Table of Contents[Hide][Show]
It is estimated that over 80% of processed foods now contain genetically modified organisms, also called GMOs. The rapidity with which these frankenfoods have invaded and continue to expand within our food supply is nothing short of terrifying. For example, Monsanto’s Roundup Ready GMO sugar beets were first introduced to the market in 2008. Now, a few short years later, at least 95% of the sugar beets grown in the United States are GMO with over 50% of the white sugar from GMO beets – NOT sugar cane which is what the majority of consumers assume!
While most world countries opt for full disclosure on product labels, the US still does not require any information to warn consumers of lurking GMOs. For parents, it is imperative to source and buy foods free of GMOs as much as possible as the long term effects on humans, especially growing children, is completely unknown.
Buying from trusted local producers and seeking products that are organic or have the Non-GMO Project Verified label is the best way to achieve this goal until manufacturers are finally required to disclose the truth on ingredient labels.
If you are still unconvinced that the effort and expense required to avoid GMOs for your family is worth it, below is a list of 11 scientific reasons why you should reconsider.
Processed food containing GMOs is not really food – it is a chemistry experiment. Be sure your family opts out. Your children deserve better than to be hapless guinea pigs for the industrial food system.
Scientific Reasons to Avoid GMOs
1) A study of GMOs reported in the June 2013 issue of the peer-reviewed Journal of Organic Systems involved research conducted over 22.7 weeks using 168 newly weaned pigs in a commercial U.S. piggery. One group of 84 pigs ate a diet that incorporated genetically modified (GM) soy and corn, and the other group of 84 pigs ate an equivalent non-GM diet. The pigs that ate the GM diet had a higher rate of severe stomach inflammation – 32 percent of GM-fed pigs compared to 12 percent of non-GM-fed pigs (see photo above). The inflammation was worse in GM-fed males compared to non-GM fed males by a factor of 4.0, and GM-fed females compared to non-GM-fed females by a factor of 2.2. (Source)
2) In 2012, researchers found that female rats fed GMOs in the form of Roundup Ready-tolerant corn developed large tumors and dysfunction of the pituitary gland; males also developed tumors and exhibited pathologies of the liver and kidney (Food and Chemical Toxicology 2012).
3) Scientists at the Russian Academy of Sciences reported between 2005 and 2006 that female rats fed Roundup Ready-tolerant GM soy produced excessive numbers of severely stunted pups with more than half of the litter dying within three weeks, and the surviving pups completely sterile. (Source)
4) In 2005, scientists studying GMOs at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization in Canberra, Australia reported that a harmless protein in beans (alpha-amylase inhibitor 1) transferred to peas via genetic engineering caused inflammation in the lungs of mice and provoked sensitivities to other proteins in the diet (Ho MW. Transgenic pea that made mice ill. Science in Society 29, 28-29, 2006).
5) From 2002 to 2005, scientists at the Universities of Urbino, Perugia and Pavia in Italy published reports indicating that GM soy affected cells in the pancreas, liver, and testes of young mice (Science in Society 29, 26-27, 2006).
6) In 2004, Monsanto’s secret research dossier on GMOs showed that rats fed MON863 GM corn developed serious kidney and blood abnormalities (GMWatch, 23 April 2004.)
7) In 1998, Dr. Arpad Pusztai and colleagues formerly of the Rowett Institute in Scotland reported damage in every organ system of young rats fed GM potatoes containing snowdrop lectin, including a stomach lining twice as thick as controls (Contaminants and Toxins, (J P F D’Mello ed.), Scottish Agricultural College, Edinburgh, CAB International, 2003).
8) Also in 1998, scientists in Egypt found similar effects in the guts of mice fed Bt potato (Fares NH and El-Sayed AK. Fine structural changes in the ileum of mice fed on endotoxin-treated potatoes and transgenic potatoes. Natural Toxins, 1998, 6, 219-33; also “Bt is toxic” by Joe Cummins and Mae-Wan Ho, ISIS News 7/8, February 2001, ISSN: 1474-1547 (print), ISSN: 1474-1814 (online), Agricultural Biotechnology 2006, www.ISAAA.org).
9) The U.S. Food and Drug Administration had data on the adverse effects of GMOs dating back to the early 1990s showing that rats fed GM tomatoes with antisense genes to delay ripening had developed small holes in their stomachs (Pusztai A, Bardocz S and Ewen SWB. Genetically modified foods: Potential human health effects. In Food Safety: Contaminants and Toxins, (J P F D’Mello ed.), Scottish Agricultural College, Edinburgh, CAB International, 2003).
10) In 2002, Aventis company (later Bayer Cropscience) submitted data to UK regulators showing that chickens fed glufosinate-
11) Testing by Monsanto itself has found that rats eating GM maize (MON863) develop smaller kidneys and show startling changes in blood chemistry. One blood change included an increase in white blood cell count which demonstrates that the GM food elicited an immune reaction by the body.
Great article! As you might already know, citizens of Washington state will have the opportunity to vote for the labeling of GMO foods in November. We need to spread the word as much as possible as this could be a crucial turning point in food labeling history! Let’s show Monsanto who’s bosss
http://yeson522.com/
I shared this article on my Facebook and was asked this question can anyone help me answer it…..Do you have any links to information that demonstrates the mechanism by which these foods cause cellular disruption…?
Here is an article that I have shared extensively regarding cellular disruption:
http://www.mdpi.com/1099-4300/15/4/1416/pdf
Abstract: Glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup®, is the most popular herbicide used worldwide. The industry asserts it is minimally toxic to humans, but here we argue otherwise. Residues are found in the main foods of the Western diet, comprised primarily of sugar, corn, soy and wheat. Glyphosate’s inhibition of cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes is an overlooked component of its toxicity to mammals. CYP enzymes play crucial roles in biology, one of which is to detoxify xenobiotics. Thus, glyphosate enhances the damaging effects of other food borne chemical residues and environmental toxins. Negative impact on the body is insidious and manifests slowly over time as inflammation damages cellular systems throughout the body. Here, we show how interference with CYP enzymes acts synergistically with disruption of the biosynthesis of aromatic amino acids by gut bacteria, as well as impairment in serum sulfate transport. Consequences are most of the diseases and conditions associated with a Western diet, which include gastrointestinal disorders, obesity, diabetes, heart disease, depression, autism, infertility, cancer and Alzheimer’s disease. We explain the documented effects of glyphosate and its ability to induce disease, and we show that glyphosate is the “textbook example” of exogenous semiotic entropy: the disruption of homeostasis by environmental toxins.
Government, Big AG Companies and the Health Industry are all in collusion. I do not believe Anything they tell us. Why do you think there are so many diseases, so much obesity and diabetics? Why they building so many “health” clinics? The “health” Industry is the largest growing industry today which means big business and big money. The American people have been duped and misinformed. I keep telling everyone to read and stay informed. To maintain good health, eat only organic natu
FDA APPROVAL IS NOT FOR THE BENEFIT OF “OUR” SAFETY. IT PROTECTS BIG CORPORATIONS. I WAS IGNORANT TO THIS. SOMETHING IS MAKING OUR NATION SICKER-MORE ACID REFLUX , CANCER OF ALL TYPES, OBESITY, UNEXPLAINED DISEASES, ETC. LIST GOES ON AND ON. SOMETHING’S GOING ON. IT’S GOT TO BE IN THE WATER WE DRINK AND THE FOOD WE EAT, WHAT ARE WE TO DO??? WE ALREADY HAVE THE PROOF. IT’S ALL ABOUT THAT DOLLAR! NOT THE HEALTH OF THE PEOPLE. IT NOT THE FARMER’S FAUT EITHER. GOES WAY BEYOND HIM. HIGH UP CHAIN OF COMMAND.
For the scientists here, a question: what is your explanation of the reasons why a growing number of countries in the world (presumably countries full of scientists) are banning GMOs?
This article makes me sad that you have “scientific reasons why you must avoid GMOs” in the title. This is not science-based info you have cited, it’s almost all organic/anti-GMO propaganda sources. The Seralini rat study has been debunked time and time again. You should take Amber’s comment to heart, learn from it, and reach out to public scientists (read: NOT paid by Monsanto, like so many anti-GMO people think) like Kevin Folta (@kevinfolta) who LOVES to teach.
Well, who is doing the debunking of the Seralini study? Corporate agriculture? Look around you – nobody is healthier eating their sprayed and processed food. I believe you’re paid to debunk – shame for being on the side of killers.
Question: Was the Roundup Ready Corn fed straight from the bag it was sold from or was the original seed actually used to grow and produce corn from which the rats were fed from? There’s a difference between what’s used for consumption and what is grown from the ground.
You said it! My concern is that we have been trusting for so long that it becomes a huge challenge to take time to research, spread awareness and monitor our food sources. We are up against massive corporations like Monsanto and it becomes increasingly difficult to keep up with the latest studies and statistics when we are just trying to do a day’s work and put food on the table….food that was meant for the nourishment of humans. I may be naive but I look forward to a time when consciousness will be raised to a degree that the manipulation of statistics will lessen hugely and most of our nutrition needs will be sourced locally – there will be greater transparency. For now , I do the best I can do to be discerning about my family’s nutrition and I am grateful for “small” mercies like my son not drinking or smoking…even if he does indulge in processed foods that HE buys. HUGE thanks for this article and all the comments. The more energy we invest in caring for each other’s welfare the more we contribute to raising the vibration of energy and it’s COMING ….one article, one post, one kind deed, one minute, one second, one positive intention at a time……………..
It is indeed a frightening reality. It is ignorance to not believe that years of chemicals, preservatives, and GMO pumped into our daily diets is not creating health concerns. I try so hard to eat as naturally as possible, as there is no doubt there is a link to some of my health issues and these man made chemicals.
I’m sorry, but I just have to say something. As an actual scientist (PhD in molecular biology, 2012) I can say that these “scientific reasons” are not scientific at all. First of all, did you notice that reason 6 and reason 11 are actually the exact same finding? So make that 10 reasons. These data were taken from a biased source, so many of these studies, if you examine the original data, are not done with proper controls. Its one thing to say that “rats fed Roundup Ready-tolerant GM corn developed large tumors and dysfunction of the pituitary gland,” but when you use a tumor prone line of rats (as is often done when looking for teratogens), so do the controls! While not everything is known about the effects of GMOs, lets put it in perspective. Not everything is known about the effects of MANY foods we eat. There are far more pressing concerns that DO have scientific backing — for example- global warming.
It doesn’t really matter what happens to the planet’s temperature if we destroy ourselves by decimating native plant populations with GMOs and superweeds, does it? Bees are being destroyed by the pesticides required to grow GMOs too which would delight Monsanto as this would favor the production of GMOs since crops requiring bees would be at a huge disadvantage. Global warming is far from a scientific “truth”. Many scientists dispute it although the scientific elite like to pretend those people don’t exist.
I DON’T BELIEVE WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT GLOBAL WARMING EITHER. IT’S POLITICALLY MADE UP DUNG!!! BUT YOU ARE ENTITLED TO YOUR OPINION. JUST ANOTHER POLITICAL HAND CUFF FOR US AMERICANS.
You must be ignorant to world statistics if you disbelieve climat change. Wheather or not it has anything to do with human intervention or natural cycles. It is changing.
I guess you haven’t seen the recent reports from scientists who study the sun who predict a mini-ice age starting around 2030 due to a disappearance of sun spots like what happened in the 1600’s
https://astronomynow.com/2015/07/17/diminishing-solar-activity-may-bring-new-ice-age-by-2030/