GM Foods in the News

Read the News and Scientific Studies published

in the last few months and you will notice that

studies have been showing up in regards to

Genetically Modified Foods.

The term GM foods or GMOs

(genetically-modified organisms) is most

commonly used to refer to crop plants

created for human or animal consumption

using the latest molecular biology

techniques. These plants have been

modified in the laboratory to

enhance desired traits such as increased

resistance to herbicides

or improved nutritional content.

The enhancement of desired traits has traditionally been

undertaken through breeding, but conventional plant

breeding methods can be very time consuming and are

often not very accurate. Genetic engineering, on the

other hand, can create plants with the exact desired

trait very rapidly and with great accuracy. For

example, plant geneticists can isolate a gene responsible

for drought tolerance and insert that gene into a

different plant. The new genetically-modified plant will

gain drought tolerance as well. Not only can genes be

transferred from one plant to another, but genes

from non-plant organisms also can be used.

The best known example of this is the use of B.t. genes

in corn and other crops. B.t., or Bacillus thuringiensis, is

a naturally occurring bacterium that produces crystal

proteins that are lethal to insect larvae. B.t. crystal

protein genes have been transferred into corn, enabling

the corn to produce its own pesticides against insects

such as the European corn borer.

On the surface getting rid of a pest that destroys tons

of grain sounds like a winning situation. But you know

the story doesn't stop there.

Even the pollen from B.t. corn can have a allergic or

toxic effect on insects and people.

Even Butterflies may be affected.

Since most of us are concerned with improving or

sustaining our health and resources, results that show a

lowered immune response, decreasing fertility, allergic

and even toxic reactions are very disturbing.

If you want more information there are many places to

look.

Here is one from the Organic Consumers Association.

One of the things that bothers me is how little this news

makes it into the mainstream media.

Near where I live outside Chicago is a town noted for it's

fertility Doctors. People move here from all over, hoping

and trying to conceive a precious baby. And many

parents are blessed. These trained men and women

keep up to date on all the medical fertility studies from

around the world in order to help those desperate for a

child of their own.

But these medical people are not in the news. Neither

are the results of studies showing that eating GM foods

may lower fertility rates, reduce birth weights and

increase newborn distress and even death.

One friend told me that no one cares, if the study is

done on mice or other rodents, because in their minds the

results don't necessarily bridge over to humans. So, if a

GM food source is used as feed for animals destined for

our tables, and the same GM food is sold in stores for

human consumption, how many generations do you

think it will be before we see results in humans?

Dr. Rulin a Doctor friend explained it this way.

"It is not an easy task to scientifically confirm the effect

in human beings. It may take about 50 to 100 years.

However, it is not so difficult to show this compelling

evidence in animal. To be clear, Chinese, Italian, French,

American, Canadian and German scientists have shown

that the life span of animals or insects in several research

models allows multi-generational studies to be under

taken in a matter of a few years rather than decades."

The comparison between placebo group and the test

group even in double blind studies can be quite

remarkable over 3 or 4 generations.

I personally would rather not be in either group for

testing and caution you to be aware of what you eat,

where it came from and what was done to it before

it got to you.