The industry's not stupid. The industry knows that if those foods are labeled "genetically engineered," the public will shy away and won't take them.
~Jeremy Rifkin
~Jeremy Rifkin
For over twelve years, I have been writing articles for a local newspaper published by a well known health food store in my area (and I am still surprised my writings get published). I don't write much on health topics here because I have this outlet with its deadline and editor, however there are many issues about health that are quite near and dear to my heart. This is one of them.
One of the things I have warned against is the introduction of synthesized or imitation foods that are not found in nature or those that are natural but extracted so such higher dosages, which would never be found in nature, are put into process foods. For instance, the new sweeteners often called sugar alcohols, which is a very deceiving term, that do not get absorbed well during digestion. Some are found in edible produce in nature, but these amounts are small and just one of the various ingredients making up the fruits from nature's kitchen. For some, like me, in high amounts needed to replace sugar, these sugar alcohols cause abdominal discomfort to diarrhea, sometimes just thirty minutes after ingestion. I understand many people do not have this kind of reaction, but I wonder how overloaded the digestion system is with other toxins that they would not. You see, we eat more organic and fresh foods than most people and we also detoxify using various methods on a regular basis, so I tend to see our reaction as the reaction that everyone should be having.
I believe that nature provides delicate balance in edible foods, one that we cannot imitate and remain healthy. I often feel so sorry for indoor pets who are usually fed exactly the same thing every day, infused, supposedly, with all the nutrients they would need...? Are we really so arrogant to think we could eat the same food, labeled to be nutritionally balanced, every day and not become insufficient in some nutrients? People and animals need variety!
Now we have something far more frightening on the horizon—actually it is not on the horizon, it is already in our food chain and we are the laboratory rats.
This is an article I wrote in May 2008:
Before it was speculation, but now there is scientific proof:
Genetically Modified Soy Linked to Sterility, Infant Mortality
Please, please, please try to buy only foods with the "No GMO" labeling.
One of the things I have warned against is the introduction of synthesized or imitation foods that are not found in nature or those that are natural but extracted so such higher dosages, which would never be found in nature, are put into process foods. For instance, the new sweeteners often called sugar alcohols, which is a very deceiving term, that do not get absorbed well during digestion. Some are found in edible produce in nature, but these amounts are small and just one of the various ingredients making up the fruits from nature's kitchen. For some, like me, in high amounts needed to replace sugar, these sugar alcohols cause abdominal discomfort to diarrhea, sometimes just thirty minutes after ingestion. I understand many people do not have this kind of reaction, but I wonder how overloaded the digestion system is with other toxins that they would not. You see, we eat more organic and fresh foods than most people and we also detoxify using various methods on a regular basis, so I tend to see our reaction as the reaction that everyone should be having.
I believe that nature provides delicate balance in edible foods, one that we cannot imitate and remain healthy. I often feel so sorry for indoor pets who are usually fed exactly the same thing every day, infused, supposedly, with all the nutrients they would need...? Are we really so arrogant to think we could eat the same food, labeled to be nutritionally balanced, every day and not become insufficient in some nutrients? People and animals need variety!
Now we have something far more frightening on the horizon—actually it is not on the horizon, it is already in our food chain and we are the laboratory rats.
This is an article I wrote in May 2008:
The Frightening Phenomenon
While watching the movie Phenomenon some years ago, I was gripped by a tender moment when one character, George Malley, philosophically explained his impending death to two children: He took an apple and said, “...if we take a bite of it like this...it becomes part of us forever....”
The philosophy of an eaten apple becoming part of us is both wondrous and...really quite frightening! In reality, the apple will be digested, so the body will use it for fuel and to heal at the cellular level (without going into greater technicalities), and some of the less digestible parts will pass out of the body. This is the natural process of all foods we eat. The question is whether the foods work with this natural process or work against it. Let’s set aside the fact that the pesticides sprayed on the plants become a part of the apples that will become a part of us or that the artificial hydrogenation processing of natural oils creates trans fats that also become a very undesirable part of us (plague in the arteries)—there is something even scarier!
Tampering with Nature’s Blueprint
There are several impressive scientific names involved: genetically modified (GM), genetically modified organism (GMO), genetically engineered (GE), green biotechnology, agricultural biotechnology, transgenic crop plants, and—my personal favorite, although not one of the scientific names—frankenfood. I have heard about all these things for years, but it just seemed too much like science fiction than real science. However, recently I watched a documentary on how they do this slicing of DNA, and use a machine that acts like a "gene gun" to literally shoot DNA fragments into the cell nucleus. These fragments can combine with the plant's own genome with the use of “promoters” that some argue could also promote undesirable dormant genes. (This is no longer sci-fi; this is reality!)
The really disturbing part—well, there were two things, actually, that are equally disturbing! First, DNA fragment selected may not be of a similar plant or even any plant. It seems that scientists can use any DNA fragment from any source producing recombinant DNA. Think about that for a moment. Vegans could be eating plants altered with animal DNA. Those who follow religious dietary laws could be eating DNA fragments of prohibited foods. We could be eating foods that even have been altered with human DNA one day!
Second, the enthusiastic scientist interviewed on the documentary believed that she could isolate DNA fragments, add them to a plant, and get the precise results she wanted without any concerns about potential side effects in the short or long term!
Does this sound incredibly presumptuous or is it just me? If there is anything we have learned in the recent years, with FDA recalls of medications, is that long term side effects on human beings never really seem to be discovered in the confines of medical science labs; the real test for long term side effects occurs when they have been released to the general public and have been in use for at least a few years, even then specific medical problems may not be linked to the source for many more years or decades.
Science Reining Nature?
Scientists in favor of genetic engineering claim it is a “natural extension of traditional breeding,” the main difference being that it allows access to a broader range of genes even from unlike organisms to produce desirable results. The skeptics argue that extracting the specific gene is highly precise, but the insertion of the gene is uncontrolled and highly unpredictable. Should the desired result be achieved, we still don’t know what affects it will have on the animals and humans eating the foods. In addition, inserted genetic material is still subject to genetic nature, such as the natural occurring genetic drift evident in each generation that is also rather unpredictable.
You may have heard of the StarLink corn controversy eight years ago. StarLink corn was genetically engineered with a particular strain of Bt pesticide, called the Cry9C protein. It was produced and purified from a bacterial host in hopes that the corn plant would be resistant to the European corn borer, a very destructive pest. Although the FDA banned StarLink for direct human consumption, Cry9C was approved for livestock feed. However, in the year 2000, Cry9C was also found in taco shells by an independent laboratory. Although recalled, even today some measure of Cry9C is still found in corn products made for human consumption. Corn readily cross-pollinates as do some other plants. This may be why organic farmers continue to report problems with "genetic trespass" from genetically modified crops—a poignant reminder that nature will not be contained or restrained!
Going Where No Gene Slice Has Gone Before
In our enthusiasm to improve one thing “for the good of mankind,” science and technology often takes a great leap forward into a new frontier, but it often costs us in ways we cannot foresee. About 100 years ago, a seemingly innocence process for altering natural vegetable oils was thought to be harmless, but now we know that trans fats build up contributing to arterial plague and heart disease: Trans fats become part of us. People once thought that pesticides were harmless and, at first, farmers did not even wear any protective gear during application, but now we know that these chemicals cause a wide range of diseases, including cancer: Pesticides become part of us.
Presently, we are on that familiar threshold of another technology, one that we may be even more helpless to hold in check, beckoned for its promises in food production improvements. How can we possibly foresee what we are risking before transgenetic foods become a part of us?
Before it was speculation, but now there is scientific proof:
Genetically Modified Soy Linked to Sterility, Infant Mortality
Please, please, please try to buy only foods with the "No GMO" labeling.
~ My Lord, people are so amazingly skilled but sometimes we are so excited about what we can do, we forget to ask if we should do it. Please let Your Will and Truth be known in all areas of our lives. ~
