A couple of days ago I watched a fascinating documentary about Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) that I wanted to share with you. The film, called Genetic Roulette: The Gamble of our Lives, was created by Jeffrey M. Smith, founder of The Institute for Responsible Technology (IRT), bestselling author, and an expert in GMO foods. The goal of IRT is to educate policy makers and the public about genetically modified foods and crops by collaborating with experts in this field and presenting research on the health effects of GMOs.
The film, which I highly recommend, is available for free online until Nov. 8th and you can watch it here: http://geneticroulettemovie.com/grm/. (After Nov. 8th, you'll have to pay a small fee to watch it.)
I was blown away by this film. Though I generally consider myself pretty well-informed when it comes to food justice and health issues, there was a lot in this movie that I did not know about and I wanted to share some of these interesting facts with you.
As you may already know, GMOs are created when a species is injected with DNA from another species, basically producing a man-made crop that would never occur naturally in the wild. Luckily, most of our food is not genetically modified, but the few key crops that are altered are also some of the most common ingredients in the foods we eat today. Here is a list of the main commercial GMO crops (taken from the Non-GMO Project):
Alfalfa (first planting 2011)
Canola (approx. 90% of U.S. crop)
Corn (approx. 88% of U.S. crop in 2011)
Cotton (approx. 90% of U.S. crop in 2011)
Papaya (most of Hawaiian crop; approximately 988 acres)
Soy (approx. 94% of U.S. crop in 2011)
Sugar Beets (approx. 95% of U.S. crop in 2010)
Zucchini and Yellow Summer Squash (approx. 25,000 acres)
At first glance, this list seems pretty short and harmless. However, the problem is that corn and soy are in everything. Just check the label on most packaged or processed products you buy at the store and you are sure to see an ingredient with the word "corn" or "soy" in it. And unless that product is certified organic or "Non-GMO Verified," you better believe that it was made with GMO corn or soy. Sugar beets are also very common in any food that has "sugar" listed as an ingredient on the back.
So what's the problem with GMOs?
In this film, I learned that researchers are finding a relationship between consumption of foods containing GMOs and food allergies, gastrointestinal problems, birth defects, and other health problems. In fact, the link is so clear that many doctors are starting to prescribe non-GMO diets to their sick patients and seeing dramatic results.
Furthermore, we are creating genetically-modified crops that are pesticide resistant or "Roundup Ready" as they are called (Roundup is the name of Monsanto's brand of pesticide). This means we can spray as many chemicals on them as we want and the plants will not die (do you really want to be eating a plant that has been bathed in toxic pesticides? Maybe the plant can survive that, but will you?). They've done studies on plants sprayed with Roundup and have found that these crops are also nutrient-deficient compared to their organic counterparts, so it's not like there's some hidden advantage to growing these kinds of crops. Not only that, but we are also now creating crops that produce their own pesticides! The stomachs of insects that eat these crops literally explode. Have we considered what these crops might be doing to our stomachs when we eat them? We may not be insects, but we are living organisms, and it scares me to think about what might be happening in our GI tract when we eat this stuff.
Two of the biggest GMO crops in our country are corn and soy (80% of these crops are genetically modified). We feed these crops not only to ourselves (in the form of corn oil, high fructose corn syrup, soy lecithin, etc.) but also to our livestock. Research and testimonials from farmers are showing that livestock fed GMO diets are sicker and dying because of it. This can't be good.
The worst part about all of this? We can't rely on the FDA to keep us safe or to publish truthful unbiased research regarding the effects of GMO crops on our health because a lot of these guys either work for Monsanto or have connections to Monsanto, the big biotech company that is engineering all of these genetically modified crops.
So what do we do?
1. Watch the film and educate yourself. I learned a lot from this film and I think you will too.
2. Spread the word. Plenty of cities around the U.S. have action groups to help educate the public about the dangers of GMOs and urge policymakers to label GMO products. The Institute for Responsible Technology also has a web page to help connect you with local activists in your area (click here).
3. Make a commitment to reduce or eliminate your consumption of GMOs. You can download the Non-GMO Shopping Guide to help you buy products from companies that are "Non-GMO Verified."
4. Don't lose hope! We have already succeeded at keeping genetically altered tomatoes out of the market, as well as other crops, and with enough support, we can pressure our government to start labeling GMOs (as many other governments around the world have already done) and to start publishing accurate research about these harmful crops.
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