What you need to know about GMO "Franken-Foods" and where to get more information

Dr. Debra F. Hobbins

Genetically-modified foods (GMOs) have been commercially available since the first transgenic tomato was approved in 1994. It’s estimated that 70-75% of supermarket processed foods—soda, soup, corn chips, veggie burgers, pizza, baby food and infant formula—contain GMO ingredients of which we are completely unaware. GMOs approved for human consumption include: corn, rice, soy, wheat, alfalfa, flax, barley, apples, papaya, potatoes, peas, tomatoes, sweet peppers, peanuts, canola oil, cow, pig, cow’s milk. A cow was recently developed to produce human breast milk.

The WHO stated that Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) are “organisms in which the genetic material (DNA) has been altered in such a way that does not occur naturally.” Genetic engineering, biotechnology or recombinant DNA technology are other GMO terms. This technology consists of randomly inserting genetic fragments of DNA from one organism to another, usually from a different species, to modify plants, grains, and animals. These different species have included viruses, bacteria, parasites, grains, flowers, animals, and humans.

Due to the supremacy of commercial interests over public health, the US doesn’t label GMOs and the public is being denied the right to know about GMOs in our food chain. A recent MSNBC poll of over 45,000 Americans indicated 96% want GMO labeling. As highlighted recently in the New York Times, the FDA and USDA won’t require any GMOs, or foods containing GMOs, to be labeled as genetically-engineered to avoid suggesting or implying that GMO foods are “different.” Alarmingly, more than 40 countries across the globe have either banned GMOs outright or have laws requiring labeling of GMOs, giving citizens in those countries the freedom to choose what to eat. The seriousness of problems associated with GMOs is underscored by The American Academy of Environmental Medicine’s call on the public to avoid GMO foods whenever possible.

There is not a single peer-reviewed study on the safety of GMOs in humans. Nearly every independent animal feeding safety study on GMOs not funded by the biotechnology/GMO industry demonstrates adverse or unexplained health effects including: infertility; reduced litter sizes; birth defects; impaired growth; disrupted organ development; damaged immune systems; increased death rate; bleeding stomachs; shortened life span; damaged heart, liver, spleen, kidneys; and altered nutrient metabolism. It’s been well-documented that numerous animals, given the choice, will not consume GMOs.

The effects of GMOs on humans include: allergic reactions; antibiotic resistance; neurologic, digestive, and skin problems; chronic illness (such as irritable bowel and chronic fatigue); immune suppression, headaches, increased cancer risk, ingestion of toxins, and presence of GMO-programmed pesticides in women and their fetuses. Some have likened eating GMOs to genetic roulette, wherein there are unpredictable and unforeseen consequences, including having hazardous genes being inserted willy-nilly into our own genes.

Read more to learn how to avoid GMO

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