Genetically engineered food

[Guest guest]

The Way Nature Intended?

Yoga's food philosophy can inform the choices we make concerning

genetically modified foods—and guide us to take action.

By Deborah Kesten and Larry Scherwitz

 

http://www.yogajournal.com/health/732_1.cfm?ctsrc=nlv128

 

Native wild corn, grown in remote, rural mountains, has been a staple

of every family's diet in Mexico for centuries. So when local farmers

from the rural mountain settlement of Capulalpan discovered

strange-looking, less-than- tasty corn in their crops, they were

somewhat alarmed after examining it. Mexican and American scientists

identified the corn as being contaminated by a genetically modified

(GM) variety.

 

Called GM foods, GMOs (genetically modified organisms), or GE

(genetically engineered) foods, these are crops such as corn and

soybeans in which a segment of the plant's genetic code has been

modified in laboratories to enhance specific, desirable traits, such

as being tough enough to resist the effects of pesticides and

herbicides. At the same time, this powerful new technology promises

farmers higher yields.

 

Finding GM corn in the rural hills of Mexico was surprising because

Mexico had prohibited the cultivation of GM maize since 1998—although

it is still imported from the United States for human consumption. It

was even more unexpected because it was found 62 miles from the

nearest GM crops. Not only Capulalpan was affected; strains of

GM-tainted maize were identified in 15 of 22 rural towns in Oaxaca.

 

How could the spread of GM corn have happened? The accidental spread

of laboratory-tainted corn occurred for three reasons: Diconsa, the

government's food distribution program, illegally distributed the

subsidized GM corn to more than 20,000 stores; many of the corn

kernels fell off the trucks and grew easily in cracks and soil,

eventually contaminating Mexico's native varieties via pollination;

and some private residents of Capulalpan had planted GM corn. At

first it seemed like a dream come true: The yield was abundant. But

the dream turned troubling when it became evident that the ripe

genetically-modified maize was especially susceptible to local

plagues and diseases.

 

GE's Evolution

The spread of genetically modified corn in rural Mexico riveted the

attention of the international community because it threatened the

biodiversity of Mexico's more than 300 distinct species of native

corn and opened a floodgate of other concerns: health and safety

issues, black market distribution of illegally grown seeds,

government intervention, international trade issues, and lack of

consumer awareness. Welcome to the world of genetically modified

foods.

Like an international dust storm, genetically modified crops have

spread to the four corners of the earth via food exporters in North

and South America, windblown pollen, commingled seeds, and

black-market plantings. Shrouded in controversy, in some nations GM

foods are shunned as " Frankenfoods. " Some major food companies in

America have stopped using them, and a full-page ad in national

newspapers accused the biotech industry of wanting to " capture the

evolutionary process and reshape life on Earth to suit its balance

sheets. "

 

How did we get to such a difficult crossroad? Genetically modified

foods burst onto the world market without taking into account the

needs, opinions, and preferences of the consumer. Nor did

agribusiness, biotech corporations, scientists, and government give

GM foods the thorough and rigorous scrutiny they warrant given the

unpredictable long-term consequences they may have on the health of

the environment and human beings.

 

With so many unresolved issues, many uncertainties and conflicts have

inevitably surfaced. For instance, biotech corporations have created

" terminator genes, " seeds that live for only one generation so that

farmers must purchase new seeds each year. Such " genetic imperialism "

has far-reaching implications: If agricultural production depends on

the purchase of GM seeds, what are the consequences for farmers, food

security, and biodiversity? And what happens when pollen containing

terminator genes infects natural plants?

 

Yet another unknown is intra-species hybridization, offspring that

occur within a species of plants. If insects pollinated Mexico's

native maize with GM corn, GM plants could infiltrate all corn

plants. And isn't inter-species hybridization, which occurs between

species of plants, inevitable with GM plants? This may have occurred

with the unintended death of butterfly caterpillars that consumed

plants infected by windblown pollen from Bt corn (the Bt toxin,

Bacillus thuringiensis, is found in GE corn plants).

Cross-pollination has also occurred with organic food; thought to be

GM-free, it is testing positive for genetic modification.

 

Nutrient balance is yet another dynamic that may be affected when a

food is modified by genetic engineering. When the nutrient content in

GM soybeans was analyzed, they were found to have much lower levels

of isoflavones, naturally occurring substances that lower cholesterol

levels and the chances of cancer. Allergic reactions are another

health concern with GM organisms: Most often due to the creation of

new proteins, allergic reactions range from mild gastrointestinal

problems to life-threatening anaphylactic shock reactions.

 

International Intervention

With so many unknowns about GM food, international organizations,

global governments, and U.S. agencies are beginning to take action to

prevent potential harm. The European community, for example, requires

labeling of GM foods in stores, with a 1 percent contamination limit

for non-GM foods and products. As of April 2001, Japan mandates

health testing of GM foods, and the World Health Organization is

encouraging testing of allergic reactions.

In the U.S., creating optimal GM-food policy is a work in process.

The Food and Drug Administration is assigning teams to address

scientific, safety, and adulteration issues, while the National

Academy of Sciences is urging the Department of Agriculture to set

higher standards for the biotech industry and GE crops than those for

traditionally grown food.

 

Taking legislative action to protect the environment and the public

from the impact of GMOs is imperative, given that many experts

believe biotech crops are multiplying at an unknown rate. GMOs hold

the potential to cause irreversible harm by changing the Earth's

ecosystem. Indeed, once a newly structured GM gene is released into

the natural world, it cannot be recalled.

 

This controversial technology has its roots in " natural genetic

engineering, " selecting the best seeds from the hardiest plants. For

centuries, humans have altered the genetic characteristics of plants

naturally by selecting seeds from plants with desirable physical

characteristics such as taste, size, or color. In the nineteenth

century, botanist and yogi Luther Burbank, a student of Swami

Paramahansa Yogananda, inspired worldwide interest in plant breeding

after he " married " plants with different characteristics via

cross-pollination to create a plethora of new fruits and flowers.

Although many proponents of GM claim it to be a safe process

comparable to breeding plants, this is not accurate. Scientists are

modifying the genetic code of GM plants, whereas hybrid plants create

their own genetic structure. Genetic engineering modifies a small

piece of the genetic code with little knowledge of how this will

affect the full expression of the organism. In contrast, plants that

have been crossbred work together as a whole organism, the way nature

intended.

 

Yoga's Rx

When burbank bred plants, he did so with a deep respect and reverence

for the mystery of life in plants. " The secret of improved plant

breeding, apart from scientific knowledge, is love, " Burbank said.

Creating genetically modified foods is the antithesis of the

ever-present love with which Burbank approached his work. The good

news is that we can turn to yoga's ancient food philosophy, anna

yoga, to become proactive in our approach to genetically modified

foods.

To begin, consider prana, the force of life that is in the food we

eat and the air we breathe. Prana is also in the thoughts and

feelings we bring to food. Says Hindu cardiologist K. L. Chopra, M.

D., " Prana is the vital life force of the universe, the cosmic force

.. . . and it goes into you, into me, with food. When you cook with

love, you transfer the love into the food, and it is metabolized. "

Prana may affect food in yet another way. The yogic foods espoused in

the Bhagavad Gita are part of a holistic philosophy of nutrition

based on the vibrational energy and qualities in food and on the

concept of the three gunas, or qualities of nature. Sattvic foods are

natural, fresh, and calming; rajasic foods are spicy and stimulating;

and tamasic foods have lost their vitality and nutrition. The yogic

diet consists of foods with sattvic qualities, which are believed to

take on tamasic qualities when they are denatured through

adulteration or age.

 

The yogic concepts of prana and the gunas suggest that the

consciousness and regard we bring to food influences its essence and

that having respect for the life-giving, life-containing mystery

inherent in plants makes a difference.

 

Another powerful guideline is the concept of ahimsa, not causing

harm. By producing genetically engineered foods, we are tinkering

with life-forming mechanisms and ageless wisdom without knowing how

it all works. Such an aggressive intervention with our nourishment,

with that which contains and sustains life, is irresponsible, a

misguided guardianship of the gift and miracle of food.

 

The Fate of Designer Genes

Dna and its components have evolved over eons, working to transfer

the structure of life from one generation to the next. Changing one

cog in the network will affect the whole in unpredictable ways; this

is clear. It is also clear that we can take steps to become

responsible stewards of the Earth. To begin to turn around this trend

of genetically modified foods, get involved. Consider working toward

a moratorium on the widespread application of genetic technology

until ecological and human safety is ensured (visit

www.truefoodnow.org). Support sustainable agriculture—crop

diversification, rotation, and natural pest control. Go organic, and

insist that GM foods be labeled.

We can also practice anna yoga, which honors the interconnectedness

of life and acknowledges the sacred responsibility we humans have as

guardians of food. By approaching the growing concerns linked to

genetically modified foods with a yogic consciousness of loving prana

and sattvic intention, we may also be doing our part to create food

that will be filled with yoga's wisdom—and will help, not harm, body,

soul, and Mother Earth.

 

Learn about Deborah Kesten's work in integrative nutrition at

www.deborahkesten.com. Larry Scherwitz is director of research at

California Pacific Medical Center's Institute for Health and Healing

in San Francisco.

check out http://www.groups.msn.com/vegetarian

o00o0o0o0o0o0o0less Bush, more trees00o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

The difficult place that the U.S. is in can not be diminished by waging

more wars. The violence done in our name generates more violence

and hatred against us. The solution arises from changing our attitudes

about other people. We need to stop the theft of their resources and

labor and begin to treat others with respect and dignity. RossCannon