You may not know this, but genetically modified food (GMO) is all around us. From soybeans to corn, tomatoes, bananas and pineapple, among others, they have all been genetically modified. Truth be told, even processed foods have been modified. Things like popcorn, dry cereal, baby formula and even frozen pizza have genetically altered ingredients.
But why? Well, the main reason to genetically alter food plants is to ward off insects, become more resistant to pesticides, and be less prone to viral infections. So far, all of these modifications are done to boost crop yield and plant health. It is even speculated that fish and animals may soon become genetically modified to not only increase disease resistance, but to also enhance growth as well as increasing their nutrient potential in both food consumption and vaccine production.
Something that may be a bit shocking is that, there is very little in the way of research that either condones or condemns genetically modified food. In fact, the World Health Organization or WHO, has essentially dubbed GMO food as safe to consume as any other food, with no health problems associated with them.
WHO’s stance is that there have been no identifiable cases of genetically modified food illness or sickness associated with them. All of these foods have passed rigorous risk assessment programs and are considered safe to consume. After reading all of this, and with an organization like WHO saying they are safe, the country of Egypt suddenly decided to ban all GMO food.
Apparently, a shipment of genetically modified wheat from Russia, and Egypt is a huge importer of wheat, was rejected for food use in Egypt, which incurred the ire of the nations government. Because of this and almost overnight, a ban was placed on all GMO food, period. Of course in a stunning turn of events, that ban has since been overturned, and Egypt is once again allowing the import of GMO’s.
The truth of the matter is, it would be incredibly difficult to completely ban GMO food from getting into a country. The practice has become so widespread that it would take an incredible amount of legislation and fact finding to keep GMO foods out, and non-GMO foods in. On the surface the Egyptian legislation to ban these foodstuffs looked good, but policing this ban would be nearly impossible.
So, what about GMO food and you? Well, there have been a few tests results published that may call into question the consumption of GMO foods. Genetically modified L-Tryptophan, an amino acid used to treat sleeping disorders, was linked to the deaths of dozens of Americans who were using it. They even sued and won $2 billion from the company that made it.
Genes spliced into Brazil nuts and soybeans caused such violent allergic reactions to the people that consumed these modified foods, that some of them even went into anaphylactic shock!
Because Action speaks louder than words, be aware and informed that GMO foods may not be the best things we can put into our bodies. Although we might not get away from them completely, we can certainly limit our intake by eating certified organic food or non-GMO brands of commercially available types.
