Twenty Genetically Modified Foods Coming to Your
Plate
Into by Jack Adam Weber
Article by Stephanie Rogers – ecosalon.com
Intro – If the need to halt GMOs were not urgent
enough, this article should scare the pants off you.
Here we glimpse some of the potentials for the
unabated and bizarre proliferation of GMOs. Some
of these developments you will already know about
(hopefully), but some will come as a surprise. As I
see it we are now at a crossroads where we can still
dismantle this dangerous and perverted
manipulation of the very fabric of life, the sacred
code of nature, which will undoubtedly affect each
and every one of us in profound ways now and in the future.
I hope we never have to find out. We have to stop this now before we and future generations have to
be genetically engineered, RoundUp and 2,4-D Ready at the least perhaps, to withstand the
onslaught of the weird stuff being channelled into our food supply and into our environment. If you
haven’t already, perhaps after reading this article you will be more ready to take a real stand against
GMOs by enacting the 11 Simple Steps to Eradicate GMOs and join our GMO Eradication
Movement. Now put down that bowl of GMO corn chowder, buckle your seatbelts, clear you ears
and clean off your eyeglasses for the list of 20 GMOs coming soon and already arrived to
supermarket shelves near you.
Main Article by Stephanie Rogers
Good luck distinguishing these Frankenfoods from real, natural food as they flood our
supermarkets.
Genetically altered to withstand heavy applications of toxic chemicals, resist disease or contain
more nutrients, so-called “Frankenfoods” are appearing on supermarket shelves at a rapid rate.
Currently, genetically modified (GM) corn and soy can be found in many processed foods, and the
produce section may contain GM zucchini, corn on the cob and papaya. But beyond those that have
already been approved for human consumption, many more GMOs are on the way – and they
probably won’t be labeled. These 20 crops and animal products include both those that are already
available (whether we like it or not) and some that are still in development, like cows that produce
human breast milk.
Corn
If you eat any kind of processed food on a regular basis – tortilla chips, cereal, granola bars –
chances are, you consume genetically modified corn. The Center for Food Safety estimates that
over 70% of the processed foods in American grocery stores contain genetically modified corn or
soy. Corn is altered to contain proteins that kill insects that eat them, so they effectively produce
their own pesticides.
Rice
Rice plants are often modified to be resistant to herbicides and pests, to increase grain size and to
generate nutrients that don’t exist in the grain naturally. Varieties include Bayer’s herbicide-resistant
“LibertyLink” rice, vitamin A-infused “golden rice” and the bizarre Ventria Bioscience “Express Tec”
rice, which has been altered to contain human proteins naturally found in breast milk. The latter is
used globally in infant formula.
Tomatoes
Among the first foods to be genetically altered, GM tomatoes have been developed to be
unnaturally high in anti-oxidants, to have more intense flavor and to stay fresh longer. While there are
not currently any genetically modified tomatoes on store shelves, they’re being used extensively by
scientists to study the function of genes that are naturally present in the plants.
Soybeans
The most common genetically engineered food of all is the soybean. Since 1996, scientists have
been creating varieties of soybeans that are resistant to both pests and herbicides, and they wind
up in places you’d least expect them, like candy bars. A new GM soybean with higher levels of
healthy oils was approved by the USDA in 2010; chemical companies DuPont and Monsanto are
both working on their own versions of the biotech bean.
Cotton
We don’t think of cotton as a food, and technically it isn’t – but we still end up eating it. Cotton isn’t
classified as a food crop, so farmers can use any chemicals they want when growing it. That means
cottonseed oil, which is present in products like mayonnaise and salad dressing, can be packed full
of pesticides. Along with soy, corn and canola, cotton grown for oil extraction is one of the most
frequently genetically modified crops in the world.
Canola Oil
Canola, a cultivar of rapeseed, produces one of the most commonly consumed food oils, and it’s
one of America’s biggest cash crops. What you may not know is that canola stands for “Canadian
oil, low acid,” referring to a variety of rapeseed developed in the 1970s. 80% of the acres of canola
sown in the U.S. are genetically modified, and a 2010 study in North Dakota found that the modified
genes of these plants have spread to 80% of wild natural rapeseed plants.
Sugar Beets
Despite the fact that an environmental impact study has yet to be completed, the USDA has
announced that farmers may now plant Monsanto’s Roundup Ready sugar beets, which have been
altered to withstand the company’s herbicide. This decision comes despite a 2010 court order that
prohibited planting the GMO beets until the study was performed. Sugar beets provide about half of
America’s sugar.
Salmon
Salmon may become the first genetically modified animal to be approved for direct human
consumption. The FDA has decided that a variety of GM salmon that grow twice as fast as their
natural, un-modified peers is both safe to eat and safe for the environment.
“We’re looking here at a scenario where the fish might wind up sooner or later in the ocean,” Brian
Ellis, plant biotechnologist at the University of British Columbia Vancouver, told Discovery News. “I
think if we go down this route, we have to be prepared to accept some potentially unknown
consequences.”
Sugar Cane
Providing the other half of America’s precious sugar, sugar cane is set to debut on our shelves in
genetically modified form sometime soon. Brazil’s state-owned agricultural research agency has
been hard at work developing drought-resistant sugar cane that also bears increased yields for
years now, and may have it certified for commercial use within five years. Australia is also working
on its own version.
Papaya
After the Ringspot Virus nearly destroyed all of Hawaii’s papaya crops, a new variety was
engineered to resist the disease, and it now represents the majority of the papayas grown in the
United States.
“Papaya would be unique in the sense where the industry in Hawaii is dependent on biotech,” says
Kevin Richards, director of regulatory relations for the American Farm Bureau. “What you have in
Hawaii is a very contained, isolated agro-eco system, which is vulnerable to diseases.”
Potatoes
The first genetically modified food to be approved for cultivation in Europe in over a decade,
Amflora potatoes are currently being grown in Sweden. High in starch content, the potatoes are
actually meant for use in paper, glues and other commercial products rather than as food, but that
doesn’t mean they won’t end up affecting the food chain. Nearby farmers worry about their rabbits,
deer, and especially their bees.
Honey
Could genetically modified crops have something to do with the mysterious ailments that are killing
honeybee colonies by the billions? Some researchers believe so. A zoologist in Germany found that
genes used to modify rapeseed crops had transferred to bacteria living inside bees. GMOs are
currently considered to be among the possible causes of Colony Collapse Disorder. And if the
genes are causing changes within the bees, they’re also likely to cause changes to the honey that
the bees produce.
Bananas
After banana crops in Uganda were affected by a bacterial disease that caused the plants to rot,
scientists developed a genetically modified variety that could help alleviate the $500 million annual
loss. The ban on GM crops was waived to make way for the GM version of Uganda’s staple food. A
gene from sweet pepper was inserted into the bananas that make them resistant to the bacteria.
Cultivated bananas have almost no genetic diversity, so supporters of this decision argue that
introducing the GMO fruits will actually help bananas as a whole.
Click the below picture for a Wake Up World Only Exclusive Special Offer
Zucchini Squash
Zucchini are among the
foods currently on store
shelves that are often
genetically modified. The
main threats to zucchini harvests are viruses and fungal infections, and GM zucchini eliminate those
problems.
Pork
Pigs are currently being genetically modified for the possibility of producing human organs as early
as 2013, but that’s not their only use. Another variety may eventually end up on our plates. A project
called “Enviropig” has inserted genes from mice and E.coli bacteria into pigs to make them
process their food more efficiently, potentially reducing their environmental impact. The modification
allows the pigs to digest chemicals called phosphates which are present in cereal grains; these
chemicals normally just pass right through a pig’s system where they can end up in waterways.
Alfalfa
Genetic modification is making its way into the sprouts on your sandwiches and salads. The GMO
industry demanded that the USDA allow unrestricted planting of genetically modified alfalfa, which
makes up about 7 percent of U.S. crop fields. Alfalfa is a prolific pollinator, so it can easily spread to
non-GMO alfalfa. USDA chief Tom Vilsack resisted the idea at first, but in January 2011, he gave in.
Meat and Eggs
The importance of that GMO alfalfa decision? It has a huge domino effect on the entire food chain.
Alfalfa is not just grown for edible sprouts, of course – it’s mainly animal feed. Livestock have been
fed genetically modified grains like corn and soy since 1996, when these crops were first
introduced, and adding alfalfa to the mix will substantially increase the amount of GMOs that animals
like cows, chickens and pigs take in. Of course, just like all of the other effects of GMOs, how all of
this will pan out for the livestock and for us is not yet clear.
And direct genetic modification of food animals is in the works, too. Aside from the previously
mentioned pigs, animals that are in “laboratory stage” include cows and goats that can produce milk
containing drugs like antibiotics, and chickens that produce drugs in their egg whites. Under current
FDA rules, GMO meat and dairy won’t need to have special labels on store shelves, making it
extremely difficult to tell what is modified and what isn’t.
Milk
Aside from the contamination that may occur when dairy livestock consume genetically modified
feed, GMOs can end up in your milk in other ways, too. The United States is currently the only nation
in the world that allows milk containing the genetically engineered recombinant bovine growth
hormone (rBGH) to be sold for human consumption. Milk from cows treated with these artificial
hormones has been found to contain lower nutritional value, higher pus content (yes, you read that
correctly) and increased levels of the cancer-causing hormone IGF-1.
And then there are the cows that are being genetically engineered to produce human breast milk.
Scientists in China have bred a herd of 300 dairy cows with milk that resembles the balance of fats
and nutrients that are best for human babies. The researchers believe that this modified cow milk is
a possible substitute for human milk, and could be sold on store shelves in the future.
Aspartame
How can an artificial substance be genetically modified? Aspartame may seem like an odd addition
to this list, but the fact is, Monsanto makes it using genetically modified bacteria. The bacteria
produce the amino acid phenylalanine, which, when combined with aspartic acid, creates the faux
sweetener.
If you like what you read, please consider donating to help support my blog, even as little as $5 will help.
My book “Dentistry and how it’s damaging your health” is available here for only $2.99
