The Truth about Genetically Modified Food
What are GMOs?
A GMO—also known as a bioengineered product—is any living thing whose genetic code (DNA) has been changed to improve the way it grows, thrives, looks or tastes.
Thirty years after tomatoes became the first genetically modified produce sold in the U.S., lots of people remain skeptical of science-ified foods. In a 2020 Pew Research Center survey, just 27% of Americans said they felt genetically modified foods are safe to eat, while 38% said they’re unsafe and 33% weren’t sure.
Hybrid plants created from two or more existing varieties have long been part of our food chain. Fruits and nuts are often grown on hybridized trees. We've been crossbreeding livestock for hundreds of years.
However, some GMO foods may pose health risks, especially for kids. This is because most genetic engineering has focused on making crops resistant to weed killers, (herbicides) that farmers spray in large quantities on the food we later eat.
Genetic engineering enables crops like corn and soybeans to survive repeated doses of weed killer. (If the plants weren't genetically altered, the herbicides would kill them.)
How herbicides can pose a health threat
The main ingredient in herbicides used across the United States is glyphosate. This chemical is also present in weed killers you may have used around your home.
When glyphosate was first approved, it was thought to pose no threat to human health. But research from around the world now shows that these chemicals can build up in our bodies. This can increase the risks for some blood cancers, including specific kinds of leukemia and lymphoma. Some studies show that farmers who use glyphosate on their crops face a greater risk of developing these blood cancers than people with lower exposure to herbicides.
Recent studies show that glyphosate is present in many foods, especially ultra-processed foods. It also shows up in 80% of urine samples taken from people in the U.S.—including kids as young as 6 years. This suggests that most children and adults are consuming foods that may increase their chances of developing cancer.
Allergic Reactions
The genetic engineering of food creates two separate and serious health risks involving allergenicity. The first is that genetic engineering can transfer allergens from foods to which people know they are allergic, to foods that they think are safe. This risk is not hypothetical. A study by the New England Journal of Medicine showed that when a gene from a Brazil nut was engineered into soybeans, people allergic to nuts had serious reactions to the engineered product. At least one food, a Pioneer Hi-Bred International soybean, was abandoned because of this problem. Without labeling, people with known food allergies have no way of avoiding the potentially serious health consequences of eating GE foods containing hidden allergenic material.
Cancer
Along with its approval of GE foods, the FDA in 1993 also approved the use of genetically engineered recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone (rBGH), used to induce dairy cows to produce more milk. At the time the FDA assured consumers that the milk was safe. Since then, however, regulatory bodies in both Canada and Europe have rejected the drug, citing numerous animal and human health concerns. Perhaps of most immediate concern for consumers is that research shows that the levels of a hormone called insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) are increased in dairy products produced from cows treated with rBGH. The Canadians and Europeans further found that the FDA had completely failed to consider a study which showed that the increased IGF-1 in rBGH milk could survive digestion and make its way into the intestines and blood streams of consumers. These findings are significant because numerous studies now demonstrate that IGF-1 is an important factor in the growth of breast cancer, prostate cancer, and colon cancer.
Antibiotic Resistance
When GMO scientists insert new DNA into plant cells, they will often add in an additional gene that makes the modified cells resistant to antibiotics. They can then use an antibiotic to kill off any plant cells that didn't successfully take in the new DNA.
However, researchers are finding that these antibiotic-resistant genes don't always go away once you digest GMO foods, but can actually be passed through your feces into sewage systems. Some experts worry that these genes may be absorbed into harmful bacteria found in sewers or your gut that can cause serious illnesses like staph infections. This means that the usual antibiotic treatments would be powerless against these new super-bacteria.
Government oversight is dangerously lax
Most of the health and environmental risks of GMOs are ignored by governments’ superficial regulations and safety assessments. The reason for this tragedy is largely political. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), for example, doesn’t require a single safety study, does not mandate labeling of GMOs, and allows companies to put their GM foods onto the market without even notifying the agency. Their justification was the claim that they had no information showing that GM foods were substantially different. But this was a lie. Secret agency memos made public by a lawsuit show that the overwhelming consensus even among the FDA’s own scientists was that GMOs can create unpredictable, hard-to-detect side effects. They urged long-term safety studies. But the White House had instructed the FDA to promote biotechnology, and the agency official in charge of policy was Michael Taylor, Monsanto’s former attorney, later their vice president. He’s now the US Food Safety Czar.
The biotech industry uses “tobacco science” to claim product safety
Biotech companies like Monsanto told us that Agent Orange, PCBs, and DDT were safe. They are now using the same type of superficial, rigged research to try and convince us that GMOs are safe. Independent scientists, however, have caught the spin-masters red-handed, demonstrating without doubt how industry-funded research is designed to avoid finding problems, and how adverse findings are distorted or denied.
Potential Risks of GMOs Based on Animal Research
The IRT also put together a list of observed effects of GMOs on animals:
Rats that were fed potatoes engineered to produce their own insecticide developed potentially precancerous cell growth in the digestive tract; inhibited development of their brains, livers and testicles; partial atrophy of the liver; enlarged pancreases and intestines; and immune system damage.
Seven out of 20 rats fed the GM Flavr Savr tomato for 28 days developed stomach lesions (bleeding stomachs); another seven of 40 died within two weeks and were replaced in the study.
Rats fed Monsanto’s Mon 863 Bt corn for 90 days showed significant changes in their blood cells, livers and kidneys.
Mice fed GM Bt potatoes experienced intestinal damage.
A quarter of sheep died after grazing in GM Bt cotton fields for a week.
Over 20 farmers in North America report pigs and cows became sterile from GM corn.
Twelve dairy cows died on a farm in Germany after being fed a diet with significant amounts of a single GM corn variety, Bt 176.
The liver cells of mice fed Roundup Ready soybeans showed significant changes.
Mice fed Roundup Ready soy had unexplained changes in testicular cells.
Rabbits fed GM soy for about 40 days showed significant differences in the amounts of certain enzymes in their kidneys, hearts and livers.
Rats fed Roundup Ready canola had heavier livers.
GM peas generated an allergic-type inflammatory response in mice.
In farmer-run tests, cows and pigs repeatedly passed up GM corn.
A systematic review of animal and human studies was conducted on genetically modified (GM) food consumption to assess its safety in terms of adverse effects/events to inform public concerns and future research.
Serious adverse events of GM consumption include mortality, tumour or cancer, significant low fertility, decreased learning and reaction abilities, and some organ abnormalities. Further clinical trials and long-term cohort studies in human populations, especially on GM food-related adverse events and the corresponding GM events, are still warranted. It suggests the necessity of labelling GM food so that consumers can make their own choice. Source
Biotechnology companies restrict independent research into GMOs
The corporations that own patents on GMOs forbid independent research into the GMOs that they market and sell and will legally prevent such research from being undertaken or published. This is understandable as companies like Bayer and Monsanto want to ensure that any information that questions the performance of their seed does not reach the market.
In 2009, a group of scientists from corn-producing states went to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to challenge the long-standing industry restrictions on impartial research into GMOs.
They expressed concern that these GMO conglomerates were inhibiting public scientists from investigating GMOs for “the public good”, warning that lobbying and undue industry influence had made it impossible to independently analyze transgenic crops.
Academics who research the adverse effects of GMOs may encounter difficulties in getting their work peer-reviewed or accepted by leading research publications. This is because many academics that sit on the editorial boards of publications have received funding from these large companies or allied interest groups. Scientists who discover problems with GMOs have been attacked, gagged, fired, threatened, and denied funding. The journal Nature acknowledged that a “large block of scientists . . . denigrate research by other legitimate scientists in a knee-jerk, partisan, emotional way that is not helpful in advancing knowledge.” Attempts by the media to expose problems are also often censored.
How to Avoid GMO Foods
Buy food that is labeled 100 percent organic. It has no GMOs.
Look for "non-GMO" or "GMO-free" labels.
Buy from a local farmers’ market or farm. If you’re not sure, ask whether they use GMO seeds or products on their farms.
Read Labels Carefully. You’ll also want to read labels carefully, especially on items like snack foods, to avoid common genetically engineered ingredients.
Identify how produce is grown by reading its label or sticker number.
4-digit number means food was conventionally grown.
5-digit number that begins with a 9 means produce is organic.
5-digit number that begins with an 8 means it is genetically modified. (PLU labeling is optional so not all genetically modified produce can be identified)
If a food item isn’t organic or doesn’t have a Non-GMO Project seal, avoid products that come from the most common GMO crops. This includes corn, soy, canola, papaya, zucchini and yellow summer squash, sugar beets and cottonseed.
Grow your own food using non-GMO seeds.