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BANG FOR THE BITE
Joining the fight against Frankenfood is free. But who has tons of time to plea for anti-GMO legislation? Just look for the "NO GMO" mark on food packages and give those products preferential treatment at the cash register.
COCKTAIL FACT
Genetic engineering of food is the most radical transformation in the human diet since the invention of agriculture 10,000 years ago.
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home › tip library › Genetically Modified Foods
Are you wondering about the benefits and potential harms in genetically modified foods? We are, too!
The Bite
On the one hand, GMOs could seem like a godsend - we could produce tons more food with the same amount of land through the modern miracle of science. The problem is - it's all untested - we don't know what GMOs will do to our bodies or to the environment because there hasn't been enough time to test the potential side effects. It's possible that we could create something that we can't stop, like food plants that spread like wildfire and suffocate out the indigenous, ecosystem-essential plants.The Benefits
- Since genetic engineering is a relatively new way of producing foods, scientists have not determined long-term health risks. And, most testing is done by the companies that produce these foods in the first place, so it is like a drug company certifying its own drug, sans FDA.
- Genetically modified food is considered "biological pollution" - tinkering with nature too much can lead to permanently altering natural foods. Too see a great example of how supposedly good science can cause unforeseen results, visit RMI.org.
- Check your soy products - even if they are grown organically, more than 50% of soybeans grown worldwide are grown off of GMO seeds. Same goes for bio-diesel, which is made mostly from soybean byproducts, which are usually produced with tons of pesticides and fertilizers. (Tip on bio-diesel coming up, hold onto your green hats.)
Personally Speaking
Look, the debate is heated, but here is one fact we always keep in mind: If the world were to face a future hunger shortage, GM technology would not be the panacea, and could actually lead to massive ecosystem destruction. Planting small farms and gardens with a diverse array of crops can grow several times more food per acre than the large, mechanized farms for which GM seeds were developed.Wanna Try?
If you want to learn more about Frankenfood or to even join the fight against GMO-based foods, check out these sites:- True Foods Campaign - you can print a shopping guide of non-GMO foods.
- Friends of the Earth - UK based site useful in gaining a global perspective.
Aug 03,2005
Sponsor
It's so tempting to want to grab onto science as the cure-all for the world's ills. But there are times where it might just be the cause of those ills - just take a look at the GMO situation:
Here is the deal.....
Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are crafted in a lab, and sold to food companies for larger yields. Mainly they pull strains from one DNA source to boost a certain quality in a food plant. For example, monkey butt skin into a tomato seed to make the tomatoes travel better, you know - thicker, rosier skin. (Okay, that is a fake example, but there are some pretty wild real world examples out there).
- Not much testing has gone on, AND we don't know enough to know the potential effects. Somehow, the big AgriBusiness guys have skirted having to go through testing.
- A few years ago Monsanto had to pull back some genetically modified corn products.... Remember when taco shells were causing very harmful allergic reactions?
- More than 3500 areas in Europe have been established as intentionally free of genetically modified organisms.
- GMO commodities are patented, meaning farmers cannot save seeds from each crop. This is costing them a fortune, and of course all the large agribusiness folks own the patents.
- Proponents say that we need this in order to feed the world. Not really. There are million reasons that organic, small scale farming would feed the world, for a much longer time (ie: the soil quality doesn't depreciate and erode with organic farming methods). To see one of my personal heroes discuss how, see the Joel Salatin's interview (leading author, speaking and sustainable farmer) here: http://www.nutri-tech.com.au/Interviews/Interviews5.htm.
Cautionary Corn Tales
When I was trying to wrap my head around this issue, I asked my boss at the time, a brilliant economist at World Resources Institute, Paul Faeth. He said "Jen, do you know that native, unaltered corn is really only this big?" (and then he made a 3 inch gap between his pointer finger and thumb.) We keep this corn sheltered and growing in some place in Mexico. It lives there, and keeps naturally modifying itself to keep ahead of the pest-types that develop, and adjust to weather changes. Each year we go in to harvest some of this original seed source, and then engineer the bigger stuff from that. Only nature can compete with nature. So now with GMO plants, what if some of their pollen or seeds flew into this area, and corrupted our seed source for corn? Can you imagine how quickly our food markets would tumble, and the massive hunger that would arise?"
Yeah, so I am paraphrasing, but that was the gist. It blew me away that we are really messing with nature so much. After all, the true system (ie: our ecosystem) is beyond comprehension in its synergistic, symbiotic magnificence.
The Quarterly Profit Trap
I am sure it is all-too-tempting for the big food companies to go the quick and dirty route, and get X% instaprofit. Plus, their quarterly stock market price doesn't reward for planning for the longer term. That is why it is up to us to be slightly educated on it, and buy organic when possible, and try to avoid GMO foods and the companies that use them.
Off to cross Cricket with a grasshopper. (Seriously, she really loves to eat grasshoppers.)
Jen
Biter Comments...
PHOTO ALBUMS
Posted by: Zara | August 03, 2005 at 07:16 AM