HOW TO AVOID GM FOODS

   There is new interest in gardening this spring.  Homeowners especially are working hard at it.  Gardeners have their own personal knowledge regarding the kind of soil and seed that is going into their food products.  There will no doubt be an increasing availability providing guarantees from Farmers Market participants, who are willing to expand on selling organic vegetables and fruits varieties that include their guarantees.  Genetically modified food is one that has had lab-replicated genes from other plants, animals and even viruses added to it in order to give it new characteristics – like resistance to insects or to extreme heat that provides an advantage in terms of hardy growth.  Today, 91% of soy products in the United States are genetically modified, as is 85% of corn products, and 88% of cottonseed, all grown on large industrial farms and other ingredients used in corn syrup, soy lecithin, cottonseed oil or sweeteners in soups, spreads and sauces – even infant formulas.   

  

   A prudent first step is in progress providing obligatory labeling that will indicate the presence of GMOs (genetically modified by food manufacturers.) Last fall a coalition that now includes more than 80 groups including Physicians for Social responsibility – launched the “Just Label It” campaign, asking the federal government to require labels on GM foods.  They are all over the supermarket but so far you’d never know it from the labels.  Hawaiian papaya, certain varieties of summer squash and as recently as last December – drought resistant corn-on-the cob have also joined the list of crops that the food & Drug Administration has reviewed for genetically modification in the United States.  Pushing the envelope even further the agency is considering green lighting genetically altered salmon which would be bred with DNA that makes it grow to full size twice as fast as wild salmon. Many scientists feel there has not been enough proof before consumers can buy them.  “No one has been willing to fund this proof and needs more peer-reviewed research,” says Marion Nestle PhD, a professor of Nutrition at New York University and author of “Safe Food.”  Michael R Taylor, as deputy commissioner for all food as the commissioner of food and nutrition programs, was once vice-president for their public policy, a bio-tech company that produces 90% of genetically modified seeds in the world.  Monsanto’s position is that “there is no need for or value in testing the safety of GM foods in humans.”  The burden of proof should fall on both the government and the companies that are producing these crops.  For safety, buyers can choose to shop with GM-free retailers.