Update:  Here is a great post all about GMOs.  I love Meghan!

This post is all about Genetically Modified products.  While not really related to veganism, it is important to avoid these foods for good health.  It’s important that everyone know at least a little bit about these things, so that you can make informed decisions at the grocery store.  I’m not a scientist, doctor, nutritionist or anything like that… the information contained within this post is stuff that I’ve learned through reading and researching interjected with my opinion (it is my blog after all).  And since I live in the United States, I’m focused mostly on products /foods sold here and our laws regarding GMOs.  If you’re lucky enough to live in a country that actually cares about your health, the following may not apply to you.

From Wiki:

A genetically modified organism (GMO) or genetically engineered organism (GEO) is an organism whose genetic material has been altered using genetic engineering techniques. These techniques, generally known as recombinant DNA technology, use DNA molecules from different sources, which are combined into one molecule to create a new set of genes. This DNA is then transferred into an organism, giving it modified or novel genes. Transgenic organisms, a subset of GMOs, are organisms which have inserted DNA that originated in a different species. Some GMOs contain no DNA from other species and are therefore not transgenic but cisgenic.

So what’s the big deal?

The big deal is that these foods are not good for any living creature:

• Rats fed GM potatoes had smaller, partially atrophied livers.[22]

• The livers of rats fed GM canola were 12-16% heavier.[23]

• GM soy altered mouse liver cells in ways that suggest a toxic insult.[24] The changes reversed after their diet switched to non-GM soy.[25]

• GM soy, reproductive problems, and infant mortality

• More than half the offspring of mother rats fed GM soy died within three weeks.[26] Male rats[27] and mice[28] fed GM soy showed changes in their testicles; the mice had altered young sperm cells.

• The DNA of mouse embryos whose parents ate GM soy functioned differently than those whose parents ate non-GM soy.[29]

• Many offspring of female rats fed GM soy were considerably smaller,and more than half died within three weeks (compared to 10% of the non-GM soy controls). [30]

• Bt crops linked to sterility, disease, and death. (Bt = Bacillus thuringiensis, a bacterium commonly used as a pesticide.  Bt crops refer to crops that have been genetically modified with genes from this bacterium.)
  

• When sheep grazed on Bt cotton plants after harvest, within a week 1 in 4 died. Shepherds estimate 10,000 sheep deaths in one region of India.[31] Farmers in Europe and Asia say that cows, water buffaloes, chickens, and horses died from eating Bt corn varieties.[32]  (Ladies, this bit about Bt cotton is pretty important to you since it may be used to make the brand of tampons you use.  Read this.)

• About two dozen US farmers report that Bt corn varieties caused widespread sterility in pigs or cows.[33]

• Filipinos in at least five villages fell sick when a nearby Bt corn variety was pollinating.[34]

• The stomach lining of rats fed GM potatoes showed excessive cell growth, a condition that may be a precursor to cancer. Rats also had damaged organs and immune systems.[35]

(The above all taken from this source.)

• GM foods are particularly dangerous for pregnant moms and children. After GM soy was fed to female rats, most of their babies died—compared to a 10% deaths among controls fed natural soy.² GM-fed babies were smaller, and possibly infertile.³

• Testicles of rats fed GM soy changed from the normal pink to dark blue.⁴ Mice fed GM soy had altered young sperm.⁵ Embryos of GM soy-fed parent mice had changed DNA.⁶ And mice fed GM corn had fewer, and smaller, babies.⁷

• In Haryana, India, most buffalo that ate GM cottonseed had reproductive complications such as premature deliveries, abortions, and infertility; Many calves died. About two dozen US farmers said thousands of pigs became sterile from certain GM corn varieties. Some had false pregnancies; others gave birth to bags of water. Cows and bulls also became infertile.⁸

• In the US, incidence of low birth weight babies, infertility, and infant mortality are all escalating.

• Soon after GM soy was introduced to the UK, soy allergies skyrocketed by 50%. Ohio allergist Dr. John Boyles says “I used to test for soy allergies all the time, but now that soy is genetically engineered, it is so dangerous that I tell people never to eat it.”

• GM soy and corn contain new proteins with allergenic properties.¹⁶ and GM soy has up to seven times more of a known soy allergen.¹⁷ Perhaps the US epidemic of food allergies and asthma is a casualty of genetic manipulation.

• In India, animals graze on cotton plants after harvest. But when shepherds let sheep graze on Bt cotton plants, thousands died. Investigators said preliminary evidence “strongly suggests that the sheep mortality was due to a toxin. . . . most probably Bt-toxin.”¹⁸ In one small study, all sheep fed Bt cotton plants died; those fed natural plants remained healthy.

• In an Andhra Pradesh village, buffalo grazed on cotton plants for eight years without incident. On January 3rd, 2008, 13 buffalo grazed on Bt cotton plants for the first time. All died within three days.¹⁹ Bt corn is also implicated in the deaths of cows in Germany, and horses, water buffaloes, and chickens in The Philippines.²⁰

• In lab studies, twice the number of chickens fed Liberty Link corn died; 7 of 40 rats fed a GM tomato died within two weeks.²¹

(The above are from this source.)

When we eat genetically modified foods, the functioning GM genes remain inside you.

• Unlike safety evaluations for drugs, there are no human clinical trials of GM foods. The only published human feeding experiment verified that genetic material inserted into GM soy transfers into the DNA of intestinal bacteria and continues to function.[36] This means that long after we stop eating GM foods, we may still have their GM proteins produced continuously inside us.

• If the antibiotic gene inserted into most GM crops were to transfer, it could create super diseases, resistant to antibiotics.

• If the gene that creates Bt -toxin in GM corn were to transfer, it might turn our intestinal flora into living pesticide factories.

• Animal studies show that DNA in food can travel into organs throughout the body, even into the fetus.[37]

Wow!  With information like this, is it any wonder people get cancer like crazy, are on medication for everything under the sun, and that we are a country of fat, unhealthy people?  If you care about what fuels your body, I hope you decide to avoid these foods like the plague.  Here are some great tips and resources for ensuring that the foods you buy do not contain any GMOs.

1. Buy organic whenever possible.  Certified organic products are not allowed to contain any GMOs.
2. Download this Non-GMO shopping guide or install the free iPhone App.  I’ve done both and think the App is quite handy, especially when you’re at the store.  After scanning the list of products with possible GMO ingredients, I noticed that if it’s cheap and a convenience food, it’s probably got some GMO ingredients in it.  This goes for fast food too… remember, corn is one of the most GM foods out there.  Here’s an interesting Time article about this that I meant to blog about a while ago and never got around to it.  I encourage you all to read it– it’s a very interesting look at why fast food is just so darn cheap.  If you’re reading this blog post and find it to be of value to you, then that article is a must read.
3. In the U.S., labeling products as being from GMO sources is optional.  Companies who manufacture products that do not contain any GMOs are gonna be pretty happy to point that out on their label.  Don’t count on a company that uses GM ingredients to tell you, but you may be able to figure it out yourself by looking at the PLU codes at the grocery store (at least when it comes to fruits and veggies):

• If it is a 4-digit number, the food is conventionally produced.
• If it is a 5-digit number beginning with an 8, it is GM. (Remember that PLU labeling is optional.  Those that are GM may not be labeled as such.)
• If it is a 5-digit number beginning with a 9, it is organic.

1. Boycott Monsanto!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, there ya have it!  It’s scary to think about just how tainted our food supply is (hello!  down to the genetic level!), but it should shed some light on why we are so sick, why so many couples experience infertility, etc.  For me and my family, GM foods is just not an option.  I would rather pay more money for organic, wholesome, non-disease causing food because I can’t think of anything more important to spend our money on.