Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs)
- 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:
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
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:
- Non-GMO Shopping Guide.
- Fooducate app- detect probability of GMOs
- GMO InGREEDient list
- GMO Free Snack Plan – Preschool, Church, Scouts or Sports
- GMO Free Family Meal Plan
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, 6th ed. (New York: Three Rivers Press, 2004).
- Robert S. Igoe, The Dictionary of Food Ingredients, 2nd 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/
