What The Heck is a GMO?
- Tracy Barr
- Jan 9, 2020
- 4 min read
Updated: Mar 6, 2020
Well my friend GMO stands for genetically modified organism they can also be called GE that stands for genetically engineered, so if that is not enough to make you not want to eat these please read on.
So what does that means exactly?
The organisms are altered at a molecule level in a lab where they add genes from another species to obtain the desired traits. The most common traits in the GMO crops right now are the expression of proteins designed to kill insects that try to eat the crop or to make the crop tolerant to an herbicide.
Why would this be bad for you?
Well to start with, there is a lack of study showing that GMO’s are safe. Why is that? Well, because they don’t have to, no mandatory studies regarding GMO’s effect on human health have been demanded by our government, they just approved it and now you can find it at a grocery store near you! I am sad to say that genuinely independent studies on GM foods and crops are rare, for two reasons: because independent research on GM crop risks is not supported financially; and because industry uses its patent-based control of GM crops to restrict independent research. The other word on the street would be the link between all the rise in gut issues and Glyphosate (Roundup), an herbicide used in GMO crops that has been shown to disturb intestinal micro flora balance and promote the growth of harmful bacterial strains. This can interfere with your immune system, increase infections rates, and cause issues in mood and behavior. So my question to you is this, if GMO’s are so great and so safe, why are they not facilitating research to prove their claims? Why do we have to fight to get the labeling of GMO mandatory? People, it is my experience that when there is smoke there is fire… now the size of the fire is yet to be determined.
Why is that scary?
Let’s get scientific for a minute: first the genetic engineering process is not precise or predictable. Genes do not function as one isolated unit but interact with each other and their environment in complex ways that are not well understood or predictable. The genetic engineering process can disrupt the host organism‘s genetic functioning in unexpected ways, causing unpredictable and unintended changes in the function and structure (mutations) of the genetically modified organism. This can cause the presence of unexpected toxins or allergens or altered nutritional value and the engineered organism can have unexpected and harmful effect on the environment and humans. Monsanto in their advertisements and other Pro GMO campaigners are saying, “We’ve been genetically modifying crops for millennia”. They try to reassure the public that nothing radical or new is being done to their food. This message is scientifically inaccurate and misleading. Natural breeding can only take place between closely related forms of life (cats with cats, not cats with dogs; wheat with wheat, not wheat with tomatoes or fish). In this way, the genes that carry information for all parts of the organism are passed down the generations in an orderly way.
What can I do?
- First, knowledge is power so keep learning on this subject and any other subject concerning your food and health.
- Vote with your dollar and eat organic! If you cannot always eat organic, make sure it is Non-GMO labeled. If it is a fresh produce, like an apple here’s a trick to know. Conventional (non GMO but treated with chemical pesticides) will only have 4 digits, organic will have a 9 in front of the 4 digits and GMO’s will have an 8 in front of the 4 digits.
- Avoid foods that are most likely GMO : corn, soybean, cotton, sugar beets, alfalfa, canola, Hawaiian papaya, yellow crookneck squash, and zucchini. Those crops often end up in the following foods when processed: corn syrup, corn starch, corn oil, beef, milk, chicken, farmed fish, soy lecithin, soy protein, vegetable oil, and cottonseed oil. BTW they even genetically modify animals so they mature faster so they can slaughter them faster, that way they save money because they don't have to feed the animal as long.
- Talk to your farmers and support the ones that do not use GMO’s.
- Get involved, your voice counts! Sign petitions demanding GMO labeling for all products. Wright to your legislator and FDA for GMO labeling or banning. 60 countries have passed a labeling law for GMO’s and 38 countries have banned the cultivations of GMO crops.
Bottom line my friend is I tend to believe we are always safer with the closer to nature ways, less manipulation and less processing of our food. If you take process food with all its added preservatives, artificial coloring, artificial flavors and other chemicals as an example and see where that has taken us health wise, I will stick to my conventional produces and continue thinking that if you mess with nature, she tends to want to mess back.
If you want to know more about GMO’s here are a few links
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