Guest guest Posted June 4, 2003 Report Share Posted June 4, 2003 Wed, 4 Jun 2003 14:25:22 -0500 HSI - Jenny Thompson Landslide Landslide Health Sciences Institute e-Alert June 4, 2003 ************************************************************** Dear Reader, Last month President Bush gave a graduation speech at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy where he made some comments about genetically modified (GM) food that I disagree with. That is...I respectfully disagree. I don't want to get a reputation as the " Dixie Chick " of alternative healthcare. What genetic food engineering has to do with graduating or the Coast Guard I have no idea, but the President took a moment to address the countries of the European Union (EU), blaming their ban on GM food for discouraging third-world nations from using GM technology. The President feels that efforts to end hunger in Africa could go forward unimpeded if the EU would be as open-minded as American farmers are in accepting what he calls " high-yield bio-crops. " I regularly receive questions from HSI members about GM crops and the safety of consuming foods that contain GM ingredients. So this seems like a good opportunity to share some of the key points I've come across about this important subject. Especially because a major new report on GM food has just been released by an independent team of scientists in the U.K. ----------------------------- Ready, fire, AIM! ----------------------------- President Bush characterizes fears about GM crops as " unfounded " and " unscientific. " But most Europeans are apparently reluctant to consume GM foods without first seeing more evidence about the long-term health and environmental consequences. I don't blame them. There are plenty of examples in the history of technology where a new innovation was rushed into use, only to find out later that it wasn't safe. Fluoridation of public water supplies, for instance, has been widely accepted in the U.S. as a safe and effective way to prevent tooth decay. However, recent studies have shown that this industrial byproduct has virtually no positive effect on dental health, but may increase the risk of developing osteoporosis and Alzheimer's disease. GM foods have been around for less than a decade, so their long-term effects on our health won't be known for years. Meanwhile, the limited amount of research that has been conducted has produced conflicting conclusions. Companies that develop GM foods say their studies on lab animals show no adverse effects on health. But a few independent studies contain worrying results, such as damaged kidneys and other organs. ----------------------------- You are what you eat ----------------------------- And you might say that a human experiment of sorts is going on right now. By some estimates, as much as 70 percent of all processed foods now contain GM ingredients. Is this causing a subtle change in the bodies of consumers (such as a gradual build up of toxins in fatty tissue, for instance) that won't be detected for another decade? In spite of vague reassurances from GM food producers, no one can really answer this question. Not yet anyway. And in the meantime you won't see packaging labels stating that ingredients are genetically modified. According to the New York Times, this point is a problem for Europeans who are demanding that GM foods be clearly labeled. But American food producers resist the idea, fearing that such labels would discourage sales. Which is sort of like saying, We don't want to put seat belts in cars because people will think cars are dangerous and won't buy them. The way for food producers to address this problem is simple (not easy, but simple). If there's a perception that GM foods may be unsafe, then change that perception by offering more than just reassurances. Give us irrefutable studies demonstrating safety. I expect that most people wouldn't mind eating GM food EXCLUSIVELY if you prove to them it's 100 percent safe and nutritious. ----------------------------- Medicated macaroni ----------------------------- In an e-Alert I sent you last year ( " Popeye's Problem " 9/12/02) HSI Panelist Allan Spreen, M.D., told us about the environmental problem of containing GM crops. A GM corn called StarLink was produced strictly for the consumption of farm animals. But efforts to keep this corn out of the human food supply (for fear of triggering allergies and other side effects in humans) failed because farmers had not anticipated how far-reaching cross-pollination would be. As a result, even the makers of StarLink admit that this genetic variant of corn has now become an irreversible part of the food supply. The fact that nature is large and messy and won't necessarily cooperate with the best laid plans of genetic engineers is most troubling when considering the branch of GM agriculture known as " pharming. " For many years, huge agri-corporations like Monsanto (which is owned by the drug giant Pharmacia) have been developing food crops that contain drugs as an alternate way to deliver vaccines and other medications. This raises a whole new set of GM fears. What happens to the local environment when birds, animals and insects eat medicated crops from a field in your community? And when pharm crops cross-pollinate, will you be getting a dose of an unwanted medication in that fresh corn you buy at a roadside stand? As with standard GM crops, these questions haven't been answered yet. But you can be sure that wherever GM agriculture and products are allowed, pharming will not be far behind. ----------------------------- Why go there? ----------------------------- In the 20th century, the use of pesticides, herbicides, and preservatives stripped foods of important nutrients. Now genetic modification adds many new concerns about food safety and quality in the 21st century. A number of prominent scientists in the U.K. have established the Independent Science Panel (ISP) to refute the breezy assurances that GM food is perfectly safe and should be embraced worldwide. The ISP recently issued a report titled " The Case for a GM Free Sustainable World " in which they call for a ban on GM crops. With this report they hope to balance the GM agriculture debate, which they say is unfairly biased toward the pro-GM forces within the UK government. (Their report is available online at the ISP web site: i-sis.org.uk.) The ISP report makes the point that third-world hunger is much more the result of economic and political factors than inadequate food production. They cite estimates by the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization that there is enough food produced by conventional crops to feed the entire world. Add to that the fact that GM agriculture technology is not even designed to increase yields, and serious doubts are raised that starving nations would benefit in any way by the adoption of GM farming in Europe. Like President Bush, I strongly support efforts to end hunger in Africa, but I think we should look for safe ways to address that problem without assuming the best or only way is to modify the genes of the food we eat. ************************************************************** ...and another thing A couple of weeks ago an HSI member named Wally suggested that distilled water would be a good alternative to either tap water or bottled water ( " A La Carte " 5/14/03), in avoiding water contaminants. After agreeing with Wally, I shared another e-mail from a member named Irene ( " The Mighty Mite " 5/20/03) who pointed out that while distilled water is pure, she had been told to drink it for only 4 to 6 weeks, but no longer, because distilled water contains no minerals. As the theory goes, if the only water you drink is mineral-free distilled water, it actually draws minerals out of your body. HSI Panelist Allan Spreen, M.D., agreed that what Irene had heard was probably true, but noted that if your choice was between distilled water and tap water, distilled would win out, being free of all the " extras " that flow out of virtually all taps. Now this newest chapter in the distilled water saga comes from an HSI member named William, who you might say is a mineral man: " I am a Certified Professional Geologist and one who is somewhat familiar with the 'lack of minerals in distilled water' concerns. Please realize that the minerals in groundwater or surface water come from the rocks, soils, and sediments through which that water has percolated through, or over. " As a general rule then, specific 'natural' water will have a lot of some minerals and next to nothing of others, because of the water's contact with only a limited number of local mineral sources. It's also true that most natural waters will have only tiny amounts of critical mineral components dissolved within them. " For supplement conscious folks like HSI members, we will get all of those critical minerals from our daily 'multi.' Distilled water is the only water for me...plus those minerals that I can only get in sufficient amounts from supplements or from carefully selected fruits and vegetables. " I'm sure this won't be the end of the water debate, but William certainly makes a convincing case for taking our H20 distilled. To Your Good Health, Jenny Thompson Health Sciences Institute ************************************************************** Sources: " Bush Links Europe's Ban on Bio-Crops With Hunger " David E. Sanger, The New York Times, 5/22/03, nytimes.com " GMO Crops Are An Accident Waiting to Happen " Dr. Joseph Mercola, 6/2/01, mercola.com " Farmers Grow a Field of Dilemma " Justin Gillis, The Washington Post, 12/22/02, washingtonpost.com " Prominent Scientists Form Group to Counter GM Food " Dr. Joseph Mercola, 5/21/03, mercola.com " The Case for a GM Free Sustainable World " Independent Science Panel, 5/10/03, i-sis.org.uk Copyright ©1997-2003 by www.hsibaltimore.com, L.L.C. 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