Have you ever really thought about what a Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) is?
Picture this; a scientist (mad or otherwise, your choice) decides to chop up the DNA of plants and animals and then splice different parts back together to create new plants and animals that have magic super powers.
OK, well life must be pretty dull sometimes being a scientist, and I can imagine the thrill in creating a whole new species and offering it to the world. It must make you feel a little bit like a god, right?
Take the Flavr Savr tomato. Have you heard of it? The (mad?) scientist behind this one thought the world would be a far better place if s/he invented a tomato that was frost resistant.
Well OK, that could be useful.
Would you still agree when said scientist took the DNA from a fish (an arctic flounder to be precise) and spliced it into the DNA of a tomato? S/he didn’t just choose to breed two different tomatoes varieties together to get a desired outcome, as in traditional breeding techniques, but actually used DNA from an animal to change the genetic code of a plant.
(By the way, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the Flavr Savr tomato for sale in 1994, but it was taken off the market in 1997 because of abysmal sales. Thankfully.)
Or how about corn that is engineered to prevent dying when doused in weed killer. Yep, that right, a plant that actually withstands being sprayed with a plant killer. Doesn’t that say it all?
Do you not suppose that a trace of that plant/weedkiller will still be on the corn when it comes to be harvested? Or that the roots may have sucked up the poison just like they do the nutrients in fertiliser?
Fancy some ‘Roundup’ with your Ketchup?
There is evidence out there that lab rats fed only on GM corn are sterile within 3 generations. Actually, there is a lot of evidence out there to make us think twice about allowing GM foods into our homes. Google it, study it, and if you don’t like what you read, shun it.
In the US, the agricultural system is irrevocably contaminated with GMO’s, and food cartons are not required to state whether they contain GM ingredients. In the UK we are little less trusting it seems as “if a food contains or consists of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), or contains ingredients produced from GMOs, this must be indicated on the label. For GM products sold ‘loose’, information must be displayed immediately next to the food to indicate that it is GM.”
Interestingly, also taken from the FSA website “Products such as meat, milk and eggs from animals fed on GM animal feed also do not need to be labelled.” However, it is my belief that any eggs, milk or meat labelled as Organic cannot have been fed on GM feed.
So make your choice dear readers. Do you want your children and grand children eating this stuff? If the answer is no, please, I beg you, read up on this subject. Read your labels. Ignore products containing GMO’s, even if they are cheaper. You have no idea what eating them could do to your and your family’s health.
Further Reading
thank you for this ~ medicine, for it is that for all to read, ingest, circulate throughout ones’ entire being ~ so as to “Wake Up, Hear the Music, and with no hesitation ~ Speak Out, Create Change!
Thank you Jana <3
What’s really interesting in the US are the companies fighting GMO labeling. Many you would be surprised at like Godiva chocolates.
Isn’t it frightening Michelle. They know the majority of people don’t want to go near the stuff and once again, all they care about is their bottom line.
Great post, succinct and to the point. Totally agree with your position. My eyes were really opened when I first read The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan, which led me to read further around the topic of GMO.
Hi Kitty, I hadn’t heard of that book so thanks for the heads up. Thank you for your kind comments to. Janie x
Wow! Powerful. People need to wake up. If it was really about feeding the hungry it would be different. But they are way off base.
Yes Jan, I agree. Their claims of feeding drought resistant crops to those in Africa are wonderful, until you read the small print. The seeds are sterile, leaving those countries in debt to Monsanto and the like on an annual basis. Thanks for leaving a comment Jan xx
We’ve pretty much gone strictly organic at our house. We all read labels and are aware of what is healthy and what is not. Mostly we eat fresh food and use very few canned or boxed foods. And now we have our own organic garden. Thank you for helping to raise awareness. We have to stop allowing commercial growers and others to poison us.
Great news Julia, it has to be the way forward. I remember when I first got hens and I had to choose between a sack of feed that contained GM and a more expensive bag that didn’t. Money was SO tight back then and for a while I bought the cheaper bag. One day I was chatting to Jon about it and he said ‘if you feel that strongly about it, you have no choice but to stop supporting it’. Such wise words :)
Lovely to hear from you Julia x
It is very sad that in the US we have allowed one company to alter our seed crops so that they grow without weeds and then we have allowed this company to patent the new seed. Now when a farmer tries to grow a crop of food without using seeds that have been Genetically Modified, he/she stands a good chance of being sued and losing he/her farm. This company has put many a hard working farmer out of business and with the complete blessing of the US Government.
Yep, once again it all comes down to the mighty dollar :(
Could you explain you comment in more detail Chef? Do you refer to farmers that have previously grown GM crops on their land, and once they stop and revert to natural seeds they have a chance of getting sued? Or does any farmer using non GM seed now risk the same?
Many thanks x