A growing number of people in the US are careful to avoid GM (genetically modified) Foods, but is almost impossible to do so. Any journey through the alleys of a supermarket becomes increasingly frustrating, as the Ingredients labels have become cryptic and deceptive, so that only experts can decipher them. That is, of course no coincident, the Food Industry has a vested interest to make Foods appear healthy by disguising unhealthy ingredients. For example MSG (Monosodium Glutamate) has disappeared from the labels, but not as Ingredients. But when the industry noted that consumers are dumping products with MSG, they simply disguised the labels as: Spices, Flavors, Yeast Extract, Hydrolized Vegetable Protein, and many other euphemisms. In fact, there are other tricks the industry is resorting to with the active help of the FDA which has ruled that when MSG is used in an Ingredient of the product, it does not have to be disclosed. So, evidently it doesn't need an Einstein to figure that you break down the amount into Ingredients of various Ingredients.
While at least an educated reader is able to see the scams on the labels, the GM Ingredients are an entirely different problem. Because the FDA has ruled that there is no difference between conventionally grown and GM produce and therefore GM Food needs no labeling. While the FDA is continuing to turn a blind eye to numerous studies proving otherwise, one must ask the simple question that a first grader could come up with: If GM-Food is identical, than why is it genetically modified? It really doesn't need a Nobel laureate to realize that when the genes are modified, there is a difference. Would the Biotech Industry spend billions into something that is not changing?
But back to the supermarket, where it may be futile attempt to fill a daily groceries cart without GM Foods, no matter how alert the shopper may be. For example, almost all processed Foods, including bakery items like Bread are made with Canola oil, of which nearly all of it is from GM-Rapeseeds. Sometimes the labels disguise the term by simply listing Vegetable oil, which means Canola, Soy or Cottonseed oil, all of which are GM. Then there is the ubiquitous cheap sweetener HFCS (High Fructose Corn Syrup) from GM Corn. Most breakfast cereals are GM. Now we are expecting the FDA and USDA to approve GM Apples, Oranges and even Salmon, and as the Biotech Industry Lobby is forking out millions of dollars in corrupting the members on Capitol Hill, it is all but a foregone conclusion that this will happen. It's not a question if, but when. The Grassroot movements and Consumer Protection Organizations are sometimes successful in delaying approvals, but they can't prevent them.
In the EU, more than one million signatures from citizens petitioning for the halt of new GM approvals, were collected by Greenpeace and presented to EFSA (European Food Safety Agency), the EU equivalent of the FDA; who said that “public opinion doesn't count”. EFSA had authorized 125 GM approvals since 1998. (gmwatch.eu December 1, 2010).
More sinister is the Biotech giants partnering with the US government to coerce poor nations into dependency on GM crops, a fact that came to light through Wikileaks documents (gmwatch.eu December 1, 2010). Monsanto had earlier tried to exploit the devastated Haiti agriculture, by donating hundreds of tons of GM seeds, which would have put the Haitian farmers at the mercy of Monsanto forever. (foodsafetynews.com June 7, 2010).
Not everyone understands the distinction of “selective breeding” and “genetic engineering” of plants. Improving fruits and vegetables and adapting them to local conditions, is something that has been done since agriculture exists. But genetic engineering which alters the DNA of a plant by insertion of DNA from an Animal is quite a different matter, which raises fundamental questions: Was the Food that was bestowed on mankind and populated and flourished the world for thousands of years lacking in something?
The food provided by Nature nourished the world since Adam and Eve, so what causes men to “improve on creation” now? Industry advocates claim that GM is necessary to feed the world's growing population, but the fact is, that GM has utterly failed to live up to its promise. The real purpose of GM is to monopolize seeds for corporate profits. Politicians are quick to allude to epochal engineering success in creating healthier Food, such as for instance, Rice with increased Vitamin A to prevent blindness in developing countries. So was the Rice that Nature provided deficient in nutrients? Of course not, its over-intensive farming, soil erosion and depletion of nutrients in the soil that created nutrient deficient crops. GM just aggravates this problem by adding huge quantities of pesticides which end up in the produce.
But the fundamental question that the consumer may ask is: Should I eat GM-Food or not, what was the Creators intention? We find the answers in scripture, in Genesis 1: 11-12 (NIV) we read
Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.
So what God found good then, is suddenly put in question? God didn't say: It is good for now, but later I need the people I created to improve on what I provided. Everyone who believes in the God of Abraham, that includes Christians, Jews and Muslims, would agree that God's provision was perfect and didn't need mankind to tamper with. Sometimes the tinkering with Food is done for no real purpose or good other than that it can be done. As if Apples were not a just perfect fruit in hundreds of varieties, some US Inventor patented the “Granapple”, an apple with artificial grape flavor. This is a clear and utterly redundant violation of the “after its kind” principle. Deuteronomy 22:9 (NIV) states:
Do not plant two kinds of seed in your vineyard; if you do, not only the crops you plant but also the fruit of the vineyard will be defiled.
What does “defiled” mean? An abundant number of studies and publications agree that genetically modified foods are not sustainable, it poses threats both to our health and to our environment. These threats include widespread crop failure, food mutations, allergic reactions, infertility, decreased nutritional value, creation of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, increased ingestion of herbicides and pesticides and other potentially irreversible changes to our environment. (Mike Dickson, Deceptive Seeds, tomorrowsworld.org).
It is very clear that GM Foods is not what we are meant to eat and ignorance and denial is showing its results by way of increasingly failing health. The US, the capital of undeclared GM Food is an obvious example, where life expectancy continues to plummet and ranks now at a dismal 49th position, ten years less than the Japanese citizens. While it may not be possible to avoid GM Food altogether, because governments don't want you to be able to identify and avoid it, we can, at least support organizations that collect signatures for petitions against new approvals and provide information on GM developments, such as the Organic Consumer Association, gmwatch.eu, Alliance for Natural Health USA, and many others.
