You Have Been Eating Them Since 1996
What are GMO’s?
GMO stands for “Genetically Modified Organisms.” GMO foods are those foods that have been genetically engineered by forcing the DNA of foreign species into the natural genetic structure of plants. GMO’s have been widely used since 1996 in the U.S., and from 60-70% of our food supply contains them.
What kinds of foreign DNA? You can expect that GM foods contain the DNA of species such as bacteria, viruses, insects, fish, and others.
Which foods contain GMO’s? The “big four” primary foods that are engineered are corn, soy, canola, and cotton. Others include tomatoes, peas, potatoes, sugar beets and many more. This includes oils, protein powders, sugars, and other items that come from these plants and vegetables.
Also included are meat, eggs and dairy that is produced from animals that have eaten GM feed, milk that contains growth hormone, food additives, ie; “natural flavor,” enzymes, processing agents, rennet (used to make hard cheese) and artificial sweetener like Aspartame.
Why are they engineered? To start, two words: herbicide and pesticide. Most commonly, commercial crops are modified by inserting the DNA of bacteria to survive otherwise fatal doses of the weed killers and pesticides that are used during cultivation. Other foods are modified to resist plant viruses.
Seeds, Herbicides and Pesticides – When a farmer buys seeds from a large biotech company like Monsanto, for instance, s/he signs an agreement that s/he will use that company’s herbicides and pesticides. Therefore, genetic engineering on food is being used to increase profits, regardless of the health risks.
What kinds of health risks are created? Allergies, organ damage, sterility, reproductive problems, infant mortality, nutritional problems, toxic responses from new toxins that previously did not exist, antibiotic resistant diseases, cancer, new diseases, and probable changes to our own DNA. Some autism research and behavioral problems also points to GM food.
Who is most at risk? Children, pregnant women, elderly people and the sick.