Genetically Modified Foods (GM): Do You Really Know What’s in Your Fruits and Vegetables?
by Dr. Rajesh Vishwanathan
Even minor tampering with nature is apt to bring serious consequences, as did the introduction of a single chemical (DDT). Genetic engineering is tampering on a monumental scale, and nature will surely exact a heavy toll for this trespass.
Dr. Eva Novotny
Shocking isn’t it? Experts say 60% to 70% of processed foods on U.S. grocery shelves have genetically modified ingredients. The most common genetically modified foods are soybeans, maize, cotton, and rapeseed oil. That means many breakfast cereals, snack foods, and foods made with cottonseed and canola oils could likely have genetically modified ingredients. These ingredients appear frequently in animal feed as well.
What is more shocking is that a new USDA-funded survey shows that researchers from the Food Policy Institute at Rutgers’ Cook College found that only 52% of Americans realized that genetically modified foods are sold in grocery stores and only 26% believed that they have ever eaten genetically modified foods.
What is genetically modified (GM) food?
Genetically modified food uses modern biotechnology or ‘gene technology’, which is also called as Genetic engineering, which allows selected individual genes to be transferred from one plant species to other and then used to grow GM plants and food crops.
Genes from animals and other plants are literally shot into the cells of plants to create “super crops” that are larger, more resistant to bugs, and have longer shelf lives. One example may be to take genes from a fruit fly and inject them into a tomato, attempting to make the tomatoes repel the flies. And guess what, now we’re eating the genes of that fruit fly. And you didn’t even know it…
Why are GM crops grown?
The fundamental aim of GM foods to increase crop production and conquer world hunger. GM foods are developed and marketed with a belief that these foods are cheaper to grow, have better nutritional value, are more insect resistant and more resistant to plant diseases caused by bacteria, fungi and viruses. There is a belief that GM foods will result in lesser quantities of herbicides used.
Insect resistance is overcome by incorporating the gene for toxin production from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (BT) into the food plant. This toxin is currently used as an insecticide in agriculture and is safe for human consumption. GM crops that permanently produce this toxin have been shown to require lower quantities of insecticides in specific situations, e.g. where pest pressure is high.
Virus resistance is achieved through the introduction of a gene from certain viruses, which cause disease in plants. Virus resistance makes plants less susceptible to diseases caused by such viruses.
Why are GM foods potentially dangerous?
The Possible Dangers of GM
Health experts, Green peace and several consumer health activists are worried that GM foods will have:
- Direct health effects on the body
- Tendencies to provoke allergic reaction
- Specific components may have toxic properties
- The stability of the inserted gene is questionable
- Nutritional effects associated with genetic modification are not known
- If it will cause any unintended effects which could result from the gene insertion
- It may create Antibiotic resistance
- A Bit Different to the way Nature Works
- It may lead to the “creation of “super” weeds and other environmental risks
- Long Term Effects of GM foods are Unknown
- GM foods have not been adequately tested
GM foods can potentially threaten our very existence as a race. We have all got to get together to force our respective governments to take a more holistic approach to this problem and look at it from the safety, food security, social and ethical aspects. A coordinated international initiative should be evolved so that GM foods are more systematically re-evaluated for potential human hazard.
deal
What? You have nothing to say?
Now is not the time to be silent. These issues affect us all
September 19th, 2007 at 12:50 pm
scary, isn’t it? we have to search far and wide just to be able to bite into something pure. There’s no room for a farm in my apartment, and so I have to settle for GM foods from time to time — either that or not eat. I grow my own herbs — but we even have to be careful of the seeds and plants we use in our own gardens. It’s maddness what this country has done to ourselves for the sake of money and so-called convenience. Thanks for bringning this up. I would dare say that most people in my family have no idea what GMOs are.. let alone that they eat them every day.
September 21st, 2007 at 11:20 am
[…] asked my mom to consider that the genetically modified foods and artificial meals that we find at the grocery store feed viral, fungal and yeast infections; […]
February 8th, 2008 at 11:55 am
[…] true value of soy on the massive public relations done by the soy industry. However, the largely genetically modified crop can inhibit thyroid function, increase estrogen levels in babies using soy formula, and screw […]
February 11th, 2008 at 3:04 pm
[…] as “organic,” when, in fact, the plants have been cross-pollinated with inorganic, GMO-infested crops. That’s no good. Choosing organic foods is also good for the environment and energy […]
April 13th, 2008 at 3:57 pm
[…] Okay, so if you come across an apple in the store and it’s labels 4922, it’s an conventional apple grown with herbicides and harmful fertilizers. If it has a sticker 99222, it’s organic and safe to eat. If it says 89222, then RUN!!!! It has been genetically modified (GMO). […]
April 13th, 2008 at 3:57 pm
[…] Okay, so if you come across an apple in the store and it’s labels 4922, it’s an conventional apple grown with herbicides and harmful fertilizers. If it has a sticker 99222, it’s organic and safe to eat. If it says 89222, then RUN!!!! It has been genetically modified (GMO). […]
May 6th, 2008 at 4:20 pm
I also do not think that eating GM food is desirable. On the other hand, the above mentioned POSSIBLE dangers of GM food are very general, unspecific and for most of them, not scientifically proven. I prefer GM food over “normally grown” vegetables and fruit. Why? Because they spray the the normally grown ones with a lot of disgusting chemicals, that our bodies have not been trained to deal with, therefore they are not good for you and even harmfull. Why would GM food be better? They are GM so that less (less! not none at all) pesticides and herbicides can be used, because the plant has been given a tool to defend itself against bugs (which is only necessary because we depend on mass-production and mono-cultures). So what is this tool? its a piece of DNA. When you eat an apple, you eat tons of DNA, when you eat a carrot, you eat tons of DNA. Our body knows how to digest DNA, any type of DNA. So an additional piece of DNA in itself is not harmfull for us. From this piece of DNA, usually a protein is made. You eat tons of proteins, every day, in meat, fish, beans etc. So our body also knows how to deal with proteins in general as well. With proteins, yes, there can be allergic reactions, e.g. certain proteins in nuts, and we have to hope that the regulations for modifiying plants genetically monitores this possibility very carfully. Nevertheless, I would rather eat DNA and protein than chemicals with unpronouncable names. So, in my opinion, you don’t need to freak out completely about this. Go for natural/organic/local/in season food and you will be fine, even if you eat something every once in a while that has been GM at some point.
May 6th, 2008 at 4:44 pm
Sysa, it’s also not “scientifically proven” that GM foods are safe. So what’s the saying…? I’d rather be safe than sorry. Wouldn’t the more logical and safer method, based upon your claim, be to eat “organic” foods? Organic foods are as natural as you’re going to get. When you consume food that has be altered on a molecular level and mixed with, literally, the genes of other animals (not other plants), you can never know what to expect. I’m not willing to take that chance on my life. No way.
May 6th, 2008 at 6:52 pm
David,
no worries, I generally agree to go with organic. I just have the feeling that the media are making a lot of panic about GMs without really knowing and explaining to people what it means. In fact, when I tell people what I explained above that everybody is eating DNA all the time, they are surprised and stunned, means, they don’t really understand what GM means.
Other than that, I am going to the farmers market myself and buying organic produce too. I just don’t think you need to be scared to death about GM food (more so about herbizide/pesticide sprayed stuff - but, of course, thats my opinion).
May 6th, 2008 at 8:02 pm
It really bugs me when people blow this kind of stuff out of proportion. I don’t think most people understand what it actually implies…
I have no problems with organically grown food. If you have the money and you feel it is right then by all means please eat organically grown food. But not everyone had 8 bucks to spend on a gallon of milk. As it stands we spend about 13 percent of our income on food… if we continue to push for “all natural” or organic food we could face paying up to 50 percent of income on food.
There has been some scientific evidence about GM foods and other biotechnologies being safe… or at least all scientific evidence has shown that there is nothing unsafe about it. There was a time when people would have never used a microwave… Technologies advance and we need to use them in order to keep up with the demands on life.
But please.. if you truly think that organic food is the way to be and you feel better eating it… go for it. But do not try to keep others from spending less on food
May 6th, 2008 at 8:56 pm
Jess, I don’t think, at all, that anything dealing with GM foods can ever be blown out of proportion. This is a serious matter.
Personally, I’d rather spend the extra money to have a better / safer quality of life. That’s me.
And the argument to use GM foods to feed the hungry is weak. Have you ever heard of spirulina, chorella, cacao, and other super foods? These foods, if grown in the impoverished countries, can remedy the starvation altogether. GM-ed foods are not the panacea.
Sorry, there has been no comprehensive scientific proof that GM foods are safe. None at all.
I’m not trying to get other to spend more on food. I’m trying to get other to know and understand the dangers of GM-ed foods. To me, that’s just common sense.
Thanks for the comments :)
May 7th, 2008 at 1:50 am
I agree. Humans have already messed up this planet enough. Do we really need to tamper even more with our food supply?
There’s this saying… if all the ants in this world were to become extinct, the world would die. But if humans were to become extinct, the world would flourish.
Scientists, with the help of genetic modification, have recently bred a mouse that is not afraid of cats. Check this out: http://www.maniacworld.com/mouse-that-is-not-afraid-of-cat.html
Just thought I would share!
May 7th, 2008 at 2:11 am
is their any proof that it isn’t safe? furthermore, this articles makes it seems like most food out there has some genetic modification.
May 8th, 2008 at 5:38 pm
Two things:
1. Humans have been genetically modifying species of food and animals for thousands of years. Even the organic apples you eat are GM foods. Just because they’ve not been genetically spliced doesn’t mean that we haven’t artificially selected for them over time, in effect genetically modifying them to suit our taste buds.
2. You failed to cite any evidence or scientific research in your blog that GM foods are unsafe. Before you make your claims that GM foods are hazardous, go do some research. Google scholar will help. Then base your argument on your logical conclusions drawn from that evidence.
May 9th, 2008 at 1:06 am
So where exactly does this article show any proven facts against GMOs besides a few things “several consumer health activists are worried that GM foods will have.”
I’m not agreeing or disagreeing here, I’m just pointing this out. It would be nice if this article provided concrete evidence either way but it doesn’t. I’m also not going to bother making a case for either side, but please, don’t put out an “article” unless it has more than “facts.” That is, if you want me to take you seriously.
If you disagree please read the section of this article named “The p o s s i b l e dangers of GM.”
May 9th, 2008 at 4:28 pm
I agree completely with the last two posts. Karen pretty much said it perfectly.
As an undergrad student of Organic Chemistry, with a strong backing in molecular biology and biochemistry, I’ve seen and studied firsthand exactly what’s going on, and while I can’t exactly know what’s going through the head of people who oppose GMOs so much, I personally believe, as with most things, they’re just uninformed as to what exactly is going on.
I’m not saying that it’s necessarily amazing what they’re splicing in, but as someone who’s researched the pesticides and herbicides that are used (Most are fairly old as well, though governments are starting to be much more strict on them), GMOs are a completely natural, non-synthetic thing. Sure it may be a gene sequence that is not native to a specific organism, but it is one that works in another organism, and it would be heavily tested before let out in the market for people to eat.
Oh, and by the way genes aren’t
“Genes from animals and other plants are literally shot into the cells of plants…”
They’re spliced in with the help of other genes and proteins/enzymes. If you just shot genetic material into a cell, it wouldn’t really do much.
May 9th, 2008 at 4:31 pm
I think we should have a healthy skepticism of GMO foods only because, like any new technology, they can have unintended consequences. Yes, we have been selecting for certain qualities over thousands of years (or else we wouldn’t have dogs); at the same time, the time scale of the process has allowed for problems to be corrected before too much damage occurs. With the new GMO foods, we are making dramatic changes in a short time which means there will be many novel proteins etc. being introduced suddenly on a large scale without knowledge of their effects.
The other problem with GMO is that crops like “roundup ready” are engineered for sheerly economic reasons and result in the exploitation of independent farmers and the takeover of large corporations. This to me is even more of a concern. So I prefer not to buy GMO if I can avoid it
May 9th, 2008 at 8:42 pm
China exports food to the USA and Canada, and they are able to feed themselves too. Howcum? Its not that long ago that we were warned of the ‘rising yellow tide of starving people’ that would invade us like locusts and eat everything in sight, because of their population explosion. Now they feed us! Either the government is so full of bullshit you can’t trust anything it says, or the Chinese know something about producing food that we don’t know. Maybe they sell us GMO’s and eat them too. I haven’t heard about any health problems with this from China? Are we being kept in the dark one more time? Help!
May 10th, 2008 at 7:57 am
People have been modifying food since the dawn of time. Most of the time it was using selective breeding, where you have a male and female (either with plants or animals) with the certain characteristics you want and breed them together. That alters the genes to create a product that is desirable.
If you are using genes of something (say a fruit fly) and injecting them into a tomato, the only thing that is different about that tomato is that it has different amino acids than before. All genes are made up of amino acids, just the structure is different. Therefore there is no difference if you are eating a tomato that a farmer has bred differently or one that a scientist has created to be different.
May 14th, 2008 at 12:11 am
Laura,
I do not in any way wish to add to the hysteria, but injecting fruit fly genes is in fact different from crossing two breeds of tomato because tomatoes only contain tomato proteins as opposed to fruit fly proteins. Again, I’m not saying it is inherently bad to cross genes, but novelty means surprises and when we are dealing with health consequences, I’d just as soon move cautiously.
sysa,
Apparently you’ve never heard of “Roundup Ready” crops, which are genetically engineered to withstand extra heavy spraying of pesticides. GMO foods are not necessarily sprayed any less than other foods, and sometimes more.
I am very concerned about the consequences to small farmers of companies patenting biological species. If you don’t know about this, read up on it.
Having said all that, I do buy some GMO foods. Maybe it’s the scientist in me, but I think there is a lot of emotion on both sides of the issue and we should look very carefully and learn as much as we can before jumping on the bandwagon in any way.
May 14th, 2008 at 10:05 pm
Let me start by saying that if you actually understood what GM foods were you would not be scared of them anymore. Let me also say that once food get into your stomach is is just food. If you eat a tomato with fruit fly genes inside of it it is no different in your stomach than if you ate a tomato with a fruit fly on it. You also eat different and new genes all the time. Your body is designed to eat new things- forget allergies. Do all you vegans think that you were born eating vegetables? you had to have a first apple at some point and guess what… you probably aren’t allergic. If you are i bet that you avoid apples, just like you could avoid any new foods you were allergic to. If you are eating a protein in corn then guess what.. you won’t die if you get that same protein from wheat.
Before you go and condemn food because it is “unholy” to play god with genes, think about the possibilities of growing tomatoes in dry environments because they have cactus genes. Think of how many starving people can be fed if they can grow crops that will mature in their environment. If pesticides aren’t needed because crops contain a protein that tastes terrible to insects but fine to humans… who cares if it comes from an onion. I eat onions. Not everyone has access to irrigated American farmlands to grow there crops. Not everyone ***** their pants when they hear big scary words like genetics and proteosome… do you even know why you do?
May 24th, 2008 at 11:14 pm
I realize that there is a lot of fear centering on genetically modified crops, some of it may yet be warranted. But the thing you also need to realize is that all food crops have been genetically modified for centuries through the process of selective breeding.
For instance Teosinte, is probably something you’ve never heard of, but it is in fact the ancestor of the maize and corn we’ve consumed for centuries, thus the corn we know today is the product of selecting mutant forms of Teosinte and breeding them with other mutants to create bigger better crops (mind you this all happened before Europeans ever conquered the Americas.)
Also look at potatoes, many potatoes naturally contain deadly alkaloids, by selectively manipulating the crop through unnatural selection you create potatoes with little to no alkaloids (many times the breeding of potatoes has been responsible for death by alkaloid poisonings because farmers didn’t realize the the crops they selected for had high alkaloid contents). The only difference between the selective addition and removal of traits in food by breeding and GM food, is the fact that with GM food we know exactly what protein we’re coding for or removing from the new plant, we control exactly what is being mutated. (meaning if you made a genetically modified potato, you’d know exactly what new proteins you were adding and how they affect concentrations of other compounds, like alkaloids)
Oh and if you learned a little bit about genetics you would understand that the structure of DNA in you, a fly and a plant are no different, and that once transformed and bred, GM plants effectively don’t have any DNA from another organism, they simply produce nucleic acid sequence that their parents coded them for. Meaning you’re ingesting only DNA from the plant you purchased (no fruit fly DNA at all) just DNA…
It’s ok to be suspicious of new science, I am myself because I don’t think that all genetically modified foods will be produced responsibly. But I believe that food responsibly modified through molecular transformations is the best and safest method for maintaining a sustainable food supply without supporting the chemical industries which are killing our planet with poisons and dangerous fertilizers.
I really do encourage you all to learn about molecular biology and genetic transformations, I think that once you actually understand what it means for something to be genetically modified you might be a little more open minded and less apt to slander one of our best hopes for a better and cleaner environment with less suffering and starvation. In the meantime go ahead and buy your cow shit grown overpriced lettuce and keep discouraging an improved food supply, after all we’re over populated as it is and if could provide crops to starving regions of the world we’d have lots more little African babies living past five which would really suck for us apathetic, all organic, fair trade, vegan Americans.
May 25th, 2008 at 3:25 pm
I think that once you actually understand what it means for something to be genetically modified you might be a little more concerned and less apt to take the word of the corporate world and its allies in governments. This isn’t about more abundant crops; it’s about profits, and control.
Dr. Arpad Pusztai was too good a scientist for the GM advocates to counter him that way, so they had to resort to silencing him the best way they could: by taking away his funding. And so forth. Read Jeffrey Smith’s ‘Seeds of Deception’; also check out Science in Society and its director, Dr Mae-Wan Ho (www.i-sis.org.uk). (Her/their magazine carries excellent articles on the science of this scam, including how the ’splicing’ technology is not predictable, and therefore inherently unsafe.) It feels to me as though people in the U.S. have not had as much access to info on GM and its dangers as people in Europe. That has to be a reflection of the corporate world’s control of the MSM. A pity. The world is going to have to rise up against these our keepers at some point, and we’re going to need the U.S. to be with us in this grassroots endeavor. Overstated? Hardly. When push comes to shove, and the world’s farmers are going to have to go to Monsanto yearly for their (patented) seeds, a lot of people are going to be in for a rude awakening. Do your homework, and join the movement, away from corporatism, aka fascism. We have been warned. And the GM deception is a perfect example.
May 26th, 2008 at 2:04 pm
Thank you, Marek, for that dose of rationality.
We have starvation running rampant in significant portions of the world and food prices skyrocketing due to supply not keeping up with demand in even the most developed countries, and you guys are still that concerned with HOW food is being made when the only real question should be “how much”. If you are fortunate enough to have the money to purchase food grown/raised specifically to your tastes, then you are one of the privileged few and should be grateful for that. Expecting everyone else to conform to that way of thinking, regardless of financial or ethical differences (read: people that don’t actually care) is unreasonable. The world needs more food, and since there is profit in meeting demand, there are people looking for ways to increase the supply. Arguing that their motivation is for profit rather than some more noble goal is irrelevant, as that is how virtually all technological advances are achieved, and we still reap the benefits of these advancements regardless.
Simply put: arguing for a return to farming methods that produce fewer crops amid a growing global food crisis has to be the most selfish thing I’ve heard in quite some time, especially when the argument comes from the same spoiled first-world-citizens who will be the ONLY ones still able to afford food after a further drop in production.
May 27th, 2008 at 4:20 am
I find this article somewhat perplexing, now don’t get my wrong, I enjoy most organic products over the GMO and pesticide grown options, but how exactly is the transition from “scientist feel that GMO may cause allergic reactions” to “GM foods can potentially threaten our very existence as a race” justified? If your going to argue for a cause do it logically and sensibly or your as bad as the food companies.
May 29th, 2008 at 11:29 pm
[…] Okay, so if you come across an apple in the store and it’s labels 4922, it’s an conventional apple grown with herbicides and harmful fertilizers. If it has a sticker 99222, it’s organic and safe to eat. If it says 89222, then RUN!!!! It has been genetically modified! […]
May 30th, 2008 at 3:22 pm
Amy,
My father was a seed salesman all his life. He sold roundup ready seed before it came on the general market in test plots. It does what it is supposed to do, and it was a good invention.
May 31st, 2008 at 12:08 am
June 3rd, 2008 at 11:07 pm
well. i think anyone who’s actually afraid of genetic engineering is foolish. of course it has cultural implications, but that really makes you sound like the vatican telling galileo he was wrong until they were ready to tell the people.
this technology CAN end a great deal of human suffering by providing cheap, germ and insect resistant(which REDUCES PESTICIDE USE) plants which grow much larger and in harsher conditions.
forget eating a fruit fly’s genes. that’s nothing. how about a strawberry flavored banana? square watermelon anyone? subzero - growth tomato that tastes like steak?!
grow up, be open minded, the only way the technology will ever get better in the society we have is if people demand it.
gtfo there and demand it.
June 4th, 2008 at 4:00 pm
I like how this article actually makes me want to eat more GM foods. If you have no basis on what you are going to post here then you have no case and no threat. I thought i was going to read an article finally explaining the dangers of GM food, but you defended your ideas with non-trusty resources and what may as well be a total lack of knowledge. You boast about something that is pretty much pointless.
June 5th, 2008 at 1:25 am
“There are no animal genes in plant crops.”
Terri L. Lomax Ph.D. Professor of Botany & Plant Pathology at OSU
The only place that animal genes are crossed with plant genes is in labs.
“These genetically engineered crops are actually the most highly tested crops that we’ve ever had. They’re regulated by the EPA, the USDA, and the FDA. The EPA regulates them if there’s a pesticide involved. The USDA for where they’re grown and how it will effect the environment and the FDA for food safety. They go through millions of dollars worth of testing and many years to be able to be approved as a commercial crop.”
Terri L. Lomax Ph.D. Professor of Botany & Plant Pathology at OSU
“We can’t start getting picky because we’ve got enough food, that’s just self-centered and racist. Unless you and yours are starving, you need, to shut, the f*ck, up.”
Penn Jillette
Just those quotes and my little snippet say what I wanted to convey.
June 13th, 2008 at 10:32 pm
If you have experienced starvation, you would rather eat GM food than die of starvation. When you live in a rich country like USA, food supply is abundant, you can pick and choose. You too are wasting tons of food. Please look at the under preveledged people. Anything that is edible is God send. Please don’t be self-centered, open your eyes and look at millions of people still suffering from hunger.