About a year ago I read a Chicago Tribune article that linked Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) soy products to kidney problems. That scared me because I eat soy products (soy milk, tofu, etc.) daily. You might be concerned if the food you eat contains soy, corn, canola, sugar or cottonseed oil. More than 80% of processed foods contain GMOs.
I’m still searching for that Tribune article. The closest I have found is references to an article published earlier this year by five European scientists who reviewed 19 studies of mammals fed genetically modified soybeans and maize and found that several of the studies indicated that kidney and liver problems resulted from GMO diets.
What are GMOs?
GMOs are made by splicing DNA from one species into the DNA of another. One reason why food is genetically modified is to fight off insects, disease and even the most powerful insecticides and herbicides. A Chicago Tribune article stated that 93% of all soy and canola, 86% of corn, and sugar beets. Foods you probably eat in some form every day are grown from GMO seeds.” According to Dr. Michael K. Hanson (bio), researcher in food safety, GMO “takes genetic material from one organism into another … for example soybeans take DNA from a virus and a bacteria and insert it into soybean so you can spray herbicide which would normally kill it, and it won’t be killed.” (Dr. Oz, Genetically Modified Foods). To me, modifying seeds so the plants can tolerate herbicide is pretty scary. One of the things that implies is that there is more herbicide on the foods we eat.
Benefits of GMOs
GMOs have become so prevalent because they produce many benefits. Among the benefits of genetic engineering from the Food And Agricultural of the United States (FAO) are agricultural productivity, environmental benefits, and human health benefits. Click here for complete details. There’s no denying GMOs have had a lot benefited crop production. UCBiotech.org is one website that seems to provide balanced information on bioengineering. It has a list of relevant articles (in the News), a searchable biotechnology information and scientific database, and links to various resources.
Are GMOs Safe?
It appears we don’t know. The FDA requires no testing of GMOs. Monsanto, a major producer of GMO seeds, says “There is no need for, of value in testing the safety of GM foods in humans. So long as the introduced protein is determined safe, foods from GM crops determined to be substantially equivalent is not expected to pose any health risks (source).“
How can you tell if a good contains GMOs?
In the US, there is no requirement to label foods as genetically modified. The Chicago Tribune article points out that more than 40 countries require GMO labeling. Some foods, especially soy products, certify themselves as being non-GMO. Some products contain a GMO-free seal to indicate they are mostly GMO free. The seal is on the banner of nongmoproject.org, which has a list of participating projects.
In a Nutshell
I intend to do some more research on this. While it seems biotech scientists give scientific reasons why GM foods are safe, I haven’t seen many studies out there. It seems like they are saying,” trust me, logically there is no reason why they aren’t safe.” But historically, scientists have erred on the potential impacts of new scientific breakthroughs. Many new “inventions” have proven to have surprise harmful side-effects. For me: since I eat soy products every day (soy milk, tofu, Kashi) I will look for non-GMO. On foods I eat less frequently, I won’t be as cautious.
Let us know what you’ve heard about this debate on GMOs.
References
- Chicagotribune.com, With no labeling, few realize they are eating genetically modified foods, Monica Eng, May 24, 2011
No comments:
Post a Comment