Eight Foods that Could be Disastrous for Your Health

A genetically modified (GM) crop has been found thriving in the wild for the first time in the United States. At the recent Ecological Society of America conference in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, researchers broke the news that transgenic canola is growing freely in parts of North Dakota.
GM crops have spread from cultivated land to the wild in several countries, but they have not previously been found in uncultivated land in the United States.

The scientists behind the discovery say this highlights a lack of proper monitoring and control of GM crops in the United States.

"The extent of the escape is unprecedented," says Cynthia Sagers, an ecologist at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, who led the research team that found the canola (Brassica napus, also known as rapeseed).
Sagers says the discovery of plants that are resistant to two major herbicides shows that "these feral populations of canola have been part of the landscape for several generations."

Sources:

  Nature News August 6, 2010

Health Effects of GM Foods

I strongly believe that one of the most obvious clues about the danger of GMO foods is that animals virtually never opt to eat a GM food if conventional food is available. Many times they will avoid GM food to the point of starvation – a clear indication that they have an intuitive sense of the danger inherent with this food.
Many people are unaware of the fact that no safety study has ever proved that GM foods are safe for consumption. Studies have, however, linked GM foods to:

• Cancer
• Food allergies
• Damage to your immune system
• Super-viruses

In a 2007 article published on the Institute for Responsible Technology’s web site, Jeffrey Smith also points out several animal studies that show a number of different GM foods appear to cause liver damage.

Your liver is a main detoxifier in your body, so liver damage can indicate that your toxic load is simply too great. In his article Smith includes the following study results (for full references, please see the original article):

• The livers of rats fed Roundup Ready canola were 12–16 percent heavier, possibly due to liver disease or inflammation
• Rats fed GNA lectin potatoes had smaller and partially atrophied livers
• Rats fed Monsanto’s Mon 863 corn, engineered to produce Bt-toxin, had liver lesions and other indications of toxicity
• Rabbits fed GM soy showed altered enzyme production in their livers as well as higher metabolic activity
• Microscopic analysis of the livers of mice fed Roundup Ready soybeans revealed altered gene expression and structural and functional changes. Many of these changes reversed after the mice diet was switched to non-GM soy, indicating that GM soy was the culprit. The findings, according to molecular geneticist Michael Antoniou, PhD, “are not random and must reflect some ‘insult’ on the liver by the GM soy”

With all the evidence against them, why are these products still on the market?
Because there’s big money to be made – these seeds are all patented and must be purchased anew each season -- and because it’s difficult to link health problems directly to them, in large part because many of the side effects happen over time – it may even take generations before certain health outcomes become apparent. So there’s plenty of room for denial.
Only time will reveal, as Jeffrey Smith points out in this excellent video, the extent of the unforeseen and surprising illnesses caused by GM foods.

The question is, are you willing to ‘wait and see,’ which equates to playing Russian Roulette with your grandchildren, and great-grandchildren’s, health?

If you’re still unconvinced, I highly recommend you read through Smith’s ten-part Huffington Post series on GM foods. It’s a great read, loaded with valuable information.

How to Avoid GM Food

There are currently eight major GM food crops on the market, so memorizing this list will help you avoid any and all food products that might contain GMO’s:

1. Soy
2. Corn
3. Cottonseed (used in vegetable cooking oils)
4. Canola (canola oil)
5. Sugar from sugar beets
6. Hawaiian papaya
7. Some varieties of zucchini
8. Crookneck squash

You’ll also want to avoid any kind of derivative of these, such as high fructose corn syrup, for example.

Depending on where you live within the European Union, you may also have to contend with the recently approved AmFlora potato, designed by BASF, which contains a gene that produces an enzyme which can confer resistance to several antibiotics. The European Commission approved the commercial growing of the GM potato in early March of this year, despite widespread protests, and concerns raised by the EU’s pharmaceutical regulator.

Part of the potato is also allowed to be used in cattle feed, and the meat will not need to be labeled as GM.

Your best bet to avoid genetically modified foods is to take advantage of local sources of organic foods as often as you can. Remember, some 75 percent of processed foods contain GM ingredients, so you’ll want to avoid as many processed foods as possible.

Related Links:

  Genetically Modified Foods -- What to Know Before You Eat Them

  Why Grow GM Crops That Need Pesticides Anyway?

  The Dangers of Genetic Engineering