The acronym, GMO, stands for “genetically modified organism”.
Several crops grown today (soy, corn, cottonseed, canola, sugar beets, papaya, zucchini, yellow squash, and alfalfa) are classified as GMO when they are grown using seeds or plants that have been genetically modified to tolerate herbicides (specifically glyphosate) and/or resist pests. The way that they are genetically modified is by splicing in foreign genes (i.e. proteins or DNA).
Biotech agriculture companies like to correct people who say that wheat is not GMO. Technically, it is not. Almost 100% of the wheat in the food supply today is a ‘hybrid’ form of wheat that was engineered back around 1986. The engineering involved cross breeding different wheat strains to eliminate certain traits and foster other traits. The goal was to make wheat more resistant to temperature, mold, fungus, and insects. The result was a new strain of dwarf wheat that now dominates the world wheat supply. And this crop is heavily sprayed with glyphosate just prior to harvest to help dry it out.
I see an increase in incidence of food allergies, food intolerances, autoimmune disorders, diabetes, and cancer. An allergy or intolerance is simply an immune system reaction to a protein that is seen as a foreign substance. In autoimmune disorders, the immune system is attacking it’s own host cells. Diabetes is characterized by a disruption in normal production or metabolism of insulin. Cancer is the uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells due to damaged or abnormal DNA. All of these health issues have a genetic component. How can we not see the connection between the increase in these health conditions and the introduction of genetically engineered foods into our food supply?
I think that Chiffon Margarine had it right back in the 70’s with their commercial slogan “It’s not nice to fool Mother Nature”. We should add one word in there – “It’s not nice to fool with Mother Nature”!
And a quote from the Mary Shelley book Frankenstein (hence, why I call these foods “FrankenFoods”) … “How dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge and how much happier that man is who believes his native town to be the world, than he who aspires to be greater than his nature will allow.”
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