GMOs, also known as genetically modified organisms, are created by injecting the DNA from one species into another species, creating genetic combinations that cannot occur in nature or through typical crossbreeding methods. For example, genes from an arctic flounder (which has natural "antifreezing" properties that protect it from the frigid waters) may be injected into tomato DNA to make a new breed that is more resistant to frost damage. It sounds like a sci-fi movie, but it’s reality. And, according to the FDA, over 75 percent of processed food in the United States may contain GMOs. Foods with genetically modified ingredients don’t have to be labeled, though, so you’re probably eating them every day without even knowing it.
What’s the big deal? No one knows for sure yet (because very little testing has been done – even though it’s been allowed to become nearly ubiquitous in our food supply). But, preliminary findings are disturbing, to say the least.
According to Jeffrey Smith, author of “Seeds of Deception”, in one of the first studies in the early 1990’s, rats were fed GM tomatoes. Actually, they refused to eat them, so they had to be force fed. And, rats aren’t the only animals who’ve declined a snack of GMOs. Smith says “eyewitness reports from all over North America describe how several types of animals, when given a choice, avoided eating GM food. These included cows, pigs, elk, deer, raccoons, squirrels, rats, and mice.”
What do the animals know that we don’t? Why do their instincts tell them to avoid these “frankenfoods?” We’ll likely never know, but here are some facts we do know from “Just Say No to GMO” by Dr. Joseph Pizzorno:
• A preliminary study from the Russian National Academy of Sciences [found] that more than half the offspring of mother rats fed GM soy died within three weeks (compared to 9% from mothers fed natural soy).
• [An] estimated 10,000 sheep died in India within 5-7 days of grazing on GM cotton plants engineered to produce their own Bt-toxin pesticide.
• The only human GM feeding study ever published show[ed] that the foreign genes inserted into GM food crops can transfer into the DNA of our gut bacteria. This study gives new meaning to the adage, "You are what you eat." Long after those GM corn chips you munched are history, your intestinal flora may still be churning out the "Bt" pesticide GM corn plants have been engineered to produce.
Reality is that the FDA has absolutely no GMO safety testing requirements, and GM ingredients are ubiquitous in prepared foods. Unless a processed food contains only organic ingredients, it is highly likely to contain GM ingredients. The "research" that supports GMO safety is voluntarily provided by companies on their own GM crops and has been described by critics as "meticulously designed to avoid finding problems".
But 44,000 FDA internal documents later made public as a result of a lawsuit revealed problems. The overwhelming consensus among the FDA's scientists was that GM foods were substantively different, so different that their consumption might result in unpredictable and hard-to-detect allergens, toxins, new diseases and nutritional problems. Agency scientists urged superiors to require long-term studies, but were not only ignored, their statements about possible negative effects of GMOs were progressively deleted from FDA policy statement drafts.
According to the Non-GMO Project, a nonprofit independent verification program, in over 30 other countries around the world, including Australia, Japan, and all of the countries in the European Union, there are significant restrictions or outright bans on the production of GMOs, because they are not considered proven safe. In Europe, any approved products containing more than 0.9% GMO are labeled by the government. While we wait for proper safety testing, regulations, and labeling, we can take our health into our own hands and act with a little precaution by following these steps:
• Check food labels for soy-, corn- and cottonseed-based additives, most likely to be genetically engineered.
• Buy 100% certified organic especially for corn, soy, potato and animal products.
• Choose a wide variety of fresh, whole foods over processed foods that are likely to contain bioengineered additives. Check the PLU code on produce to identify if it’s genetically engineered. PLUs consist of 4 to 5 numbers (4 numbers = conventional produce, 5 numbers starting with 9 = organic produce, 5 numbers starting with 8 = genetically engineered produce).
• Look for the Non-GMO Project verified label (visit their website to find products they have tested).
• Buy locally grown produce from farmers’ markets and Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farms where you can talk to the producer.
• Prepare meals at home so you know exactly what you are eating.
Additional Resources:
Non-GMO Shopping Guide
State of the Science on the Health Risks of GM Foods
Article from: http://healthychild.org/blog/comments/animals_dont_want_to_eat_gmos_so_why_are_we/
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