Guest guest Posted April 15, 2006 Report Share Posted April 15, 2006 http://www.organicconsumers.org/ge/ge040806.cfm Genetically Engineered Foods: Not a Healthy Choice Rockford Register Star rrstar.com Published: April 8, 2006 Letters to the Editor Genetically modified foods are not a healthy choice By Karen King Special to the Register Star To some people, genetically modified organisms or biotech foods are a fairly new concept and many (most) people have no idea what these words mean. It is estimated that GMOs are present in 70 percent to 90 percent of our food. Eighty-five percent of the soy and the majority of the corn grown in the United States are genetically modified, as well as canola, cotton, zucchini, Hawaiian papaya and Quest tobacco. Food ingredients include corn syrup, corn starch, soy lecithin, vegetable oil, etc. Genetically modified organisms are not hybrids or cross-bred animals. GMOs contain genes or DNA of other species or bacteria. For example, a tomato that has been infused with the gene of an arctic fish to keep it from being damaged during frost (this has actually been done) or soybeans, corn and wheat that have been modified to contain their own pesticides or engineered to sustain multiple applications of herbicides and pesticides. In order for cells to accept new DNA, an antibiotic marker gene must also be inserted. The new DNA, antibiotic and pesticide are present in every cell of the plant. Washing is ineffective. GMOs cannot be recalled. Once they are released into the environment, they cannot be controlled. The long term health and environmental effects are unknown. GMOs do not require testing ‹ the FDA accepts GMOs under the Generally Recognized As Safe guidelines. The GRAS category relies on industry testing and voluntary information. The FDA does not even require notification when new products have been produced and put into the marketplace. There is no way to track the health effects and there is no accountability. The problems in our society seem to correspond to the problems that farmers experience with their animals when fed GMOs. Many farmers report that their animals have problems conceiving and when taken off GMOs and put on natural foods, they are able to conceive normally. Some gave birth to water bags. Others had miscarriages. Rats that ate GMOs sat in the corner by themselves. The ones who ate a natural diet were fine; they played and behaved like rats. Injections of the RBGH hormone in cows cause an increase in Insulinlike growth factor 1 in humans. Although some amount of IGF-1 is necessary; elevated levels have been linked with cancer. In addition, a greater amount of antibiotics is needed to treat the increased udder infections caused from increased milk production in RBGH/BST-injected cows. Antibiotic injections end up in milk at levels previously considered by the FDA to be unsafe. British Scientist, Arpad Puzti found that rats that ate genetically modified potatoes suffered from damaged immune systems. Their white blood cells responded more sluggishly than those fed a non-GMO diet, leaving them more vulnerable to infection and disease. Compared to the rats fed a non-GMO diet, some of the GMO-fed rats had smaller, less developed brains, livers and testicles. Other rats had enlarged tissues, including the pancreas and intestines. Significant structural changes and a proliferation of cells in the stomach and intestines of the GMO-fed rats may have signaled an increased potential for cancer. Many rats developed serious health effects after only 10 days and some of these changes persisted after 110 days, a time period corresponding to about 10 years of human life. Europe requires genetically modified foods to be labeled. Because of this, the same companies who manufacture food in the U.S. using these ingredients choose not to use GMOs in Europe. America has the lowest standards of biotech safety in the developed world. Even developing nations such as Zaire have tighter standards than we do. Please write your congressman and tell them you want GMOs to be labeled. Do not sit back and let this continue to happen! Change will only happen if we make our voices heard. You can find more information on this subject as well as steps you can take to protect your family at www.thecampaign.org. Karen King is owner of Choices Natural Market. **************************************************************************** ************************* This daily news service is a production of the Ecological Farming Association (www.eco-farm.org) and is supported by a generous donation by Newmans Own Organics) **************************************************************************** ************************** Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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