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Do We Have a Right to Know If Our Food Has Been Genetically Modified?
The FDA is close to approving genetically modified (gm) salmon. See this and this.
We know that at least some genetically modified foods may harm the environment. See this.
And serious questions have been raised about whether some gm foods might
increase allergies or cause other health problems in humans and other
organisms. See this, this, this, this, this, this, this and this.
Indeed, as Mother Jones pointed out last week, gm salmon may itself increase allergies:
Consumers Union senior scientist Michael Hansen called the company's food safety tests "woefully incomplete," and the group pointed out that the FDA approval panel is mostly comprised of GE [i.e. genetic engineering] cheerleaders,
with no fish ecologists or allergists. Why's an allergist important?
Because the company's own tests suggest that the new salmon could be
much more allergenic than regular salmon.
In order to understand the allergy tests, a bit of backstory on how AquAdvantage salmon are made
is necessary. First, genetic engineers create a "diploid" fish,
meaning like people, it has two sets of chromosomes. Then, to make the
final market product, they add genetic material from other fish and
breed a new salmon with three sets of chromosomes—a "triploid" female
that can't reproduce. AquaBounty researchers compared the
allergenicity—or potential to cause an allergic reaction—of a control
group of salmon to both the genetically engineered diploids and
triploids. They found (PDF,
see page 102) that the diploid salmon were 40 percent more allergenic
than the control, while the triploid group was 19 percent more
allergenic.
AquaBounty says that the triploids' allergenicity
level wasn't statistically significant, and although the diploids'
level is significant, it doesn't matter because only triploids will be
sold. But Hansen of the Consumers Union finds a few problems with this
argument. For starters, the test wasn't double blind, meaning the
researchers knew which fish were part of which test group. Second, the
sample size of triploid fish was tiny—only six fish in all. Third,
although AquaBounty is going to try to turn all its market-bound fish
into triploid sterile females, the process isn't perfect, and some 5
percent could end up as the more allergenic diploid. Especially scary
when you consider that unlike the triploids, the diploids aren't
sterile. So if they escaped, they could breed with wild salmon.
The
FDA simply doesn't have enough information to determine whether
AquaBounty's salmon are likely to cause more allergic reactions than
their non-GE counterparts. But there is good reason to be concerned
about the potential allergenicity of all GE foods, says Margaret Mellon,
director of the scientist Union of Concerned Scientsts' Food and
Environment Program. "You have this technology that allows you to
essentially move proteins around from food to food," she says. "You can
move a highly allergenic protein into a new food, and no one will know to avoid the new food."
Indeed, a 1996 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine
found that people who were allergic to Brazil nuts were also allergic
to soy beans that had been implanted with a Brazil nut protein. There
is also some evidence that even proteins don't usually cause allergies
can become allergenic when they are moved to a new food. A 2005
Australian study
found that mice who were fed peas containing a typically
non-allergenic protein from kidney beans experienced allergic
reactions.
Another
worry is that potentially allergenic GE crops might "escape" into
foods. In the late '90s, the pharmaceutical giant Aventis introduced
StarLink, a genetically engineered variety of corn. StarLink was
approved for sale in the US, but only for non-food uses, since it
contained a potentially allergenic protein. But then, traces of it
started turning up in food (most famously, Taco Bell taco shells), and 28 people claimed they had suffered allergic reactions to foods containing StarLink. Although the CDC later found no medical evidence
that any of those people had an allergy to the corn, an EPA advisory
panel acknowledged that the CDC's tests did "not eliminate
StarLink...protein as a potential cause of allergic symptoms."
The
bottom line: It's not that genetically engineered foods are inherently
more allergenic than traditional foods, but transfering genes does make
it more likely that allergens might pop up in unexpected places.
"There can be a lot of unintended side effects when you do genetic
modification, which means you have to test very carefully," says
Wenonah Hauter, executive director of the watchdog group Food and Water Watch.
"In the case of salmon, one test on six fish just seems very
insufficient for something that will open the floodgates to other GE
meat and fish."
Allergic reactions can - in a small
percentage of people - be more severe than just a sniffle or stomach
ache. Some people die from allergic reactions.
At least genetically modified salmon will be labeled as such, so people can avoid it if they wish. Right?
Wrong.
As the Washington Post notes:
The
FDA says it cannot require a label on the genetically modified food
once it determines that the altered fish is not "materially" different
from other salmon - something agency scientists have said is true.
Perhaps more surprising, conventional
food makers say the FDA has made it difficult for them to boast that
their products do not contain genetically modified ingredients.
Unfortunately,
stifling the ability of producers of traditional foods to tell
consumers they are not using an additive is nothing new. For example,
Monsanto has sued milk producers who labeled their product as not containing growth hormone.
Similarly, Scientific American notes that gm seed producers control research, so that independent scientists can't study the effects of gm:
Scientists must ask corporations for permission before publishing independent research on genetically modified crops.
Liberals and conservatives, progressives and libertarians should all be up in arms about this.
We have a right to know what we're eating.
Postscript: Farmed salmon contains less of the healthy Omega 3 fatty acids and more pollutants than wild salmon. See this and this.
GM salmon will be farmed (unless it escapes into the ocean). So
eating wild salmon may potentially be one way to avoid gm salmon, reduce
exposure to pollutants, and increase healthy Omega 3s.
The
reason that wild salmon has more Omega 3s than farmed salmon is that
wild salmon eat Omega 3 rich foods. It is the same reason that
grass-fed beef contains more Omega 3s than beef from cows fed corn, meat
or other "modern" feeds. See this and this.
Eating Omega 3 rich foods can increase gray matter in adults and boost neurological development in children. Conversely, low dietary levels of Omega 3s in mothers can reduce their kids' IQ.
This is not entirely surprising, given that (1) our brains are about 60% fat, and (2) leading
nutritionists say that humans evolved to consume alot of Omega 3 fatty acids in the wild game and fish which they ate (more),
and that a low Omega 3 diet is a very new trend within the last 100
years or so
- advertisements -
Oh great - guerilla gardening on the horizon. And the pot growers thought times were going to get tough with pot going legit and the growers unionized.
What's next? Zeta's protecting tomatoes and lettuce up from Mexico? Vegetable wars? Random vegetable stops? Produce inspection points looking more like Checkpoint Charlie? Fruit & nuts not being so damned funny anymore?
Bullion, ammo & vegetable smuggling...oh the humanity.
This is already happening. Many farmers coops have been raided, computers taken, produce destroyed, etc.
In the "Land of the Free", You are already forbidden from growing certain kinds of plants. Forbidding the growing of all vegetables seems like a logical next step.
This is all thanks to the Supreme Court's interpretation of Congress's power to regulate "interstate commerce". For example, if I sneeze, I'm increasing the demand for Kleenex's which could be shipped in from a neighboring state. Therefore, logically and legally Congress has the right to regulate when one can sneeze and whether someone should be convicted of felonious hayfever.
In this article, GW is advocating that food marketed to the public should be regulated and accurately labeled... I agree. This is the focus of much of the legislation... who cares if you grow things for personal use? Once you place it in the stream of commerce, then things get dicey.
Also, the application and expansion of the commerce clause had previously come to an end... see united haulers v. oneida-harkimer (sp). Not sure what magic all of obama's appointees will wave upon the american public... but they were starting to sort this thing out... admitting it has proven to be "unworkable". At the very least, its expansion has ceased.
"united haulers v. oneida-harkimer"
Um, sorry, could you explain further?
It sounds like a New York ordinance was found to not violate the commerce clause. Therefore, the New York government was permitted to keep its law. How exactly does this mean that Congress's power has been checked or that the expansion of the commerce clause has somehow come to an end?
Did you READ the case or just skim it? Read the case and get back to me. Tell me what you think the trend regarding the commerce clause will be after reading the case... also seems like there was another similar case regarding revenue bonds in kentucky... can't remember the name though...
Obviously congress is free to make new laws... but at this juncture, as written, congress has likely been checked... these things are not one shot deals, but emerge over time... so, all I can say is wait and see... but, at this point, things are looking brighter.
Food Nazi's...
Thank you for the much-needed laugh...
When they fuck with the food like this, they are pushing us too far. Buy from a local farmer you know, or produce and hunt your own. These people are playing with things they can't possibly understand, and as these things leach further and further into the wild, we will all pay the costs.
"we will all pay the costs."
Mission Accomplished.
It's all about the food cartels. In Europe the genetically modified food was disapproved again 3 weeks ago because it contaminated other fields.
In the US, the soja and corn farmers have already been put into slaves of monsanto.
Here in Europe, the governments said: NO!
It has nothing to do if it's bad or not, but all that genetic modified food is patented!
Also IT IS bad for you! Some gen. foods make you resistant to antibiotics.
The food is great in the EU. I can eat anywhere there, which is not the case in the US. When you come back to the US from Europe the obesity epidemic here is so obvious. It is shocking.
I like European's....food. And I guess I like the people too ;)
You seem to be forgetting we are socialists :)
I like your unions, I like your food, I like your night clubs, I like your people. I think that using a little socialism here and there is ok. I personally am an ideologue when it comes to education and health care, as I think they should be a common good, it just so happens that governments get their slimy tentacles on them...which is why I am for allowing States to issue their own and to get the Federalis out of it. I think the EU was a bad idea, but I have no problem with the French, for example, wanting to do what they want. Who am I to know what is best for the French? I feel the same way about people from other States in the US. The South can do what they want, but I do not want them dictating my State's policies. That goes for the NE, China, Martians, etc.
"The South can do what they want, but I do not want them dictating my State's policies."
The feeling is mutual, I assure you.
Now if we could just get ya'll to retire in place instead of coming here and saying it's so much better where we came from...to which we always say...then why are you here? ;-)
We agree. We need not push ourselves around. America is too big to be governed by a Federal Government, and in fact, the Fed was never meant to have the powers they do, and this was with a far smaller population. And do not worry, I will never move to the South, but I will visit and eat your bar b q.
Cool...you'll be welcome.
The trick...I've found anyways...is to stick it in the oven first...cooking it almost all the way through...then hit the grill.
Falls off the bone bruh ;-)
Yeah, that's how I do ribs. Oven first then the grill. And I ring the coals. Always ring the coals.
Although I am tempted, I guess I won't say anything about the toxins found in barbeque smoke. GW's articles always kill me ... I keep wondering how many of the people posting and railing against toxins (corexit, propylene glycol, HFCS, mercury, etc.) do their posting while smoking an unfiltered Camel and drinking an adult beverage.
Newmn - no offense bud, but using an oven is cheating. :) I'll invite you over for Brisket sometime.
LOL...your on!
GW, if this pursuit interests you, I might suggest looking into the Bayer GM rice lawsuits presently ongoing... factually similar to the starlink case cited above... there have already been numerous jury verdicts... http://www.bayerricelitigation.com/
Also, there may be sinister things in play, but what this really boils down to is a policy decision that we can sacrifice allergies, et al, for crops/food sources that contain more food... since we need more food... until we fix the need for food, gm food sources are here to stay.
good point. Ironically, permaculture methods still produce more food per acre and aren't completely dependent on oil. There's just too many going interests in the current way.
Excellent article GW, as always. Thank you for keeping tabs on this, it is the most important issue. Once you control the food, you control everything. It's pretty clear the FDA has an agenda, and they're moving past simple regulation.
Nobody gives a fuck...
After eating food that soft kills you, your brain functions get messed up because your body is busy trying to digest crap (literally). People, even if their frontal lobe doesn't know it, do care.
Funny, ever since I started eating those healthy Monsanto soybeans I get the urging to love me some corporations more and more to the point I scream and yell racist slurs against anything government related! Damn those communist marxists, give me FREE MARKET to eat as much Monsanto as they allow me to eat, pretty please Mr. Blankfein...
GM hell- we aren't even allowed to know which country produced regular food. Bet many people would be appalled to see the conditions under which our food is produced both domestic and imported. Every farmer wants to have his food stamped "organic" so he can charge more..they just don't want to stop using chemicals.
Gluten allergies come from people eating too much bleached flour. Diabetes occurs because people eat High Fructose Corn Syrup (which also contains mercury). People who eat meat that has nitrates and which animals have been chalked full of steroids lead to hormone deficiencies. Plastics leach massive amounts of toxic chemicals. And GM foods do what it says above. Health changes life. Best to recognize.
Study Finds High-Fructose Corn Syrup Contains Mercury:http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/26/AR200901...
No, gluten allergies, also known a celiac disease, come from a random genetic mutation that causes the malformation of a protein vital to the digestion of gluten. Diabetes has ALWAYS existed. People who eat meat have no problems other than those diseases that come from an excess of consumption. Plastics leech not toxins, but phytochemicals. These don't harm adults, but they can interfere with the development of young boys (and young male animals). There is a difference between a toxin and a phytohormone.
Also, everything contains everything else. All you need is a detection method that is sensitive enough to find it. That is not to say that the tiny amount of a given material is poisonous at those levels. The bricks in your home are more toxic than the mercury in your HFCS.
If you are going to try to preach the natural foods gospel, best get your damn facts straight, son. HFCS is bad because it causes you to put on more weight than a calorically equivalent amount of cane sugar. This leads to diabetes. Plastics are highly problematic, but they sure aren't gong to kill you. At worst, they will make your baby more effeminent, and if subjected to an enormously high dose at a very young age (ie before birth), they might be sterile. But so what? Darwin in action. Humanity will adapt. The good done by plastics far outweighs the harm. That is, unless you think it's healthier to go around drinking water out of animal hides, which are filled with their own set of ACTUALLY toxic chemicals.
For someone giving such advice, YOU need to get your damned facts staight, son!!
Gluten intolerance is not a "random mutation". It is present in more than 30% of western populations precisely because we haven't yet evolved to be able to digest this wheat protein which is not part of our evolutionary diet (of cooked meats plus fruits and vegetables). Those most prone to gluten intolerance are those whose ancestors used potatoes, corn or rice -- instead of wheat -- for their primary starch intake.
The inability of such a large proportion of the population to easily digest gluten is the primary cause of stomach ulcers, gastric problems, IBS, psoriasis, auto-immune diseases (eg. multiple sclerosis), obesity and diabetes. And the more that people rely on bread, pizzas, pastas and burger rolls for cheap food, the worse they will suffer. It is only the most acute cases that are deemed coeliac.
High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) is not only dangerous because it contains mercury. It is primarily dangerous because it contains a high concentration (up to 90%) of fructose, which is a fucking poison (it can only be broken down in the liver). Glucose is what the body needs for energy. We have evolved to be able to process normal sugar (50% glucose, 50% fructose), but higher concentrations of fructose are as dangerous as alcohol and other chemicals that can only be broken down (digested) in the liver. THAT is why HFCS causes diabetes.
You ain't eating bricks, is you, son???
Witness the epidemic that is diabetes and gluten allergies! Never before has such a monstrosity occurred. Why is it that such chronic diseases are happening in America but not in Europe, Japan, or other countries that only eat organic? It is the food! Also, you think that your phytochemicals do not harm adults but turn boys into girls? Get real! They are changing hormone levels! You have hormone levels, and they are subject to change...."nothing is static"...What to drink water from? Oh well here is the thing, I use glass. And highly problematic but not going to kill? This sounds like hell to me, and I apologize if I come off as an elitist when it comes to health, but if I subjected myself to these things, I would feel bad. My body, stomach, intestines, would feel bad. This affecting my heart, and then mind. Line this up, and it goes straight to soul. You are best to understand the sensitivity of the human body before you come in here and mock me, son.
Must watch video on PBS - Food Inc. which covers most of these topics extensively (GM salmon is new though and now really stretching the limits) !!
And now Corporations own your bodies too !!
and Monsanto owns the plants. Also recommend Farm for a Future which you can find on YouTube. Nice discussion of the collapse of current farming methods, peak oil, and permaculture.
See this as well:
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/03/06/how-to-win...
Not to worry - it's the government. Their one and only goal is to take care of the poor and underprivileged. They will provide our healthcare, our retirement, and watch over us each and every one.
right and they owned by the corporations so they can force feed us their GM salmon....---getting back to topic
Wrong Bloody Question!
It is not whether we as citizens should have the right to know what we consume.....
Rather, the appropriate question is what gives the Government the right to knowledgeably withold form its citizenry any form of nutritionally related information?
The government has no grant of such authority.
NFW.
http://www.responsibletechnology.org./
It isn't the government: From the Aug. 2009 Scientific American:
"Agritech companies have given themselves VETO power over the work of independent researchers....Only studies that the (GMO) seed companies approved ever see the light of a peer reviewed journal."
this is our new 'dont ask, dont tell' and is absolutely going to increase health care costs in America. The studies linking GM potatoes, corn, and soy to major health problems have been buried..scientists have been threatened (ie Ignacio Chapela, a microbial ecologist from UC Berkley) among others all around the world.
Quotes from Scientific American have no place here. Please limit your sources to Mother Jones, Easy Rider, blog.alexanderhiggins.com, or a homemade youtube video (preferably by Kendra Sorensen). Also allowable are any unatributed quotes relayed by such esteemed news sources such as CNN and/or CNBC.
Just trying to help Shano. I learned the hard way.
Uhmm Shano - who do you think the FDA is?
i love being under the comfortable wing of government. we really do not need rights since we're all treated fairly for the good of society.
yeah, about as comfortable as high-fiving a chainsaw
maybe in the past, but this time is different. people are different now. only governments outside of the US, and long ago, were tyrannical.
sure, i'll register my guns. better yet, can you hold them for me? my gold? of course you can have it. just give a green receipt. thanks, Gov.
Make sure you rely upon the retirement system too. Too many question the viability.
i don't question anything. it makes my head hurt.