>>>What Happened at the U.S. Supreme Court? >>>Shoppers’ Guide to Avoiding GE Foods >>>GE Crops >>>GE Animals >>>GE Fish
The genetic engineering of plants and animals is looming as one of the greatest and most intractable environmental challenges of the 21st Century. Already, this novel technology has invaded our grocery stores and our kitchen pantries by fundamentally altering some of our most important staple food crops.
By being able to take the genetic material from one organism and insert it into the permanent genetic code of another, biotechnologists have engineered numerous novel creations, such as potatoes with bacteria genes, “super” pigs with human growth genes, fish with cattle growth genes, tomatoes with flounder genes, and thousands of other plants, animals and insects. At an alarming rate, these creations are now being patented and released into the environment.
Currently, up to 85 percent of U.S. corn is genetically engineered as are 91 percent of soybeans and 88 percent of cotton (cottonseed oil is often used in food products). It has been estimated that upwards of 70 percent of processed foods on supermarket shelves–from soda to soup, crackers to condiments–contain genetically engineered ingredients.
A number of studies over the past decade have revealed that genetically engineered foods can pose serious risks to humans, domesticated animals, wildlife and the environment. Human health effects can include higher risks of toxicity, allergenicity, antibiotic resistance, immune-suppression and cancer. As for environmental impacts, the use of genetic engineering in agriculture will lead to uncontrolled biological pollution, threatening numerous microbial, plant and animal species with extinction, and the potential contamination of all non-genetically engineered life forms with novel and possibly hazardous genetic material.
Despite these long-term and wide-ranging risks, Congress has yet to pass a single law intended to manage them responsibly. This despite the fact that our regulatory agencies have failed to adequately address the human health or environmental impacts of genetic engineering. On the federal level, eight agencies attempt to regulate biotechnology using 12 different statutes or laws that were written long before genetically engineered food, animals and insects became a reality. The result has been a regulatory tangle, where any regulation even exists, as existing laws are grossly manipulated to manage threats they were never intended to regulate. Among many bizarre examples of these regulatory anomalies is the current attempt by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to regulate genetically engineered fish as “new animal drugs.” Yet, at the same time, the FDA claims it has no jurisdiction over genetically engineered pet fish like the Glofish.
Tell me what I can do to help.
Go to the Center for Food Safety Home Page. Click on the Action Alerts over to the side and sign the petitions. You could also Donate to the Center for Food Safety.
To learn more about Genetically Modified Food, go to this website:
http://www.howtoeathealthyguidetohealth.officelive.com (go to the page on Genetically Modified Foods)
To take yet more action, tell more people about CFS and educate people. If you really want to get rid of Genetically Modified Foods, get people to stop eating them. The health risks of eating GE food are extremely serious and notifiable. The above website has enough information in that regard to put you in business for a while. It has information on what genetically engineered food is, how it is harmful, and how it is inextricably tied to corruption (of the gov’t), and deceit (of the people).
[...] If you want to find out more about GE (Genetically Engineered) or GMO foods a great site to visit is the True Food Network – http://truefoodnow.org/genetically-engineered-foods/ [...]
[...] they did with a small size. We make our own at home and bring (sneak) it in. This way we avoid the Genetically Modified corn and can control the portion sizes and the quality! Check the blog for our delicious popcorn [...]
I can’t believe what I have been reading! Thank you for the shopping list; I will be using it all the time. I want to tell all my family about what is going on in the food industry.
I was wondering if you could point me to your sources for the information in paragraph three of this article. I am doing research and I like these stats, but I need the actual agency or research from which they were pulled.
Thanks,
Thanks to our successfully industrious forebears, all grains are genetically engineered, no?
The GE fear is not clear to me. All of our grains were engineered by early agriculturalists, no? Humans invented corn, right?
I wouldn’t say “invented” but “domesticated” is commonly used to describe such crops in human history. Jared Diamond’s Guns Germs and Steel covers this in some detail. On this website, however, they begin with superpigs and then suggest that they may be in our sodas. I think the result is a sort of mild agro-Luddism.
I doubt they seek to contain and reduce domesticated plants such as rice and potatoes, but just as legislators have trouble specifying practical items of concern, so do advocacy groups. Follow their links for more info (top right of page) but do your own research before you decide…safe advice in any forum. Fishberries, for example, are myth although presented by this site as reality.
Food for thought!
I recently saw the movie The Future of Food and it was very informative and made me realize what we are putting into our bodies. I would like to know if there is anything that I can do to bring much needed awareness to this issue. I just had a baby and this is too important to let this happen. Although it already is.
You can do many things Look on the computer for heritage seeds so you can take the time to grow your own foods for the season or on the shelves of your own homes, There is a such thing as CANNING not many people do it any more and not only is it helping you it is also saving you money in the long run. I make myown jam from the berries that I pick here in the mountains of Vermont. I grow tomatoes and cucumbers and other berries. Beets for the greens and whatever else I can put in the garden that is not genetically modifed. You can make more people aware of the changes in health due to genetically modified foods. The amount of people with unexpected cancer. Look up the distintion of honey bees. Look on ebay for haritage seeds. talk to the people who grow seed crops. Get the word out from what you do research on learn to make baby foods stop being lazy. I do not say this to cut you down it is a fact that people have gotten lazy and do not grow their own foods anymore. land is limited as well.
IK then I am trong. Hope this helps in your research Please
Deanna
I would love to know what I can do to get the message out to people. Recently, I’ve had some thyroid issues and unexplained weight gain despite working out everyday and eating healthy. After hearing a Dr. on the television talk about the dangers of soy, I realized that was where I was going wrong. Immediately, I needed to stop taking soy products of which I was consuming on a daily basis. This superfood and others are not what we think and the word needs to get out.
I watched the same movie in horror. I have been sick for a long time and this explains it. Corn goes right through me can’t digest it and i have issue with wheat but i never tested allergic to these foods. These food also make my sugar test high. But now that I know I will now shop at whole foods and local farms as long as they don’t use that bad seed. Shame on all of the people from the seed pushers to the food makers to the supermarkets — who allowed this to happen just to make money… we have a right to know what is in our food. I was also wondering is autism and birth defects could be caused by consuming GE foods?
I am writing a report about GM food. I have found very useful information in it. For example, Currently, up to 85 percent of U.S. corn is genetically engineered as are 91 percent of soybeans and 88 percent of cotton. But I need to get the date to back up. So, could you kindly let me know the date, this article was researched. Thank you very much.
These figures are from the USDA Economic Research Service, updated July 1, 2009: http://www.ers.usda.gov/Data/BiotechCrops/adoption.htm
This information is alarming but is it true? For example can you give specifics of who has inserted flounder genes into tomatoes? Which brand of tomatoes in market are such tomatoes? Or human genes in pigs? It would be more convincing if you have specific proof otherwise it appears to be mere fear mongering.
Has anyone tried the approach of a class action lawsuit (counter suit) on behalf of Organic farmers/consumers against Monsanto and the like for adulterating their/our crops/food? If not, why not? Thanks in advance!
I don’t understand why people need to ask “is it true”. I think it’s clear that it’s true, GE products are in our food supply. Period. I used to work in pesticide management in the 1990s and as pesticides got phased out, GE crops got phased in. The chemical companies are VERY powerful and you can see by these campaigns how they are lobbying to continue to have the power to create, patent and sell genetically modify (food) crops.
When people ask “Are there proven health risks?” “Is it really true that these are so dangerous for us?” I feel like that is not the right question to ask.
People are looking at the health risks, and claiming the health risks haven’t been proven yet.
This is not the right place to look and it is a distraction from the real issue: the real question is, do we want a chemical company like Monsanto to own the patent rights to our food? And I’m talking about ALL our food. As long as they are able to genetically modify and control the rights and production of corn, and let’s say alfalfa, we are giving up the control of our food supply.
The right to plant, hybridize, harvest and sell and or feed our family is the basis of human civilization. I don’t think the control should be in the hands of a few chemical companies.
[...] to The True Food Network, upwards of 70% of processed foods found in mass chain super markets is Genetically Engineered- everything from soda to condiments. The Saratoga Farmers’ Market offers farm fresh [...]
[...] out the following organizations to get involved: Organic Consumers Association, True Food Network, and Sustainable [...]
[...] Health Risks of Genetically Modified Foods • Is Genetically Engineered Food Safe? • Label Genetically Modified [...]
[...] The sad thing is that most people don’t even know this stuff is in their food. If you’re wondering if you’ve eaten this stuff before, ask yourself: “have I used ketchup, mayonnaise, sugar, cereal, coffee, mangos, or bananas that are not labeled ‘organic’ over the years?” If the answer is “yes”, then you’ve been eating genetically modified food without knowing it. As of 2011, 94% of all soy planted in the United States is genetically modified, as is 72% of corn(1). If you have a moment, walk over to your pantry and look at how many items you have that contain soy and/or corn products. Some estimates have the percentage of commercial food contaminated with genetic modification at around 70%(2). [...]