Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs)

Dr. Ashley Mayer in Know Your Food January 12, 2014

What are GMOs?
Are GMOs Safe?
Where are GMOs Found?
GMO Labeling Laws
GMOs and the Environment
Hidden GMO Dangers in Kids Meals (video)
Resources To Help Eliminate GMOs In Your Food
Watch the Experts and Hear What They Have To Say (5 videos)
GMO Resources

What are GMOs?

Genetically Modified Organisms, also known as GMOs, are plants or animals created through gene splicing techniques (also called genetic engineering, or GE) by Monsanto. This technology is experimental and merges DNA from different species, creating unstable combinations of plant, animal, bacterial and viral genes that cannot occur in nature or in traditional crossbreeding. The foreign genes may come from bacteria, viruses, insects, animals or even humans. Virtually all commercial GMOs are engineered to withstand direct application of herbicide and/or to produce an insecticide. Despite biotech industry promises, none of the GMO traits currently on the market offer increased yield, drought tolerance, enhanced nutrition, or any other consumer benefit.

Are GMOs Safe?

A growing body of evidence connects GMOs with health problems, environmental damage and violation of farmers’ and consumers’ rights. Over 60 countries have banned these controversial foods all over the world including Australia, Japan, Mexico, and most of Europe . They have been labeled as potentially toxic and dangerous to consume. Despite this, these foods are everywhere, especially in the United States. In the U.S., the government has approved GMOs based on studies conducted by the same corporations that created them and profit from their sale. Increasingly, Americans are taking matters into their own hands and choosing to opt out of the GMO experiment.

For evidence based information regarding GMOs:

GMO Myths and Truths (An evidence-based examination of the claims made for the safety and efficacy of genetically modified crops)

Where are GMOs Found?

Over 75% of all food in the United States now contains GMOs. Current GMO crops:

Alfalfa (first planting 2011)
Canola (approx. 90% of U.S. crop)
Corn (approx. 88% of U.S. crop in 2011)
Cotton (approx. 90% of U.S. crop in 2011)
Papaya (most of Hawaiian crop; approximately 988 acres)
Soy (approx. 94% of U.S. crop in 2011)
Sugar Beets (approx. 95% of U.S. crop in 2010)
Zucchini and Yellow Summer Squash (approx. 25,000 acres)

OTHER SOURCES OF GMOs

Dairy products from cows injected with the GM hormone rBGH
Food additives, enzymes, flavorings, and processing agents, including the sweetener aspartame (NutraSweet) and rennet used to make hard cheeses
Meat, eggs, and dairy products from animals that have eaten GM feed
Honey and bee pollen that may have GM sources of pollen
Contamination or pollination caused by GM seeds or pollen

INGREDIENTS THAT MAY BE GENETICALLY MODIFIED

Vegetable oil
Vegetable fat and margarines (made with soy, corn, cottonseed, and/or canola)

INGREDIENTS DERIVED FROM SOYBEANS

Soy flour
Soy protein
Soy isolates
Soy isoflavones
Soy lecithin
Vegetable proteins
Textured vegetable protein (TVP)
Tofu
Tamari
Tempeh
Soy protein supplements

INGREDIENTS DERIVED FROM CORN

Corn flour
Corn gluten
Corn masa
Corn starch
Corn syrup
Cornmeal
High-Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS)

Are GMOs Labeled?

Currently there are no regulations requiring GMOs to be labeled on our foods. If you are interested in joining the initiative to make GMO labeling mandatory

Millions Against Monsanto

The Impact of GMOs on the Environment

Over 80% of all GMOs grown worldwide are engineered for herbicide tolerance. As a result, use of toxic herbicides like Roundup has increased 15 times since GMOs were introduced. GMO crops are also responsible for the emergence of “super weeds” and “super bugs,” which can only be killed with ever more toxic poisons like 2,4-D (a major ingredient in Agent Orange). GMOs are a direct extension of chemical agriculture, and are developed and sold by the world’s biggest chemical companies. The long-term impacts of GMOs are unknown, and once released into the environment these novel organisms cannot be recalled.

GMOs AFFECTS FARMERS

Because GMOs are novel life forms, biotechnology companies have been able to obtain patents with which to restrict their use. As a result, the companies that make GMOs now have the power to sue farmers whose fields are contaminated with GMOs, even when it is the result of inevitable drift from neighboring fields. GMOs therefore pose a serious threat to farmer sovereignty and to the national food security of any country where they are grown, including the United States.

Hidden Dangers in Kids Meals

Here is the inside scoop on what our children are eating. There are 3 videos, click on the “play all” to watch all 3! Educate yourself, and then teach those around you! Let’s eliminate GMOs in our families’ food! 🙂

If the video does not load, click here

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Resources to Help Eliminate GMOs in Your Food

Let’s do our best to limit and even eliminate GMOs in our food!! Listed below are several great resources to help guide you:

Watch the Experts and Hear What They Have to Say

1. GENETIC ROULETTE- 10 MIN. REMIX

Email this to your friends and invite them to your home to watch the full version together!

Click here to buy this movie from The Institute of Responsible Technology

2. EVERYTHING YOU HAVE TO KNOW ABOUT DANGEROUS GMO FOODS

3. Dr.Lorrin Pang

(24 years of experience in drugs and infectious disease, speaks as a private citizen about GMOs, pesticides and the oppositions arguments)

4. Robyn O-Brien talks about GMOs at a TED Talk

5. Robin O’Brien and Chuck Benbrook Webinar: GMOs and Your Health

GMO Resources

Johnson, Matthew (2013-11-12). GMO Free Diet: How to stay healthy by identifying and avoiding dangerous foods. Digital Direct Publishing. Kindle Edition.
www.nonGMOproject.org – Non GMO Project
www.responsibletechnology.org – Institute for Responsible Technology
www.organicconsumers.org – Organic Consumers
www.momsacrossamerica.com– Moms Across America
http://earthopensource.org – Earth Open Source
Natural Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, US Department of Agriculture: Acreage. Click here to download PDF (2009)
Ruth Winter, A Consumer’s Dictionary of Food Additives: Descriptions in plain English of more than 12,000 ingredients both harmful and desirable found in foods, 6^th ed. (New York: Three Rivers Press, 2004).
Robert S. Igoe, The Dictionary of Food Ingredients, 2^nd ed. (New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1989)
Research Triangle Institute, Economic Characterization of the Dietary Supplement Industry, March 1999 Click here to download PDF
Codex General Standard for Food Additives (GSFA)– Online Database of the World Health Organization (WHO), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, and the reports of the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA).
The University of Maryland Medical Center database of supplements by name: http://www.umm.edu/altmed/index.htm
Archives of the Agricultural Research Service of the USDA: http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/
Reports of the European Commission Scientific Committee for Food: http://ec.europa.eu/food/fs/sc/scf/reports_en.html
U.S. National Institute of Health (NIH) PubMed Central (PMC): http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/

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