October is Non-GMO Month!

GMO:  Genetically Modified Organism.  Below is an explanation of what GMO is and why it’s being used and benefits (benefits?  really?) and controversies.  All the more reason for me to eat organic.  I don’t want to be a human science experiment…

Combining genes from different organisms is known as recombinant DNA technology, and the resulting organism is said to be “genetically modified,” “genetically engineered,” or “transgenic.” GM products (current or those in development) include medicines and vaccines, foods and food ingredients, feeds, and fibers.

In 2006, 252 million acres of transgenic crops were planted in 22 countries by 10.3 million farmers. The majority of these crops were herbicide- and insect-resistant soybeans, corn, cotton, canola, and alfalfa. Other crops grown commercially or field-tested are a sweet potato resistant to a virus that could decimate most of the African harvest, rice with increased iron and vitamins that may alleviate chronic malnutrition in Asian countries, and a variety of plants able to survive weather extremes.

On the horizon are bananas that produce human vaccines against infectious diseases such as hepatitis B (that just sounds scary); fish that mature more quickly (why do I care if fish mature more quickly, I think I’ll be patient and wait for nature to take its course); cows that are resistant to bovine spongiform encephalopathy (mad cow disease) (what is the meat going to do to me though); fruit and nut trees that yield years earlier (yeah I’ll be patient and let nature take its course), and plants that produce new plastics with unique properties (weird).

One website was listing benefits…I just laugh at them.

Benefits (who is this benefitting?)

• Crops
  • Enhanced taste and quality
  • Reduced maturation time
  • Increased nutrients, yields, and stress tolerance
  • Improved resistance to disease, pests, and herbicides
  • New products and growing techniques
• Animals
  • Increased resistance, productivity, hardiness, and feed efficiency
  • Better yields of meat, eggs, and milk
  • Improved animal health and diagnostic methods
• Environment
  • “Friendly” bioherbicides and bioinsecticides
  • Conservation of soil, water, and energy
  • Bioprocessing for forestry products
  • Better natural waste management
  • More efficient processing
• Society
  • Increased food security for growing populations

Controversies

• Safety
  • Potential human health impacts, including allergens, transfer of antibiotic resistance markers, unknown effects
  • Potential environmental impacts, including: unintended transfer of transgenes through cross-pollination, unknown effects on other organisms (e.g., soil microbes), and loss of flora and fauna biodiversity
• Access and Intellectual Property
  • Domination of world food production by a few companies
  • Increasing dependence on industrialized nations by developing countries
  • Biopiracy, or foreign exploitation of natural resources
• Ethics
  • Violation of natural organisms’ intrinsic values
  • Tampering with nature by mixing genes among species
  • Objections to consuming animal genes in plants and vice versa
  • Stress for animal
• Labeling
  • Not mandatory in some countries (e.g., United States)
  • Mixing GM crops with non-GM products confounds labeling attempts
• Society
  • New advances may be skewed to interests of rich countries

Ummmm okay so I don’t really see the benefits part being so beneficial.  If we eat organic fruits and vegetables and eat meat from animals that have a proper diet, why do we need GMO anything?  This is just getting out of hand.

To your 12 months of non-GMO diet…don’t limit it to just October!

Julie