Newsletters: January-February-March 2010
What is a GMO? What is GE?
Natural Times January/February/March 2010
By Paul Rutkovsky
A genetically modified organism (GMO) is an organism whose genetic material has been altered using genetic engineering techniques. We should all be aware of the increasing use of GMOs in our food. Over 80 percent of all non-organic corn, soybean and cotton grown in the United States is genetically modified. This technique of genetic engineering (GE) is being practiced on plants, trees, fish, animals, humans and microorganisms. Pro-biotech governments and regulatory agencies, led by the United States, maintain that GE foods and crops are “substantially equivalent” to conventional foods and therefore require neither mandatory labeling nor pre–market safety testing. This defies common sense. GMOs should be tested before we purchase them as food. However, this is not the case, and presently there are more than four-dozen GE foods and crops being grown or sold in the United States. Michael Pollan, author of several books about crops and food production, including The Omnivore’s Dilemma and In Defense of Food, states that none of these GE foods should be on the market without extensive testing and health impact assessments.
Organic produce, for the most part, is still relatively safe, but corporate farming interests, like the “life science” corporations (Monsanto and Aventis), don’t want you to know when you’re eating GMO food products. Their lobbyists make sure that all legislative attempts to regulate genetically modified organisms in our food do not see the light of day. They have also fought hard not to allow labeling food that is genetically modified with the phrase “contains no recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone” (rBGH), a Monsanto artificial product. This continues even after Monsanto sold the product to Eli Lily. Many dairy farmers use rBGH to increase milk production by approximately 10 percent. We have become involuntary guinea pigs in a vast genetic experiment.
Good News: Two major yogurt companies, Yoplait® and Dannon®, are now rBGH free.
All facts came from the Organic Consumers Association’s web site and the Center for Food Safety.
