Are you eating genetically modified food? (article 2)

[Guest guest]

the last line reads "It's left up to the good nature of Monsanto or DuPont or other companies to do the right thing,"

 

Are we laughing yet?

~~Flo

-------

 

Are you eating genetically modified food? Survey: Most are but few know much about it Thursday, March 24, 2005 Posted: 11:35 AM EST (1635 GMT) http://www.cnn.com/2005/HEALTH/diet.fitness/03/24/genetic.foods.ap/index.html

 

TRENTON, New Jersey (AP) -- Can animal genes be jammed into plants? Would tomatoes with catfish genes taste fishy? Have you ever eaten a genetically modified food?

The answers are: yes, no and almost definitely. But according to a survey, most Americans couldn't answer correctly even though they've been eating genetically modified foods -- unlabeled -- for nearly a decade.

"It's just not on the radar screen," said William Hallman, associate director of the Food Biotechnology Program at the Rutgers Food Policy Institute, which conducted the survey.

Today, roughly 75 percent of U.S. processed foods -- boxed cereals, other grain products, frozen dinners, cooking oils and more -- contain some genetically modified, or GM, ingredients, said Stephanie Childs of the Grocery Manufacturers of America.

Despite dire warnings about "Frankenfoods," there have been no reports of illness from these products of biotechnology. Critics note there's no system for reporting allergies or other reactions to GM foods.

Nearly every product with a corn or soy ingredient, and some containing canola or cottonseed oil, has a GM element, according to the grocery manufacturers group.

In the Rutgers survey, less than half the people interviewed were aware GM foods are sold in supermarkets. At the same time, more than half wrongly believed supermarket chicken has been genetically modified.

So far, non-processed meat, poultry, fish and dairy products, and fruits and vegetables (both fresh and frozen) are not genetically modified.

GM food first hit supermarkets in 1994, with the highly touted Flavr Savr tomato, altered to give it a longer shelf life and better flavor. It flopped, in part due to disappointing taste, and disappeared in 1997, said Childs.

By 1995, farmers in several countries had planted millions of acres of GM corn and soybeans, and processed products containing them were in grocery stores.

Genetic modification of crops involves transferring genes from a plant or animal into a plant. Nearly all GM changes so far are to boost yields and deter insects and viruses, cutting the use of pesticides, thus making farming more productive and affordable -- a particular aid to developing nations.

More than 80 percent of the soy and 40 percent of the corn raised in this country is a GM variety. Global plantings of biotech crops -- mostly corn and soybeans and much of it for animal feed -- grew to about 200 million acres last year, about two-thirds of it in the United States.

The one billionth acre will be planted this spring, according to the Biotechnology Industry Organization.

Debate over safety

Experts say within several years there will be new GM foods with taste and nutrition improvements: cooking oils with less trans fat, tastier potatoes and peanuts that don't trigger allergies.

At North Carolina State University, one of the biggest U.S. plant breeding programs, scientists are developing drought-tolerant wheat and are a couple years from field testing GM peanuts that have no life-threatening allergens, said Steven Leath, associate dean for health research.

At Rutgers University's agricultural college, plant biology professor Nilgun Tumer and colleagues modified potatoes to better keep their flavor when processed as french fries and to limit browning when sliced, but she said farmers haven't adopted the new varieties. Now her team is trying to give tomatoes a gene to make a compound that helps prevent cancer and osteoporosis.

Lisa Lorenzen, a liaison to the biotech industry at Iowa State University, said most Americans haven't worried about GM foods because they trust the regulatory system. She said many Europeans oppose GM foods because they don't trust governments that wrongly insisted for years that the beef supply, tainted by mad cow disease, was safe.

Opponents say genetically modified foods could cause allergic or toxic reactions and harm the environment. Worries include the mixing of GM crops with regular ones either by handlers, or pollen -- already documented -- and GM foods being sold where they're not approved.

On Tuesday, a Swiss biotech company said it mistakenly sold U.S. farmers an experimental, unapproved GM corn seed, and tons of the resulting corn was sold between 2001 and 2004. U.S. government agencies say there was no health or environmental risk.

In 2000, recalls, lawsuits and public uproar followed disclosure that StarLink GM corn, approved only for animal use, had gotten into taco shells and chips.

University plant scientists, industry, the Food and Drug Administration and numerous European science agencies say GM foods are safe.

"Nobody's been able to prove that anyone's even gotten the sniffles from biotechnology," Childs said.

But Margaret Mellon of the Union of Concerned Scientists, said there's no system to track health problems caused by GM foods.

Her group, along with the Center for Science in the Public Interest, has long pushed for labeling -- only required when GM products have properties different from ordinary foods, such as a higher nutrient content. They contend consumers deserve a choice if they want to avoid GM foods and they also want government regulation.

Currently, companies developing GM foods voluntarily send their data to the FDA, but there's no official approval before products go on sale.

"It's left up to the good nature of Monsanto or DuPont or other companies to do the right thing," said Gregory Jaffe, director of the biotechnology project at CSPI.

 

Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.Flo, LouisianaIt matters not... Who you love, Where you love, Why you love, When you love, Or how you love, It matters only that you love.~ John Lennon

[Guest guest]

Actually, I’m trying not to cry!

 

 

 

 

 

Flo [fgarig]

Saturday, March 26, 2005 1:57 PM

To:

herbal_Remedies

Herbal Remedies - Are you

eating genetically modified food? (article 2)

 

 

 

the last line

reads " It's left up to the good nature of Monsanto or DuPont or other

companies to do the right thing, "

 

 

 

 

 

Are we laughing

yet?

 

 

~~Flo

 

 

-------

 

 

 

 

 

Are you eating

genetically modified food?

Survey: Most are but few know much about it

Thursday, March

24, 2005 Posted: 11:35 AM

EST (1635 GMT)

http://www.cnn.com/2005/HEALTH/diet.fitness/03/24/genetic.foods.ap/index.html

 

 

TRENTON, New

Jersey (AP) -- Can animal genes be jammed into plants?

Would tomatoes with catfish genes taste fishy? Have you ever eaten a

genetically modified food?

The answers are: yes, no and almost

definitely. But according to a survey, most Americans couldn't answer correctly

even though they've been eating genetically modified foods -- unlabeled -- for

nearly a decade.

" It's just not on the radar

screen, " said William

Hallman, associate director of the

Food Biotechnology Program at the Rutgers Food Policy Institute, which

conducted the survey.

Today, roughly 75 percent of U.S.

processed foods -- boxed cereals, other grain products, frozen dinners, cooking

oils and more -- contain some genetically modified, or GM, ingredients, said

Stephanie Childs of the Grocery Manufacturers of America.

Despite dire warnings about

" Frankenfoods, " there have been no reports of illness from these

products of biotechnology. Critics note there's no system for reporting

allergies or other reactions to GM foods.

Nearly every product with a corn or soy

ingredient, and some containing canola or cottonseed oil, has a GM element,

according to the grocery manufacturers group.

In the Rutgers

survey, less than half the people interviewed were aware GM foods are sold in

supermarkets. At the same time, more than half wrongly believed supermarket

chicken has been genetically modified.

So far, non-processed meat, poultry,

fish and dairy products, and fruits and vegetables (both fresh and frozen) are

not genetically modified.

GM food first hit supermarkets in 1994,

with the highly touted Flavr

Savr tomato, altered to give it a

longer shelf life and better flavor. It flopped, in part due to disappointing

taste, and disappeared in 1997, said Childs.

By 1995, farmers in several countries

had planted millions of acres of GM corn and soybeans, and processed products

containing them were in grocery stores.

Genetic modification of crops involves

transferring genes from a plant or animal into a plant. Nearly all GM changes

so far are to boost yields and deter insects and viruses, cutting the use of

pesticides, thus making farming more productive and affordable -- a particular

aid to developing nations.

More than 80 percent of the soy and 40

percent of the corn raised in this country is a GM variety. Global plantings of

biotech crops -- mostly corn and soybeans and much of it for animal feed --

grew to about 200 million acres last year, about two-thirds of it in the United States.

The one billionth acre will be planted

this spring, according to the Biotechnology Industry Organization.

Debate over safety

Experts say within several years there

will be new GM foods with taste and nutrition improvements: cooking oils with

less trans fat, tastier potatoes and peanuts that

don't trigger allergies.

At North

Carolina State University, one of the biggest U.S. plant

breeding programs, scientists are developing drought-tolerant wheat and are a

couple years from field testing GM peanuts that have no life-threatening

allergens, said Steven

Leath, associate dean for health

research.

At Rutgers University's

agricultural college, plant biology professor Nilgun Tumer

and colleagues modified potatoes to better keep their flavor when processed as

french fries and to limit browning when sliced, but she said farmers haven't

adopted the new varieties. Now her team is trying to give tomatoes a gene to

make a compound that helps prevent cancer and osteoporosis.

Lisa Lorenzen, a liaison to the biotech industry at Iowa State

University, said most

Americans haven't worried about GM foods because they trust the regulatory

system. She said many Europeans oppose GM foods because they don't trust

governments that wrongly insisted for years that the beef supply, tainted by

mad cow disease, was safe.

Opponents say genetically modified

foods could cause allergic or toxic reactions and harm the environment. Worries

include the mixing of GM crops with regular ones either by handlers, or pollen

-- already documented -- and GM foods being sold where they're not approved.

On Tuesday, a Swiss biotech company

said it mistakenly sold U.S.

farmers an experimental, unapproved GM corn seed, and tons of the resulting

corn was sold between 2001 and 2004. U.S. government agencies say there

was no health or environmental risk.

In 2000, recalls, lawsuits and public

uproar followed disclosure that StarLink GM corn, approved only for animal use,

had gotten into taco shells and chips.

University plant scientists, industry,

the Food and Drug Administration and numerous European science agencies say GM

foods are safe.

" Nobody's been able to prove that

anyone's even gotten the sniffles from biotechnology, " Childs said.

But Margaret Mellon

of the Union of Concerned Scientists, said there's no system to track health

problems caused by GM foods.

Her group, along with the Center for

Science in the Public Interest, has long pushed for labeling -- only required

when GM products have properties different from ordinary foods, such as a

higher nutrient content. They contend consumers deserve a choice if they want

to avoid GM foods and they also want government regulation.

Currently, companies developing GM

foods voluntarily send their data to the FDA, but there's no official approval

before products go on sale.

" It's left up to the good nature

of Monsanto or DuPont or other companies to do the right thing, " said Gregory Jaffe,

director of the biotechnology project at CSPI.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Copyright 2005

The Associated Press.

All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten,

or redistributed.

 

 

 

Flo, Louisiana

 

It matters not...

Who you love, Where you love,

Why you love, When you love,

Or how you love,

It matters only that you love.

~ John Lennon

 

 

 

Federal

Law requires that we warn you of the following:

1. Natural methods can sometimes backfire.

2. If you are pregnant, consult your physician

before using any natural remedy.

3. The Constitution guarantees you the right to be

your own physician and to

prescribe for your own health.

We are not medical doctors although MDs are

welcome to post here as long as

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Any opinions put forth by the list members are

exactly that, and any person

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It is up to you to educate yourself. By

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be fully responsible for your own health, and hold

the List Owner and members free of any liability.

 

Dr. Ian Shillington

Doctor of Naturopathy

Dr.IanShillington

[Guest guest]

I meant it sarcastically. I am so angered by the people who say "it doesn't matter"...there was some talk a few months back that all soybeans had been mixed with GMO soybean seeds and that would mean never having soy again...that really eats me up. I suspect if it happened it wasn't an accident.

 

I cry too, specially since I have been supposedly growing organic corn for years and saving my seeds.

 

Flo

 

-

Carole Eddington

 

 

Actually, I’m trying not to cry!

 

 

[Guest guest]

This is REALLY upsetting!!

 

My Daughter has been labeled with ADD and as I think I posted

previously, she was taking the meds for it. Since I started the

process of dealing with it, we have changed some of most of our diet

and I had already removed most prepackaged foods. But, what are you

to do if the rest of the foods are filled are GM foods??

 

Right now, I don't live where I can grow my own and then the seeds

become an issue when I can Are the companies out there who sell

heirloom seeds authentic or have they been tainted in some way too?

Hopefully this summer when I move, I will be able to grow my own

veggies and I hope it is possible to do it without the GM seeds too.

Anyone know of any really relable sources for heirloom seeds?

 

Take care,

Gina

[Guest guest]

herbal remedies , " kelticgirl14 "

<kelticgirl14> wrote:

> Right now, I don't live where I can grow my own and then the seeds

> become an issue when I can Are the companies out there who sell

> heirloom seeds authentic or have they been tainted in some way

>too? Hopefully this summer when I move, I will be able to grow my

>own veggies and I hope it is possible to do it without the GM seeds

>too.

> Anyone know of any really relable sources for heirloom seeds?

>

> Take care,

> Gina

 

*******************

I posted my " fav " organic seed links a few weeks ago here. Rather

than type it all out again, I've just copied/pasted my reply from

that post.

 

You can grow lots of foods/herbs in containers, so you could feasibly

start them now, and take them with you when you move....

 

(I have ordered from each of the companies I listed below.)

Jan

 

(from previous post)

 

There are still many reputable seed companies that offer Non-GMO,

Organic, Heirloom, Open-Pollinated seeds. (If you choose Open-

Pollinated, rather than hybrids, you can save your own seeds for next

season, if you take precautions to keep them from cross-pollinating)

 

My personal favorites to purchase seeds are Seeds of Change

and Peaceful Valley as they have the biggest organic selections:

 

http://www.seedsofchange.com/

 

http://www.groworganic.com/

 

There are other companies that are members of the Safe Seed

Initiative (meaning they don't sell GMO seeds), but not all their

seeds are certified organic. They do offer many selections that are

tho, and indicate in their catalogs which ones they are.

 

Seed Savers Exchange at http://www.seedsavers.org/Home.asp

 

Johnny's Selected Seeds at http://www.johnnyseeds.com/

 

Territorial Seed Company at

http://www.territorial-seed.com/stores/1/index.cfm

 

Each of the companies will send a free catalog if you request one, so

that you can read all the seed descriptions ( & see which ones are

organic/heirloom/OP) and they give tips and hints and zones for

growing them.

[Guest guest]

Thanks, Jan for sending me the company names.. I will be ordering

their cataloges...I really appreciate it!)

Take care,

Gina