{"id":4116,"date":"2014-06-30T15:53:04","date_gmt":"2014-06-30T13:53:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.faithful-to-nature.co.za\/natural-organic-blog\/?p=4116"},"modified":"2017-12-11T14:04:20","modified_gmt":"2017-12-11T12:04:20","slug":"genetic-modification-food","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.faithful-to-nature.co.za\/blog\/genetic-modification-food\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Should We Be Concerned with the Rise of Genetic Modification in our Food?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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It is especially tricky to debate the safety of genetically modified food on the human body, as it is so new we don\u2019t really know the long-term impact; but there is very serious contention around GM, and that alone deserves our attention. The environmental damage caused by genetic modification is pretty clear however, and you have a right to know what is going on.<\/p>\n

What we know about the effects of GM food on human health:<\/h3>\n

1.<\/strong><\/span> The European Union has banned GMOs, as have Australia, Japan, the UK and two dozen other countries that recognise that a lack of long term studies and testing may be hiding disastrous health defects. So if countries are banning GMOs, then I think it\u2019s not unreasonable for households in South Africa to follow suit.<\/p>\n

2.\u00a0<\/strong><\/span>When trans-fats were first introduced companies could not move fast enough to get them into your shopping bags and it is only decades later that this once novel food has been proven to be extremely unhealthy. Many scientists are worried that the genetically altered foods, once consumed, may pass on their mutant genes to bacterium in the digestive system. How these new strains of bacteria may affect our body systems\u2019 balance is anybody\u2019s guess. The thing is that there is a lot of \u201csmoke\u201d and when profits are involved I get concerned with the information being given. Think about the fact that it took 50 years of court battles for the Tobacco industry to admit that smoking could cause lung cancer\u2026<\/p>\n

3.\u00a0<\/strong><\/span>When genes are more diverse, they are more robust; this is why a pure-bred dog tends to have more health problems than the dear old mutt. Plants with reduced genetic diversity cannot handle drought, fungal invasions or insects nearly as well as natural plants, which could have dire consequences for farmers and communities depending on GMO crops for survival.<\/p>\n

4.\u00a0<\/strong><\/span>Genetically modified foods have not been proven to be safe. Whilst there are studies being done to prove that they are safe, so too are there studies showing that they can have severe health affects, especially in giving rise to tumors. There are signs along with these studies that all is not well. The American Academy of Environmental Medicine (AAEM) urges doctors to prescribe non-GMO diets for all patients. They cite animal studies showing organ damage, gastrointestinal and immune system disorders, accelerated aging, and infertility. Human studies show how genetically modified (GM) food can leave material behind inside us, possibly causing long-term problems.<\/p>\n

5.\u00a0<\/strong><\/span>The pesticides used on genetically modified food are also showing up in studies to be harmful. Research from Canada (the first of its kind) has successfully identified the presence of pesticides associated with genetically modified foods, in maternal, fetal and non-pregnant women\u2019s blood. They also found the presence of Monsanto\u2019s Bt toxin. The study was published in the journal Reproductive Toxicology in 2011.<\/p>\n

6.\u00a0<\/strong><\/span>Although inconclusive, there are studies and concerns about the increase in Celiac disease with the rise in GM food. The Institute for Responsible Technology is a world leader in educating policy-makers and the public about GMO foods and crops; a recent study\u00a0 of theirs links GM foods to five conditions that may either trigger or exacerbate gluten-related disorders, including the autoimmune disorder known as Celiac disease.<\/p>\n

The Facts about the Damage by GM Policy & Crops to Our Environment:<\/h3>\n

1. More GM Crops = More Pesticides<\/span><\/strong>
\nPesticides are being used to control GM crops. The good thing about designing a plant with an insecticide gene is it eliminates a lot of unwanted bugs. The downside is that only the strongest insects survive, resulting in a new class of superbugs resistant to both the crops\u2019 implanted toxins and spray-on chemicals. As a result, farmers are forced to use even more chemicals to combat these superweeds. According to the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Sciences Europe<\/em><\/a>, GM crops cause herbicide use to increase 25% per year.<\/strong><\/em> What sometimes confuses people and the data, however, is that farmers may actually experience a lower need for chemicals in the first few years of growing a GM crop. Yet, once the pests and weeds develop immunity, farmers have little choice except to spray ever-increasing amounts of herbicides and pesticides \u2013 raising their own operating costs and pollution levels.<\/p>\n

2. We Can’t Live without the Bees & Butterflies, BUT we Can Live without GMs<\/strong><\/span>
\nOne of the advertised benefits of GM foods is they are pest and weedkiller resistant, which supposedly leads to greater crop yields. Unfortunately, the method GMO companies use to pest-proof their crops is also suspected to kill vital beneficial bugs, like bees and butterflies. The thing is that if we don\u2019t have bees, we don\u2019t have food.\u00a0<\/strong><\/em> Insect pollination supports one-third of food crops (with honeybees responsible for 80% of that number). Thus, instead of solving food shortage problems, GM foods may actually make things much, much worse.<\/p>\n

3. GM Regulations are making Life Difficult for Private Organic Farmers<\/span><\/strong>
\nThe farming process is a fundamentally simple cycle: Farmers plant the seeds, grow the crops, harvest these crops, and then gather seeds from their crops to plant the following season. However, GMO companies like Monsanto are depriving farmers of this last crucial step; then they raise expenses even further, forcing the farmers to continually buy the premium-priced GM seeds with every new season. In fact, the Bowman v. Monsanto court case revealed that US farmers growing Monsanto crops are not legally allowed to harvest the seeds for later use. This case went all the way to the Supreme Court, and despite the public outcry around it, the 70-year-old farmer who had purchased and used second-generation Monsanto seeds was unanimously deemed guilty of patent infringement. By preventing farmers from harvesting seeds like this, big GM corporations like Monsanto could eventually take total control of the world\u2019s seed supply and prices. Right now, over half the world\u2019s seed market is controlled by just 3 major companies; and of course this has caused prices to skyrocket. (For example, the average cost of planting an acre of soybeans has risen by a mind-boggling 325% since 1995!)<\/em><\/p>\n

4. Once We Go GM, We Go GM for Life!<\/span><\/strong>
\nOne of the major problems with GM crops is they are difficult to contain, which means they are nearly impossible to get rid of. This works well if you own the GM seeds and can sue neighbouring farmers for using them or selling them \u2013 which is exactly what\u00a0 Monsanto has done to canola farmers. Complicating matters further, farmers often buy \u201ccommodity\u201d bags of seeds that come from a mishmash of sources \u2013 including GMO farms. So, if a farmer plants a Monsanto seed that was randomly mixed in with the rest of the bag, and later harvests more seeds from the plant, he can be sued for not paying royalties to the GMO giant. This is exactly what happened to Vernon Bowman in the Bowman v. Monsanto case. Monsanto are a clever bunch are they not?<\/p>\n

5. Biodiversity is the Essence of Life<\/strong><\/span>
\nIndustrial farming is detrimental to biodiversity; big agricultural businesses clear the land of all native plants, to focus on producing only 1 single type of crop. And GM farming methods make things even worse, because all the plants within the species of crops they grow come from 1 modified source plant; simply put, they\u2019re genetically identical. These unvaried crops are particularly vulnerable to damage by climate change, diseases and pests. That means a major threat to our food source \u2013 the very thing that GM companies insist their methods are designed to protect us from. And GM doesn\u2019t just affect plant biodiversity; as we mentioned, beneficial insects like bees and butterflies are already being harmed, while harsh herbicides are causing population declines in amphibians, birds, marine ecosystems AND beneficial soil organisms.<\/p>\n

6. GMOs do NOT Increase Yields; they Work Against Feeding a Hungry World<\/span><\/strong>
\nWhereas sustainable non-GMO agricultural methods used in developing countries have conclusively resulted in yield increases of 79% and higher, GMOs do not, on average, increase yields at all.<\/strong><\/em> This was evident in the Union of Concerned Scientists’ 2009 report Failure to Yield<\/em> \u2015 the definitive study to date on GM crops and yield.\u00a0 The International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD) report, authored by more than 400 scientists and backed by 58 governments, stated that GM crop yields were “highly variable” and in some cases, “yields declined.”<\/em> The report noted, “Assessment of the technology lags behind its development, information is anecdotal and contradictory, and uncertainty about possible benefits and damage is unavoidable.”<\/em> They determined that the current GMOs have nothing to offer the goals of reducing hunger and poverty, improving nutrition, health and rural livelihoods, and facilitating social and environmental sustainability. On the contrary, GMOs divert money and resources that would otherwise be spent on more safe, reliable, and appropriate technologies.<\/p>\n

7. Government Oversight is Dangerously Lax<\/span><\/strong>
\nThere is money to be made in the short-term by colluding with the large GM companies. Unfortunately our Government has one of the most lax policies and control towards GM crops in the world. South Africa is the only country in Africa which is commercially growing a staple food of its population \u2013 white maize \u2013 in a genetically modified form. South Africa is also one of only 7 developing countries worldwide which are growing genetically modified crops for commercial purposes. We import and export genetically modified maize as animal feed. Disturbingly, yellow maize has entered the human food chain in the form of cornflakes \u2013 a product that Zambia recently had burned because of possible GM contamination. Why is our Government not showing the same level of concern?<\/p>\n

But, your voice can make a difference!<\/h3>\n

As consumers, we have the power to \u201cvote with our feet\u201d and stay away from GM brands. If even a few of us start rejecting brands that contain GM ingredients, they\u2019ll become a marketing liability, and soon enough food companies will simply kick them out.<\/p>\n

We can see a clear example of this in the European market; in 1999, a high-profile GM safety scandal started making headlines, and this was the tipping point that alerted enough consumers to reject GMOs. In the US, consumers started boycotting GM bovine growth hormone, and now major companies like Wal-Mart, Starbucks, Dannon, Yoplait and many major America dairies have banned the use of the drug in their products.<\/p>\n

So What Are Faithful to Nature Doing About GMOs?<\/h3>\n

Because there is currently only 1 GMO certification body in the world (The Non-GMO project in the USA), we can unfortunately not guarantee that our products are absolutely GMO-free, because very few of them are certified as GMO free; very few in the world are. (This is why it is so important to sign petitions and do what you can to put pressure on the Government for better GMO labelling on all products).<\/p>\n

However, you can expect the following from all products sold on Faithful-to-Nature.co.za<\/a>:<\/p>\n

We do not sell any products that we suspect or are aware contain GMO ingredients and if information ever comes to light that the product may be compromised in this way – we will remove the product immediately. We do not support the use of GMOs and will always strive to be at the forefront of how to best manage the infiltration of GMOs into our products.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

PLEASE NOTE:<\/span><\/strong><\/em> Any product labelled as Non-GMO indicates that its manufacturing process is designed to avoid GMOs, but consumers should be aware that GM contamination is possible due to natural pollen movement, weather events, seed contamination, or human error. Hence there is no guarantee such products are 100% free of GMOs.<\/p>\n

We can also share the following guidelines with you on avoiding potentially GMO contaminated products:<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n