What's the Deal with GMOs?

Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) have had specific changes introduced into their DNA by genetic engineering techniques. Crops that have been genetically engineered have been proven to be more pest-, disease-, and herbicide-resistant than their natural predecessors, and GMO plants hold up better to extreme weather. Sounds great, right? But hold on ... are GMO plants okay for the environment and for animals? What about for humans? We don't know yet because GMO seed producers got fast U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval without any long-term testing. Whuh?

It seems that back when George Bush Sr. was president, the White House mandate to the FDA was to promote biotechnology. The person in charge of developing the agency’s policy at that time was a former Monsanto attorney, who later returned to Monsanto as their vice president. Monsanto is a huge biotech company that is reportedly responsible for the technology behind 90% of all genetically modified seeds. I find that connection quite interesting. Monsanto is also responsible for developing Agent Orange, saccharin, and various pesticides and herbicides (including the well-known weed killer called Roundup™). And now the company controls 90% of our new seed supply? I'm not okay with that.

The few studies that have been conducted are showing unfavorable results. Some published animal studies, for example, show potentially higher risks of toxicity, allergenicity, immune suppression, impaired fertility, and cancer. In 1996, it was found that genes spliced from Brazil nuts and soybeans resulted in allergic reactions so severe that the individuals could suffer anaphylactic shock, possibly leading to death (Campbell). According to the Institute for Responsible Technology, the FDA's own scientists believe that GMOs could lead to unpredictable and hard-to-detect allergens in the body, as well as toxin build-up, new diseases, and nutritional problems.

Further disheartening is the fact that the FDA has required no labeling on GMO foodstuffs, so there is no way for the average consumer to determine whether or not his or her food has been genetically altered.

If any of this alarms you--and it should--do your own research. Watch the eye opening documentary Food Inc. Write to your congressperson. Given the facts on GMO known today, I'm putting aside my adventurous tendencies and playing it safe and all natural, growing heirloom plants with the exact same genetic makeup that my ancestors cultivated. Exactly how I'm going to accomplish this, and in my tiny urban space, is a different story ... and what this project is all about.

Sources:

Campbell, Jonathan, "50 Harmful Effects of Genetically Modified Foods," http://www.cqs.com/50harm.htm.

Center for Food Safety, http://truefoodnow.org/.

"How to Avoid GMOs/Monsanto." Garden of Eatin', http://www.garden-of-eatin.com/how-to-avoid-monsanto/

Food Inc., http://www.takepart.com/foodinc.

"Genetically modified food," https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetically_modified_food.

"Genetically Modified Foods,"Global Healing Center, http://www.globalhealingcenter.com/nutrition/genetically-modified-foods.

GMO Health Dangers, http://www.responsibletechnology.org.

"Monsanto’s Roundup Really DOES Cause Birth Defects, New Report Finds," Planetsave, http://planetsave.com/2011/06/08/monsantos-roundup-really-does-cause-birth-defects-new-report-finds/.

Whitman, Deborah, "Genetically Modified Foods: Harmful or Helpful?", April 2000, http://www.csa.com/discoveryguides/gmfood/overview.php.

Whitman, Thomas, ed. "American Rice Banned in Many Countries After Genetic Contamination," August 21, 2006, Ecological Farming Association, http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_1605.cfm.

What Are Heirloom Seeds?

Heirloom seeds, to me, are simply seeds of plants that started the "seed - plant - seed" cycle before seeds were genetically modified (had their DNA altered by genetic engineering techniques).

Seed Savers Exchange, an almost 40-year-old organization devoted to preserving heirloom plants through regeneration and seed exchange, defines "heirloom" as "open-pollinated varieties that are more than 50 years old and have been handed down through generations."

Per the Daily Green, "Heirloom vegetables sound fancy but are simply the kinds of vegetables everyone ate before the days of mass-produced produce. These are veggies that look and taste the way nature intended..."

Anyone who has tasted a homegrown heirloom tomato can't deny that it has a superior taste to a mass-produced, store-bought variety, which is cross-bred to crapola. Its shelf-life may have increased by a week or two, saving the grocer a few pennies, but the supermarket tomato now tastes a little like a red rubber ball.

The case for genetically modified (GMO) produce is potentially much worse than being palate-displeasing...we think. I say it that way because long-term testing of GMO produce is incomplete. After all, GMO foods were only put on the market in 1996! There are no long-term studies to definitively tell us how these laboratory-altered products affect the human body, and yet, by 2010, per the National Agricultural Statistics Board, 93% of the planted area of soybeans, 93% of cotton, 86% of corn grown in the United States were GMO. More on GMO in a separate post. For now my focus is on heirloom, and out I go to water my little planted treasures.

Sources:

"Genetically modified food," https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetically_modified_food.

"Heirloom Seeds," The Daily Green, http://www.thedailygreen.com/living-green/definitions/heirloom-seeds.

Seed Savers Exchange, http://www.seedsavers.org.