Would You Choose to Feed Your Kids Frankenfoods?
Actually, the question is silly because if you live in the U.S., you probably are... and you don't even know it. According to an ABC News report, 75% of all processed foods contain ingredients from genetically-modified crops.
Surely there's been some testing, right? If it's on a grocery store shelf, they've made sure it's safe!
That's what I thought too but there is a mounting case against Big Food in America today. (The disturbing truth behind unlabeled, genetically engineered food is the central message of the 2004 documentary, The Future of Food)
Are Our Kids Guinea Pigs?
Last friday, Jeff Smith released Part I of a series about genetically-modified (GM) foods. GM critics often refer to the US population as "the guinea pigs in an experiment." Smith is the author of a new publication, Genetic Roulette: The Documented Health Risks of Genetically Engineered Foods and the book, Seeds of Deception.
In his article, Jeff Smith writes about the effects of genetically modified soybeans. He links the huge jump in food allergies in the last 11 years to the often neglected consideration of the radical change in America's diet. Beginning in 1996, genes were inserted into the DNA of soy, corn, cottonseed and canola plants. Evidence has been collected over the past decade that suggests these unlabeled GM foods have contributed to higher allergy rates. In the article, Smith notes that UK researchers discovered that reactions to soy skyrocketed by 50% after GM soy entered the country from US imports.
But, little guy isn't allergic to soy!
Is he allergic to peanuts? This should be raising big red flags for you because at least one protein in natural soybeans has cross-reactivity with peanut allergies. Remember how GM soy was introduced into the U.S. food supply in 1996? Peanut allergies doubled between... oh yes, 1997-2002.
The scary part of all this is that the American public, that's you and me and our children, were not given a choice is this matter. GM foods were introduced quietly and without the mandatory labeling required in most other industrialized countries. How did this happen?!
At this point, we have few options. Smith suggests we join the organic bandwagon. He quotes Allergy specialist John Boyles, M.D. who says, "...now that soy is genetically engineered, it is so dangerous that I tell people never to eat it — unless it says organic." Certified organic products are not allowed to contain GM foods. Also, "avoid products containing any ingredients from the seven food crops that have been genetically engineered: soy, corn, cottonseed, canola, Hawaiian papaya, some zucchini and crook neck squash. This means avoiding soy lecithin in chocolate, corn syrup in candies, and cottonseed or canola oil in snack foods."
I realize that this post is rather one-sided. I'm rather mortified. Perhaps someone can play devil's advocate? Or, Crichton? :)
Surely there's been some testing, right? If it's on a grocery store shelf, they've made sure it's safe!
That's what I thought too but there is a mounting case against Big Food in America today. (The disturbing truth behind unlabeled, genetically engineered food is the central message of the 2004 documentary, The Future of Food)Are Our Kids Guinea Pigs?
Last friday, Jeff Smith released Part I of a series about genetically-modified (GM) foods. GM critics often refer to the US population as "the guinea pigs in an experiment." Smith is the author of a new publication, Genetic Roulette: The Documented Health Risks of Genetically Engineered Foods and the book, Seeds of Deception.
In his article, Jeff Smith writes about the effects of genetically modified soybeans. He links the huge jump in food allergies in the last 11 years to the often neglected consideration of the radical change in America's diet. Beginning in 1996, genes were inserted into the DNA of soy, corn, cottonseed and canola plants. Evidence has been collected over the past decade that suggests these unlabeled GM foods have contributed to higher allergy rates. In the article, Smith notes that UK researchers discovered that reactions to soy skyrocketed by 50% after GM soy entered the country from US imports.
But, little guy isn't allergic to soy!
Is he allergic to peanuts? This should be raising big red flags for you because at least one protein in natural soybeans has cross-reactivity with peanut allergies. Remember how GM soy was introduced into the U.S. food supply in 1996? Peanut allergies doubled between... oh yes, 1997-2002.
The scary part of all this is that the American public, that's you and me and our children, were not given a choice is this matter. GM foods were introduced quietly and without the mandatory labeling required in most other industrialized countries. How did this happen?!
At this point, we have few options. Smith suggests we join the organic bandwagon. He quotes Allergy specialist John Boyles, M.D. who says, "...now that soy is genetically engineered, it is so dangerous that I tell people never to eat it — unless it says organic." Certified organic products are not allowed to contain GM foods. Also, "avoid products containing any ingredients from the seven food crops that have been genetically engineered: soy, corn, cottonseed, canola, Hawaiian papaya, some zucchini and crook neck squash. This means avoiding soy lecithin in chocolate, corn syrup in candies, and cottonseed or canola oil in snack foods."I realize that this post is rather one-sided. I'm rather mortified. Perhaps someone can play devil's advocate? Or, Crichton? :)
Labels: cause of food allergies
posted by Ria at 8:09 PM
3 Comments:
The GM was always my gut suspition to the reason that a formerly wholesome food has turned and become a killer to so many , my child included.Thank you for bringing light to this , keep up all the good work you do.
I have been thinking that this is why corn allergies are on the rise also. Thank you, Monsanto! (If you don't know what Monsanto is, do a search on "Monsanto corn".)
Alison
www.surefoodsliving.com
Ria, thank you for this post! Just the other day someone asked me the "how do you do it?" question, with one corn-allergic and one soy-allergic child. It would be so much easier to just open a box and make dinner, but the last section of your post (regarding corn syrup and soy lecithin) reminds me of something I was told just a few months ago from a Mama that I truly respect: "In a strange way, allergic children are actually some of the healthiest people on earth, because we know everything that goes into their bodies". And this post highlights why we can't just stop after reading the labels, anymore. We need to dig deeper.
Alison is totally right--search Monsanto & corn, people! Then, read Michael Pollan's book, "The Omnivore's Dilemma" and take a peek at all the crazy places that corn is actually hiding!
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