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How to Avoid Dangerous Genetically Modified Foods

January 6, 2011 By Lisa Rose 17 Comments

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Reading a label at the cereal isle in the supermaket

Americans have been consuming Genetically Modified (GM) foods since 1996. More than 70% of foods on supermarket shelves contain GM ingredients. But as the American Academy of Environmental Medicine state, “GMOs pose a serious health risk.”

We can remove these dangerous foods from our food system by saying no to GMOs.

What are GMOs

A GMO (genetically modified organism) is the result of a laboratory process of taking genes from one species and inserting them into another in an attempt to obtain a specific trait or characteristic, a process that breaches the species barriers set up by nature. (Referred as both Genetic Engineering (GE) or Genetic Modification (GM)).

How to Avoid GMOs

Non-GMO Project Verified food labelsg coverUSDA Organic Logo

  1. Buy organic – certified organic products are unable to use GM ingredients.
  2. Buy products that are labeled non-GMO.
  3. Buy products listed on a non-gmo shopping guide. Download the Non-GMO Shopping Guide to help you identify foods that contain GMOs, also available as an iPhone App.
  4. Avoid at risk ingredients:
    • “The Big 4” – soy (91% estimated percentage that is genetically modified), corn (85%), cotton (71%), and canola (88%). All are present in most processed foods, especially vegetable oils.
    • Hawaiian Papaya (More than 50% estimated to be GM).
    • Zucchini and crookneck squash (small amount)
    • Sugar Beets (90% GM)
  5. Other possible sources to avoid:
    • Vegetable oils (like corn oil, soybean oil, canola oil, and cottonseed oil) and margarines.
    • Soy flour, soy protein soy lecithin, soy isoflavones, TVP, tofu, tamari, tempeh, soy supplements.
    • High-fructose corn syrup, corn starch, dextrose, maltodextrin, and all corn derivatives.
    • Meat, eggs, and dairy products from animals that have eaten GM feed (and the majority of the GM corn and soy is used for feed).
    • Food additives, enzymes, flavorings, and processing agents, including the sweetener aspartame (NutraSweet®) and rennet used to make hard cheeses;

The Institute for Responsible Technology has a full list of foods that may contain GM ingredients on their website.

FDA Approved GMOs despite Warnings from its own Scientists

“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.” FDA Statement of Policy – May, 29, 1992.

Internal memos made public as a result of a lawsuit reveal FDA scientists warned GMOs could cause allergens, toxins, new diseases, and nutritional problems and urged for long term studies. These warnings were ignored. The current FDA policy says testing is not necessary, and if companies producing GMO foods believe they are safe they can put it on the market without telling the FDA. There is no requirement to label GM foods misleading consumers who want to avoid them.

The man responsible for this policy is Michael Taylor, a former Monsanto (a biotech company) attorney and later vice president.

Health Dangers of Ingesting GM Foods

“Several animal studies reveal a long list of disorders, including: infertility, immune dysregulation, accelerated aging, dysregulation of genes associated with cholesterol synthesis, [faulty] insulin regulation, cell signaling, and protein formation, and changes in the liver, kidney, spleen and gastrointestinal system.” The American Academy of Environmental Medicine.

GM potatoes (potatoes genetically modified to produce its own insecticide) damaged rats; developed pre-cancerous cell growth in the digestive tract, smaller brains, livers, and testicles, partial atrophy of the liver, and immune system damage.

Comparison of the stomach lining of GM and Non-GM fed mice

Soy allergies skyrocketed by 50% after GM soy was introduced in the UK.

GM soy flour was added to the diets of female rats: most of their babies died within three weeks—compared to only a 10% death rate among mothers fed natural soy. The babies from the GM-fed group were also smaller and later had problems getting pregnant.

Male rats were fed GM soy, their testicles changed color—from the normal pink to dark blue. Mice testicles also showed changes, including damaged young sperm cells.

Comparison of  rat testicles of rats fed GM and non-GM Soy

Mice fed GM corn had fewer babies, and their children were smaller than normal.

US farmers said that thousands of their pigs became sterile after consuming certain GM corn varieties. Some had false pregnancies; others gave birth to bags of water. Cows and bulls also became infertile when fed the same corn.

100% of sheep grazing on Bt cotton died within 30 days, while those grazing on natural cotton plants in the adjoining field had no symptoms.

Farm workers in India picking Bt cotton developed allergic reactions, itching, and rashes.

India farmworkers showing skin lesions from picking Bt cotton

The livers of mice and rats fed GM soy feed had profound changes. Some were smaller and partially atrophied, others were significantly heavier, possibly inflamed, and some showed signs of a toxic insult from eating GM food.

Comparison of mice livers, fed GM soy and Non-GM soy

The FlavrSavr Tomato is the only GE crop to ever go through a thorough systematic feeding study. After 28 days 7 0f 20 force-fed rats developed stomach lesions, another 7 of 40 died within 2 weeks.

Many animals avoid GM feed when given a choice.

The GM Process is Not Safe

The process of creating a GM crop creates unpredicted changes in DNA, the protein produced by the inserted gene can be harmful, the protein produced may end up different than the protein intended, the genetic sequence can rearrange, mutate, become unstable, rearrange over time, and be read differently.

What the Only Published Human Feeding Study Revealed

GM genes can transfer into our own gut bacteria or DNA.  The only human feeding study ever conducted on GM foods showed that Bt genes from soy transferred to the intestinal bacteria of 7 human volunteers given GM soy burgers and milk.  The GE soy survived the small intestine and continued to function long after eating the GM foods.

Educated Consumers are the Solution

“If even a tiny percentage of US consumers—say 5% or 15 million people—started avoiding GMO brands, the millions in lost sales revenue would likely force brands to remove all GM ingredients, like they already have in Europe.” – Jeffrey Smith.

Resources and Further Reading

Everything YOU HAVE TO KNOW About Dangerous Genetically Modified Foods

The World According to Monsanto – Documentary

Dr. Oz Investigates Genetically Modified Foods – Television Program

Seeds of Deception: Exposing Industry and Government Lies About the Safety of the Genetically Engineered Foods You’re Eating – Book

Genetic Roulette: The Documented Health Risks of Genetically Engineered Foods – Book – View an excerpt of all 65 health risks of GM food.

The Institute for Responsible Technology – Website

GMO Foods are More Dangerous for Children Than Adults – Moms for Safe Food

Eyewitness Report: Animals Won’t Eat GMO’s – The Mommypotamus

This post is linked to The Nourishing Gourmet | Pennywise Platter Thursday and Food Renegade | Fight Back Friday.

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Filed Under: Food Politics Tagged With: GMO, Monsanto

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Comments

  1. DrPAL says

    January 6, 2011 at 7:44 pm

    Amazing article! Well researched. We need to do everything possible to get people to understand the dangers of these GMOs!! Thank you!!

    Reply
  2. Jessie says

    January 9, 2011 at 11:09 pm

    One good thing to know is that beets you see at the supermarket & farmers market are NOT sugar beets. I confirmed this with a farmer at my farmer’s market because I couldn’t find any organic beets at the market.

    Reply
    • lisa says

      January 9, 2011 at 11:19 pm

      Important point. Thanks Jessie!

      Reply
  3. Jos says

    January 23, 2011 at 11:25 pm

    How could we know that this non GMO/Organic seal can be trusted? Big companies can just pay for those and put that label on their products.

    Reply
    • lisa says

      February 1, 2011 at 4:40 am

      I learned about this seal through Jeffrey Smith – he’s the leading consumer activist on getting GMO’s out of our food system. If any validity issues with this seal arises I’m sure he would be the first to let us know.

      Reply
  4. Hannah Brand says

    March 21, 2011 at 1:27 am

    frightening. Thanks for putting this all together!

    Reply
  5. Adelia says

    February 6, 2012 at 4:12 am

    There are cases regarding on GMO on food chain. Mostly like to eat their meal in the food chain because they don’t have enough time to prepare food at home.
    Adelia recently posted..does milk cause acne

    Reply
  6. Tommy says

    April 8, 2013 at 10:05 am

    Lisa, I just wanted to say thank you for your determination and hard work in exposing truth. I’m 23 years old, a healthy male grad student, and I came under fire in 2011 with a digestive disorder. I defeat the odds and ditched my medicine for good whole-some food (non-GMO) and with the help of healing herbs nursed myself back to a healthy state.

    I thank every person on the internet who takes a stand on this important issue. Its unfortunate that there are people in this world who want to take advantage of others for the sole purpose of profit $. I’m an activist, and its important we share this information and spread it to the public.

    Thanks again,

    Tommy

    Reply
    • Lisa says

      April 8, 2013 at 3:07 pm

      So glad to hear you’re doing well and thanks for the compliment!

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Tweets that mention How to Avoid Dangerous Genetically Modified Foods -- Topsy.com says:
    January 7, 2011 at 6:30 pm

    […] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Jennifer C. Valerie. Jennifer C. Valerie said: RT @realbabyfood: great article on "What are GMO's" and "How/Why to avoid them" http://ow.ly/3zYZX […]

    Reply
  2. Link Love « The Mommypotamus says:
    January 10, 2011 at 1:40 pm

    […] Check it out at Real Food Digest […]

    Reply
  3. The REAL Cause of Acne « The Mommypotamus says:
    September 22, 2011 at 6:12 am

    […] we can gain insight into the potential for organ damage by animal feeding studies. According to Real Food Digest, “ The livers of mice and rats fed GM soy feed had profound changes. Some were smaller and […]

    Reply
  4. Genetically Modified Foods | Kayun's Class Blog says:
    June 11, 2012 at 1:12 am

    […]  (http://www.realfooddigest.com/how-to-avoid-dangerous-genetically-modified-foods/) […]

    Reply
  5. GMO or Not? - Total Nutrition Today says:
    November 8, 2012 at 6:09 pm

    […] There is a lot of great information in this article: How to Avoid Dangerous Genetically Modified Foods […]

    Reply
  6. The Beginner’s Guide to Avoiding GMOs | Soundness of Body & Mind says:
    November 30, 2013 at 10:09 pm

    […] More than 70% of the food that you can buy at the grocery store contains genetically modified ingredients. That’s a lot! If you didn’t know what GMOs were, you’d probably think that they’re good for you considering the majority of foods are made from them. Many Americans have caught on, however. They’ve done their research and realized that they’re not healthy whatsoever. But if you haven’t done your research, Real Food Kosher shares with us the health dangers of ingesting GMOs. […]

    Reply
  7. Avoiding GMO’s and How YOU can help others | Primally Inspired says:
    January 21, 2014 at 9:36 am

    […] http://www.realfoodkosher.com/how-to-avoid-dangerous-genetically-modified-foods/ […]

    Reply
  8. OILY MESS | organismic says:
    July 19, 2014 at 4:06 am

    […] Vegetable oils, if not organic, are likely derived from Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO’s), another important reason to avoid them. Read more about the health dangers of GMO’s and how to avoid them. […]

    Reply

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Lisa Rose is a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner passionate about real food and sustainable living.
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