeneca, have contrived a way to make money on two fronts: First they make money on gene modification. Second, they make money because farmers have to pay them annually to continue to grow crops. It’s apparently dollars and cents all the way, no sense of human protection involved. The USDA is actually in business with Monsanto in owning some of the genetic engineering technology patents.

How Are GMO Foods Toxic?

Genetically modified foods affect the human physiology. A study of people in the Philippines reported that their bodies developed antibodies to Bt toxin. What this means is that, the human body processed these engineered traits into their guts and reacted to them. These same consumers of the GMO corn in the Philippines also developed a resistance to the antibiotic ampicillin.

This antibiotic resistance is something that science hadn’t foreseen-which is indicative of questionable experimentation and not enough testing. And it makes me wonder if there is a bigger picture at hand. Maybe to create more illness and sell you more pharmaceuticals?

Recommended Reading:

• Genetically Modified Foods: Why You Should Avoid Them
• Is the UK conducting secret crop trials using Genetically Modified Foods?

REFERENCES