GMO Facts And Fiction

What is a GMO? What does it really mean........?

Here goes a comprehensive definition;    

GMO (genetically modified organisms)are living organisms whose genetic material has been artificially manipulated (genetic manipulation ) in a laboratory through a laboratory process where genes from the DNA of one species are extracted and artificially forced into the genes of an unrelated plant or animal. This creates combinations of plant, animal, bacteria, and virus genes that do not occur in nature or through traditional crossbreeding methods. The foreign genes may come from bacteria, viruses, insects, animals or even humans. Since this involves the transfer of genes, GMOs are also known as “transgenic” organisms.

Quick note: Genetically modified foods or GM foods are also known as genetically engineered foods, bioengineered food or biotech food for short.

A brief History

The genetic engineering technology was developed in the 1970s. In the early 1990s, the tomato was one of the first to be victim of this technology. The anti-freeze genes from an Arctic fish were forced into tomato DNA, allowing the plants to survive frost. Fortunately, this type of tomato was not introduced into the marketplace. Actually, it never left the lab.

In 1976, a major biotechnology company manufactured an herbicide called Roundup. When the farmers sprayed this herbicide on their crops, not only would it kill the weeds, but it would also kill the crops. This biotech company developed genetically modified crops after finding bacteria in a chemical waste dump near its factory that were not dying in the presence of the herbicide. The bacterial gene that produced the protein that allowed it to survive in the presence of herbicide was inserted into soy, corn, cotton and canola.

In 1996, this company introduced genetically modified soybeans, and slowly introduced genetically engineered corn, cotton and canola. When these crops are sprayed with this Roundup, all plants except the resistant crop are killed. As a result, some 258 million pounds more herbicide have been used in the last 11 years.

FDA and GMO (fda gmo)   

In 1992, the FDA declared that GM crops are GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) as long as their producers say they are. Therefore, the FDA doesn’t require any safety evaluations or labeling of GMOs. A company can even introduce a genetically modified (GM) food to the market without telling the agency. The official FDA policy stated, “The agency is not aware of any information showing that foods derived by these new methods differ from other foods in any meaningful or uniform way.” In contrast, an internal FDA report stated, “The processes of genetic engineering and traditional breeding are different and according to the technical experts in the agency, they lead to different risks.”

Internal memos made public from a lawsuit showed that GM crops can have unpredictable, hard-to-detect side effects including allergies, toxins, nutritional effects and new diseases as potential dangers. The FDA doesn’t require a single study, and the complex biology of GM crops may produce far more side-effects than drugs. GM foods are fed to the entire population, and they are not labeled or monitored, so symptoms are difficult or impossible to track.

Monsanto Company is a multinational agrochemical and agricultural biotechnology,  It is the inventor and primary producer of the herbicide glyphosate, marketed as RoundUp®, and the world's leading producer of genetically engineeredseeds it's roles in agricultural changes, biotechnology products and lobbying of government agencies and roots as a chemical company have surrounded the company in controversies. Monsanto has recently agreed to accept Bayers offer to purchase the company for $66 billion ($128/share), and on June 7, 2018, Monsanto will formally merge with Bayer.

Are GMOs safe?

Let’s see what the experts have to say…..
A growing body of evidence connects GMOs with health problems, environmental damage, and violation of farmers’ and consumers’ rights. More than 60 countries around the world – including Australia, Japan, and all of the countries in the European Union – require GMOs to be labeled. Globally, there are also 300 regions with outright bans on growing GMOs.

The American Academy of Environmental Medicine (AAEM) reported that “Several animal studies indicate serious health risks associated with GM food,” including infertility, immune problems, accelerated aging, faulty insulin regulation and changes in major organs and the gastrointestinal system. The AAEM asked physicians to advise patients to avoid GM foods.

A recent study published in the journal, Reproductive Toxicology, examined the blood of 30 pregnant women and 39 non-pregnant women. The authors looked for Glyphosate (brand name Roundup), Gluphosinate (a broad spectrum herbicide), AMPA (aminomethyl phosphoric acid, a metabolite of glyphosate), 3-MPPA (3-methylphosphinico propionic acid, a metabolite of gluphosinate) and Cry1Ab (the BT toxin of gluphosinate) in the blood of these women. Both glyphosate and gluphosinate were detected in non-pregnant women, but neither were found in the pregnant women and their fetuses.

Consequently, in the absence of credible independent long-term feeding studies, the safety of GMOs is unknown. Increasingly, citizens are taking matters into their own hands and choosing to opt out of the GMO experiment.

Which foods might contain GMOs?

Examples of genetically modified food

Currently commercialized GM crops in the U.S. include: soy (91 percent), cotton (71 percent), canola (88 percent), corn (85 percent), Hawaiian papaya (more than 50 percent), zucchini and yellow squash (small amount) and sugar beets (90 percent).

Most packaged foods contain ingredients derived from corn, soy, canola, and sugar beet — and the vast majority of those crops grown in North America are genetically modified. 

Animal products: The Non-GMO Project also considers livestock, apiculture, and aquaculture products at high risk because genetically engineered ingredients are common in animal feed. This impacts animal products such as: eggs, milk, meat, honey, and seafood.

Processed inputs, including those from synthetic biology: GMOs also sneak into food in the form of processed crop derivatives and inputs derived from other forms of genetic engineering, such as synthetic biology. Some examples include: hydrolyzed vegetable protein corn syrup, molasses, sucrose, textured vegetable protein, flavorings, vitamins yeast products, microbes & enzymes, flavors, oils & fats, proteins, and sweeteners.

GMO and Agriculture.

How do GMOs affect farmers? GMO and Agriculture.

Because GMOs are novel life forms, biotechnology companies have been able to obtain patents to control the use and distribution of their genetically engineered seeds. As a result, the companies that make GMOs now have the power to sue farmers whose fields have been contaminated with GMOs, even when it is the result of the drift of pollen from neighboring fields.

Genetically modified crops therefore pose a serious threat to farmer sovereignty and to the national food security of any country where they are grown.

What is not a GMO?

 Non GMO's Include;

         The genomes of organisms change naturally over time, for example:

   when organisms mate, offspring get bits of DNA from both        parents

      mutations^? arise as a result of mistakes when DNA is copied

environmental factors like UV radiation can create changes in DNA.

These changes to the DNA are not ‘genetic modifications’ as they happen naturally.

In conclusion

This is just the major idea behind the broad topic of GMO, but we can safely conclude that despite biotech industry promises and attempt to convince us that GMO’s are just another improved food, there is no evidence that any of the GMOs currently on the market offer increased yield, drought tolerance, enhanced nutrition, or any other consumer benefit.