Just Say No To GMOs

From a May release of the American Academy of Environmental Medicine:

... Despite these differences, safety assessment of GM foods has been based on the idea of "substantial equivalence" such that "if a new food is found to be substantially equivalent in composition and nutritional characteristics to an existing food, it can be regarded as safe as the conventional food."4 However, several animal studies indicate serious health risks associated with GM food consumption including infertility, immune dysregulation, accelerated aging, dysregulation of genes associated with cholesterol synthesis, insulin regulation, cell signaling, and protein formation, and changes in the liver, kidney, spleen and gastrointestinal system. ...

In a statement about the release issued by Jeffrey M. Smith, author of Seeds of Deception and Genetic Roulette, he highlighted numerous animal studies that demonstrated adverse reactions to genetically engineered foodstuffs and said:

... AAEM states, “GM foods have not been properly tested” and “pose a serious health risk.” Not a single human clinical trial on GMOs has been published. A 2007 review of published scientific literature on the “potential toxic effects/health risks of GM plants” revealed “that experimental data are very scarce.” The author concludes his review by asking, “Where is the scientific evidence showing that GM plants/food are toxicologically safe, as assumed by the biotechnology companies?” ...

That evidence is apparently nowhere. Genetically modified organisms have been released into the food supply with no proof of safety other than that people don't instantly keel over when they eat them.

It's unfortunate, but the only way to guarantee that grain and soy products aren't their GM alternates is to either eat weird grains like teff (mmm, Ethiopian food) or buy organic breads, pastas, etc. The rest of the food supply is heavily contaminated with GM foods as there's no requirement to label these ingredients.

Is it just a coincidence that food allergies have jumped significantly since GM crops were introduced? Maybe. Maybe not, it might be the pesticides, it might be other food additives or environmental toxins. But you know, it'd be nice if we could have conclusive scientific studies performed on the question because we deserve to know.

There are other countries where the government makes food companies tell people if GMOs are in their food, but sadly, the US isn't one of those places. Where it is required, people have made their disinterest in being guinea pigs plain and manufacturers have had to respond.

(Photo series: James Tan Chin Choy on Flickr.)