GMO’s- A Piece to the Puzzle in Childhood Epidemics

Yesterday, I shared a little bit about the increasing incidences of illnesses in our children, ranging from chronic infections to autism and autoimmune diseases.

According to Dr. Kenneth Bock,  one of the major reasons for these epidemics is that children are introduced to so many more toxins and younger and younger ages. I will take the next couple of days to share information about these toxins.

First on my list- GMO’s.

GMOs or Genetically Modified Organisms are plant foods whose DNA has been altered to take on certain traits. The DNA is altered in a laboratory by using a virus or a bacterium to insert foreign DNA into the seed. The most common traits that plants are genetically engineered to display are herbicide tolerance and pesticide producing. Biotechnology companies who created these new seeds saw them to be attractive solutions to farmers who were spending precious money on herbicides and pesticides, only to have their crops die as a result. With this new technology, farmers were encouraged that they could increase their production and thereby increase their profits.

Herbicide tolerance simply means that when a plant is sprayed with an herbicide in the field, the surrounding weeds will die but the plant will be resistant to the spray and should thrive. One could see how this could potentially save farmers from using too much herbicide. It would save them on input costs and labor as well… or maybe not!

Pesticide producing crops were created to kill pests that were problematic to certain crops like corn and cotton.  The pesticide Bt – Bacillus thuringiensis is inserted directly into the DNA of the corn or cotton seed. When the corn grows and is attacked by the corn borer, the plant releases the pesticide which destroys the digestive system of the pest, thereby killing it. These Bt crops are registered pesticides with the FDA.  And, they are served as food. Do you see any issue here?

These 2 varieties of genetically engineered crops were introduced into our food system in about 1996. At first it was only corn, soy, canola and cottonseed that were altered. Many of these foods were given to livestock as part of their feed and the excess was processed into the foods on our supermarket shelves in the form of corn oil, high fructose corn syrup, soy milk, soy protein isolate, soy infant formula,  canola oil and cottonseed oil.

The number of food crops have now expanded to include genetically engineered sugar beets, some varieties of zucchini and yellow squash, some varieties of apples, potatoes  and pineapples and sweet corn.

So, what is the issue with these genetically engineered foods? When they were introduced, they were fast tracked through the food system despite warnings from FDA scientists that they can pose dangers to human health. Instead of using independent scientists, the biotech industry created their own 30 day studies that showed no ill effect of gmo foods on mice. The FDA accepted these studies and approved these crops for human consumption.

Concerns quickly spread about these foods, but because they were not (and still are not) labeled, consumers really didn’t know what they were eating.

Studies from independent scientists around the world show direct links between GMO foods (and the herbicide ingredient glyphosate) with allergies,  digestive diseases, infertility, liver problems, kidney problems and endocrine disruption.

A landmark study by French researcher Dr. Seralini in 2012 showed that GMOs caused tumors in rats in as little as 4 months. (Remember that the biotech companies only do 30 day studies to show no ill effect!)

Activist groups in the United States have been fighting for a label on these genetically engineered foods to inform consumers of what they are eating- to give them the choice as to whether they would like to consume theses foods. 64 other countries around the world either label or have banned genetically engineered foods. We are still fighting.

Things to remember from this article:

  • At least 90% of soy, corn and sugarbeets in this country are genetically modified. If you choose to eat these foods, opt for organic.
  • GMO foods are NOT required to be labeled (although some companies have begun to voluntary label. You will see a small disclosure on the end of an ingredient list that says “produced with genetic engineering”.
  • Educate yourself about what foods are genetically engineered so you can avoid them.
  • These include: soy, corn, canola, cottonseed, sugar beets, some varieties of squash and yellow zucchini, sweet corn, Arctic apple, potato, pineapple and Hawaiian papaya.
  • Know your farmer- shop at farmers markets and ask about their growing practices to ensure that you are not getting foods that are genetically engineered.
  • Buy ORGANIC meat and dairy. Livestock raised non organically are fed GMO grain.

 

Tomorrow, I will discuss more about glyphosate, the active ingredient in round up which is used ubiquitously on GMO Crops.

Stay tuned- stay protected!

 

 

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