The most comprehensive source of GMO
health risk information on the web.
by Jeffrey Smith
1. GMOs are unhealthy.
The American Academy of Environmental Medicine (AAEM) urges doctors to
prescribe non-GMO diets for all patients. They cite animal studies
showing organ damage, gastrointestinal and immune system disorders,
accelerated aging, and infertility. Human studies show how genetically
modified (GM) food can leave material behind inside us, possibly causing
long-term problems. Genes inserted into GM soy, for example, can
transfer into the DNA of bacteria living inside us, and that the toxic
insecticide produced by GM corn was found in the blood of pregnant women
and their unborn fetuses.
Numerous health problems increased after GMOs were introduced in
1996. The percentage of Americans with three or more chronic illnesses
jumped from 7% to 13% in just 9 years; food allergies skyrocketed, and
disorders such as autism, reproductive disorders, digestive problems,
and others are on the rise. Although there is not sufficient research to
confirm that GMOs are a contributing factor, doctors groups such as the
AAEM tell us not to wait before we start protecting ourselves, and
especially our children who are most at risk.
The American Public Health Association and American Nurses
Association are among many medical groups that condemn the use of GM
bovine growth hormone, because the milk from treated cows has more of
the hormone IGF-1 (insulin-like growth factor 1)―which is linked to
cancer.
2. GMOs contaminate―forever.
GMOs cross pollinate and their seeds can travel. It is impossible to
fully clean up our contaminated gene pool. Self-propagating GMO
pollution will outlast the effects of global warming and nuclear waste.
The potential impact is huge, threatening the health of future
generations. GMO contamination has also caused economic losses for
organic and non-GMO farmers who often struggle to keep their crops pure.
3. GMOs increase herbicide use.
Most GM crops are engineered to be "herbicide tolerant"―they deadly
weed killer. Monsanto, for example, sells Roundup Ready crops, designed
to survive applications of their Roundup herbicide.
Between 1996 and 2008, US farmers sprayed an extra 383 million pounds
of herbicide on GMOs. Overuse of Roundup results in "superweeds,"
resistant to the herbicide. This is causing farmers to use even more
toxic herbicides every year. Not only does this create environmental
harm, GM foods contain higher residues of toxic herbicides. Roundup, for
example, is linked with sterility, hormone disruption, birth defects,
and cancer.
4. Genetic engineering creates dangerous side effects.
By mixing genes from totally unrelated species, genetic engineering
unleashes a host of unpredictable side effects. Moreover, irrespective
of the type of genes that are inserted, the very process of creating a
GM plant can result in massive collateral damage that produces new
toxins, allergens, carcinogens, and nutritional deficiencies.
5. Government oversight is dangerously lax.
Most of the health and environmental risks of GMOs are ignored by
governments' superficial regulations and safety assessments. The reason
for this tragedy is largely political. The US Food and Drug
Administration (FDA), for example, doesn't require a single safety
study, does not mandate labeling of GMOs, and allows companies to put
their GM foods onto the market without even notifying the agency. Their
justification was the claim that they had no information showing that GM
foods were substantially different. But this was a lie. Secret agency
memos made public by a lawsuit show that the overwhelming consensus even
among the FDA's own scientists was that GMOs can create unpredictable,
hard-to-detect side effects. They urged long-term safety studies. But
the White House had instructed the FDA to promote biotechnology, and the
agency official in charge of policy was Michael Taylor, Monsanto's
former attorney, later their vice president. He's now the US Food Safety
Czar.
6. The biotech industry uses "tobacco science" to claim product safety.
Biotech companies like Monsanto told us that Agent Orange, PCBs, and
DDT were safe. They are now using the same type of superficial, rigged
research to try and convince us that GMOs are safe. Independent
scientists, however, have caught the spin-masters red-handed,
demonstrating without doubt how industry-funded research is designed to
avoid finding problems, and how adverse findings are distorted or
denied.
7. Independent research and reporting is attacked and suppressed.
Scientists who discover problems with GMOs have been attacked, gagged,
fired, threatened, and denied funding. The journal Nature acknowledged
that a "large block of scientists . . . denigrate research by other
legitimate scientists in a knee-jerk, partisan, emotional way that is
not helpful in advancing knowledge." Attempts by media to expose
problems are also often censored.
8. GMOs harm the environment.
GM crops and their associated herbicides can harm birds, insects,
amphibians, marine ecosystems, and soil organisms. They reduce
bio-diversity, pollute water resources, and are unsustainable. For
example, GM crops are eliminating habitat for monarch butterflies, whose
populations are down 50% in the US. Roundup herbicide has been shown to
cause birth defects in amphibians, embryonic deaths and endocrine
disruptions, and organ damage in animals even at very low doses. GM
canola has been found growing wild in North Dakota and California,
threatening to pass on its herbicide tolerant genes on to weeds.
9. GMOs do not increase yields, and work against feeding a hungry world.
Whereas sustainable non-GMO agricultural methods used in developing
countries have conclusively resulted in yield increases of 79% and
higher, GMOs do not, on average, increase yields at all. This was
evident in the Union of Concerned Scientists' 2009 report Failure to
Yield―the definitive study to date on GM crops and yield.
The International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and
Technology for Development (IAASTD) report, authored by more than 400
scientists and backed by 58 governments, stated that GM crop yields were
"highly variable" and in some cases, "yields declined." The report
noted, "Assessment of the technology lags behind its development,
information is anecdotal and contradictory, and uncertainty about
possible benefits and damage is unavoidable." They determined that the
current GMOs have nothing to offer the goals of reducing hunger and
poverty, improving nutrition, health and rural livelihoods, and
facilitating social and environmental sustainability.
On the contrary, GMOs divert money and resources that would otherwise
be spent on more safe, reliable, and appropriate technologies.
10. By avoiding GMOs, you contribute to the coming tipping point of consumer rejection, forcing them out of our food supply.
Because GMOs give no consumer benefits, if even a small percentage of
us start rejecting brands that contain them, GM ingredients will become a
marketing liability. Food companies will kick them out. In Europe, for
example, the tipping point was achieved in 1999, just after a high
profile GMO safety scandal hit the papers and alerted citizens to the
potential dangers. In the US, a consumer rebellion against GM bovine
growth hormone has also reached a tipping point, kicked the cow drug out
of dairy products by Wal-Mart, Starbucks, Dannon, Yoplait, and most of
America's dairies.
The Campaign for Healthier Eating in America is designed to achieve a
tipping point against GMOs in the US. The number of non-GMO shoppers
needed is probably just 5% of the population. The key is to educate
consumers about the
documented health dangers and provide a
Non-GMO Shopping Guide to make avoiding GMOs much easier.
Please choose healthier non-GMO brands, tell others about GMOs so they can do the same, and join the Non-GMO Tipping Point Network. Together we can quickly reclaim a non-GMO food supply.
