<<Every time a new tomato variety was produced the old way, by selecting traits, that was genetic engineering by hit and miss.>>
It was NATURAL genetic engineering, Del. As a pagan, I believe in the natural world, the wisdom of nature, whatever you would call it.
In that world, people would never eat a tomato with fish genes in it, and butterfly larvae would not die by eating corn. While in the United State we seem to be gobbling up genetically altered crops, all across Europe there are huge protests against them, and rightfully so, I might add. In doing a web search this morning I also found that there is concern about this in Zimbabwe:
Genetically modified products could be hazardous to human health and to the environment. Unfortunately, there is no
government policy to deal with genetically modified food products being imported into the country, according to David Nharia,
an official at the Government Analyst Laboratory in the capital Harare.
''It's quite possible that some of the food we are eating is genetically modified,'' Nhari told IPS this week.
''Not much is known about which genetically modified food products are coming into our country because at the moment we
don't have the means to test for these things,'' says Marovatsanga. ''The sad thing is that we can't stop it. This is a reality.''
''That is one of the problems with globalisation. We believe international organisations like the World Trade Organisation, the
World Health Organisation and Food and Agriculture Organisation should try and put international standards to assist poor
countries,'' says Marovatsanga.
''Right now we could actually be eating it without knowing the side effects. We could end up with big bellies and big bum,
nobody knows,'' Marovatsanga says. ''Or we could end up becoming infertile.''
Marovatsanga's fears are founded. When in 1996 the Japanese health ministry approved the local sale of 20 types of
genetically modified food products, including soybeans and rapeseed that are an essential part of the Japanese diet, there was
an outcry in the country from consumers.
Why? Genetically engineered soybeans and rapeseed, 90 percent of whose supply comes from imports, are resistant to
herbicides. Bacterial genes in these crops allow them to tolerate chemical weed-killers. Genetically modified corn and potatoes
secrete insecticidal toxins that kill pests.
While this results in plants becoming easier to grow, cheaper and have longer shelf, Japanese activists were not all too
convinced about the merits of this technological breakthrough.
One Japanese chemistry professor cited reports that the use of chemical weed-killers on transgenic soybeans stimulate
production of a soybean estrogen, a harmful substance similar to the female sex hormone.
''The feeling is that since the scientific testing is very difficult for countries like Zimbabwe, there must be specific labelling of
these products. We can't stop it from coming into Zimbabwe.'' says Nhari.
The Consumer Council of Zimbabwe agrees. ''All genetically engineered food should be labelled,'' says Chisi. ''It's the
consumers' right to know what they are buying and eating.''
''While in Europe there is a lot of pressure to urge consumers to resist it, in Zimbabwe not much is known about it. But
indications so far show that the food has side effects relating to health such as cancer and hypertension. The full picture has not
been unravelled yet,'' he says.
Chisi says they ''are worried that while the developed world has complimentary medical facilities to deal with whatever side
effects may arise from consuming genetically modified food products, we don't have those facilities in the developing world.''
He says the CCZ will link up with other consumer groups across the world to learn and be aware of the product brands.
''We are treating genetically modified food products as unsafe as long as there are not labelling it and giving consumers enough
information. But for now we should insist that they are labelled,'' says Chisi.
The CCZ is calling for tighter regulations on genetically engineered food or delay their imports, seeds and plants included, till
their health risks can be scientifically evaluated.
However the U.S., the main exporter of genetically modified food, has complained that obligatory labelling would constitute a
non-tariff trade barrier.(END/IPS/lm/mn/99)
oneworld.org
As the Zimbabwe article points out, much of genetic engineering is done to increase shelf life of foods. This is a goal of agribusiness, but it is certainly not a health goal. I know that you are seeing all of this from a scientific basis, but I believe it is all being foisted on us by companies which simply are concerned with increased profits. I think that food should be fresh, and locally grown. I wonder if everyone in America knows that unless they are eating totally from organic food stores, they are already consuming these foods. Fritos, cake mixes, cereals, flours, many baby foods, etc. are already made with genetically altered foods, and there has been very little examination of whether this is good. But it certainly makes money for the producers!!
Another potential problem is with food allergies:
Q Are genetically engineered foods dangerous?
A Although most are likely to be safe, some may not be. To consumers, most genetically engineered foods
are essentially foods with added substances -- usually proteins. This is because genes are "translated" into
proteins by cells. Therefore, when a genetic engineer adds, say, a bacterial gene to a tomato, he or she is
essentially adding a bacterial protein to that tomato. In most cases these added proteins will likely prove safe for
human consumption. Nevertheless, just as with conventional food additives, substances added to foods via
genetic engineering may in some instances prove hazardous.
A major concern about adding proteins to foods via genetic engineering is that they may cause susceptible
individuals to become allergic to foods they previously could safely consume. Food allergies are a serious public
health concern, which food allergists estimate affect roughly 2.5 - 5 million Americans. Allergic reactions cause
discomforts and in some cases life-threatening anaphylactic shock. Since virtually all known food allergens are
proteins, foods with new proteins added via genetic engineering could sometimes become newly allergenic. These
concerns about food allergy are real. One company has already dropped plans to commercialize soybeans with a
brazil nut gene after testing revealed the soybeans were likely to cause allergic reactions in brazil nut allergic
individuals. Unfortunately, food allergies are poorly understood, and in many cases scientists will not be able to
test the potential allergenicity of genetically engineered foods.
edf.org
So it seems to me that at the very least, bioengineered foods should be labelled, so that consumers can choose whether they want to take the risk of eating them. |
