The shopper's GMO guide

The shopper's GMO guide

"Your Right to Know: Genetic Engineering and the Secret Changes in Your Food" (Earth Aware Editions, $24.95)

For conscious eaters, the heart of the book is a 14-page guide to your local supermarket. It tells you which foods are the most likely to contain GE ingredients (chips, snacks and baby formula), which aren't (fruits, vegetables, wheat), and how to read labels for "hidden ingredients" derived from corn, soy or canola (hint: look for high fructose corn syrup, soy lecithin and canola oil).

(snip)

Before you shop:

Here are a few of the tips on shopping to avoid genetically engineered food, if that's your choice, culled from Andrew Kimbrell's "Your Right to Know." If you have any doubts, Kimbrell says, ask the grocer about suppliers. Look for labels that say 100 percent organic or GE-free or GMO-free.

Fruits and vegetables.
Almost all are not GE. The exceptions are a few papayas from Hawaii and a tiny amount of fresh corn, zucchini and yellow squash.

Meat and fish.
No GE meat or fish are approved for human consumption. But most GE corn and soy is fed to meat animals and farmed fish. So look for wild fish, grass-fed beef and organic meats.

Dairy.
Dairy cows aren't genetically engineered but can eat GE grains unless they're organic. A genetically engineered hormone called rbGH or rbST is used in some dairy cows; look for labels that say no hormones were used.

Baby foods.
Most formula contains GE ingredients, either soy or milk from cows injected with GE hormones. Some also contain corn syrup. Cereals can contain ingredients like GE soy lecithin.

Canned and frozen foods.
Vegetables and fruits packed or frozen without flavorings, additives or corn, soy or canola oil are GE free. Sauces and entrees with lots of ingredients often contain vegetable oil, soy and cornstarch.

Grains and beans.
Corn is the only GE grain on the market. Soybeans are the only GE dried beans. So wheat, rice, oats, quinoa and foods made from them, like pasta, are OK. Check ingredient labels for additives like soy lecithin, which can be GE.

Snacks.
Most are processed foods that contain ingredients made from corn, canola, soy or cotton. Nuts, seeds and dried fruits are good options. Popcorn is not genetically engineered. Conventional chocolate bars often contain soy lecithin, corn syrup or other like GE ingredients. Organic snacks are GE free, but "natural" ones aren't necessarily.

Beverages.
Look for drinks that are 100 percent juice, or sweetened with sugar or honey instead of corn syrup. Beer currently contains no GE ingredients.

Baked goods.
Non-organic breads, baked goods and even chocolate chips often contain high fructose corn syrup, soy, or corn, canola or cottonseed oil, all of which can be GE. Look for products made from wheat, oats and rice, with sugar or maple syrup as sweeteners.

It's a Franken Food kinda day

Genetically Engineered Foods May Cause Rising Food Allergies - Part 1

and

Genetically Engineered Foods May Cause Rising Food Allergies - Part 2

The huge jump in childhood food allergies in the US is in the news often [1] , but most reports fail to consider a link to a recent radical change in America’s diet. Beginning in 1996, bacteria, virus and other genes have been artificially inserted to the DNA of soy, corn, cottonseed and canola plants. These unlabeled genetically modified (GM) foods carry a risk of triggering life-threatening allergic reactions, and evidence collected over the past decade now suggests that they are contributing to higher allergy rates. Food safety tests are inadequate to protect public health. Scientists have long known that GM crops might cause allergies. But there are no tests to prove in advance that a GM crop is safe. [2] That’s because people aren’t usually allergic to a food until they have eaten it several times. “The only definitive test for allergies,” according to former FDA microbiologist Louis Pribyl, “is human consumption by affected peoples, which can have ethical considerations.” [3] And it is the ethical considerations of feeding unlabeled, high-risk GM crops to unknowing consumers that has many people up in arms.

GM Potato Controversy - A case with disturbing implications for present day science

GM Potato Controversy - A case with disturbing implications for present day science

Two years after the release of the first GM plant, the FLAVR - SAVR tomato in the USA in 1995, there was still not a single publication in peer-reviewed journals probing into the safety of GM foods. As this was of public and scientific concerns..the Scottish Office Agriculture, Environment and Fisheries Department (SOAEFD, as it was called then) called for research proposals to investigate the safety of GM foodcrops; their possible effects on the environment, soil, microorganisms, animals, and whether they presented any risks for human consumers.

Instead of killer bees it's bee killers

Are GM Crops Killing Bees?

A mysterious decimation of bee populations has German beekeepers worried, while a similar phenomenon in the United States is gradually assuming catastrophic proportions. The consequences for agriculture and the economy could be enormous.

Genetic engineering introduces new proteins into food sources. By introducing new genetic information into food producing organisms, we take the risk of creating mutations to the DNA, which can alter the metabolism of the product. By altering its metabolism, the product can be made into an allergen or toxin. The toxins produced can accumulate, causing each subsequent generation to be less healthy and more toxic. These modifications can also cause the food organism to stop production of certain vitamins and nutrients, reducing the nutritional properties of the food. In short, mutations can interfere with vital functions in an organism, forever altering the food source. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) mandates that new additives be established safe through testing prior to marketing. Because the organisms used in bioengineering already exist, they are 'generally recognized as safe' (GRAS) and therefore exempt from the usual testing required by the FDA.

The FDA looks at bioengineered food as being the substantial equivalent of the same food not bioengineered. While in theory this would be true, in actuality selected characteristics are the only things being compared. If the selected characteristics show no significant difference, the bioengineered product is a substantial equivalent. The thinking that there is no significant difference is flawed. The testing is limited to chemical and biochemical analytical procedures and tests are looking only at specific nutrient, toxin, and allergen data concerning the known characteristics of the introduced gene. Not testing the entire organism as a whole leaves a wide margin for error. Introducing a new gene makes a new food with its own genetic makeup. In 1989, genetically engineered tryptophan was introduced as a nutritional supplement in the United States. Tests ran showed that it was indeed a substantial equivalent and was 99.6% pure tryptophan. This altered tryptophan also contained traces of a highly toxic contaminant, making up only 0.01% of the total mass, but this product caused thousands of consumers to become ill. Of the thousands who became ill, 37 died while 1500 were permanently disabled. Unintended consequences are always a possibility. Testing for a wide array of allergens and toxins must be in place to ensure the safety of bioengineered foods. Labeling of bioengineered food must also be mandatory, as this will allow the consumer to choose. With current regulations and laws, we would never allow foods that contain pork or peanuts on the market without proper labeling on ethics alone, not to mention the associated safety concerns. The current state regarding bioengineered foods and the lack of testing places the FDA at the top of its own list of lawbreakers.

CauliFlower Mosaic Virus (CaMV) is an engineered virus; a virus whose genome humans alter. The DNA of CaMV is a suspected carcinogen and is related to human diseases AIDS and Hepatitis B. The grain from one ear of corn contains hundreds of millions of the CaMV DNA. CaMV is a viral vector that is used in generating bioengineered foods; BT Corn is one such bioengineered food that uses CaMV. Meat from poultry and milk from cows have absorbed CaMV. Without proper testing, we have no way of knowing how this will play out in humans. When naturally replicated, problems do not arise. With human manipulation, we introduce human fallibility. We think of this as being impossible, no way can a human become ill from a plant virus. We used to believe it would be impossible to become ill from a virus that affects animals.

Bioengineered products have only been on the market a relatively short time and we have no way of knowing what the long-term health effects will be. These products can produce new toxins and allergens not previously known. Pollination means plants cannot be controlled. Birds, bees, and butterflies, doing what they are made to do, could be spreading genes everywhere, causing unintended consequences the world over. With the possibility of genes, transferring from one species to the next, might resistant superbugs be on the next horizon. Bacteria, fungi, and viruses have been reinventing themselves for millennia to ensure their own survival. Are we so arrogant as to presume they will stop now?

Twango ©

Yay Germany, now if only the US would follow suit

If only my government cared about its people and our food supply.

Germany Tightens Restrictions on Genetically Modified Corn

Genetically modified (GM) crops have long been controversial in Germany, where organic agriculture is booming. Now the cultivation of GM corn has been effectively banned by the government, according to media reports.

And now this

Tainted poultry has entered food supply

Millions of chickens ate feed containing melamine, government officials say.

The Food and Drug Adminstration said Tuesday that as many as 3 million chickens that may have been given contaminated feed containing melamine have already been eaten by consumers, according to NBC News.

So, are ya worried yet? It's not enough that our beloved pets have died from this. Did your Fluffy or Fido die? Is your child next? Are you pregnant? Ate any chicken lately? Had enough?

Melamine from contaminated pet food enters human food chain

Melamine from contaminated pet food enters human food chain

This is absolutely ridiculous. We have the FDA, CFSAN, USDA, FSIS, HHS, and who knows what other governmental agencies are tasked with protecting the US food supply, whether grown overseas or in the US.

The past 12 months have seen recalls of Peanut Butter, spinach, green onions, pet food, olives, milk, hamburger patties, prepackaged salads, prepackaged sandwiches, prepared potato salad, bread, fruit trays, melons, and I'm sure much more that I'm not seeing in the 5 minute search on Google I just performed.

The government is paying OUR farmers not to produce food then importing from other countries and because of a lack of manpower they only inspect less than 1% of the imported products.

If you don't have enough people to inspect the products you have been tasked to inspect and protect, then halt all the damned imports of food and at least inspect what is already within our borders.

These governmental inspection agencies are screwing around with our health and welfare. The vast majority of our citizens however don't seem to give a damn, so the government continues doing nothing or little to nothing.

What the hell is wrong with people that they do not give a damn about what they are eating, what they are feeding their children. Wake the phuk up people. Hold your government accountable, you know, the people that promise to protect the citizenry and instead do nothing but line their own pockets.