I was reading an article in the Natural Awakenings Magazine recently about school lunch nutrition when I came across a staggering statistic. In an interview with Chef Ann, author of several books and advocate for improving student menu plans, I read that "some studies indicate that children born in 2000 may die at a younger age than their parents because of the food they eat." Is that not a mouth-dropping statistic?
Apparently, it was a prognostication made by the Centers for Disease Control. I searched the CDC website last night, and couldn't find reference to the study. I would have liked to have read or least skimmed the study in its entirety.
Here's another statistic for us parents with young girls. From Michigan State University, "girls eating a high-fat diet during puberty, even those who do not become overweight or obese, may be at a greater risk of developing breast cancer later in life." What our kids eat now is definitely setting the foundation for their health as adults.
I've often joined Abigail for lunch and have seen what they serve in the cafeteria... pizza, nachos, mac 'n cheese, chicken patties, burgers, hot dogs, french fries, tater tots and chocolate milk. I understand that for many children in this country, this is the best meal they're going to eat in a given day. I also understand that it needs to be inexpensive. But, does it have to be highly processed, high in fat, salt and sugar, full of genetically modified ingredients and additives? These foods lead to cancer, obesity, diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure and strokes. Should we not look hard at that statistic and invest in our children and their future? We don't live in a 3rd world country. Why should our life expectancy be on the decline?
Now, in case you are sitting there thinking that you ate pizza, french fries and drank chocolate milk when you were in school and you are in good shape and healthy, let me just say that you ate real pizza and french fries and drank real milk. That's the difference. There is nothing real about what is served in most cafeterias or packed in most lunchboxes. 1996 was the year that genetically modified/ engineered soy was introduced. By the year 2000 (note the year), 54% of all soybeans harvested in the US were genetically modified up from 7% in 1996. GMO corn made up 25% of the corn harvested in 2000. That's up from 1.5% in 1996. These numbers have done nothing but climb. Think high fructose corn syrup, partially hydrogenated oil, canola & vegetable oil, modified food starch, maltodextrin, soy lecithin to name just a few. All ingredients commonly found in our food, and unless organic, all derived from genetically modified crops. Don't forget the milk and cheese. 1994 was the year rbST was introduced. By 2000, approximately 1/3 of dairy cows were in herds supplemented with rbST.
I only let Abigail purchase lunch from the cafeteria one day a week. On that day I even encourage her to take her water bottle as opposed to purchasing a milk. If I had my way, she wouldn't eat from the cafeteria at all. Don't get me wrong, packing lunch is no picnic at our house either. Abigail has to pack the majority of it, and would go without rather than having to take the time to put together something of substance.
She would also live off of starches and carbohydrates if I let her. Crackers, chips, snack bars, pretzels and pastas are about all she wants to eat. That and dairy in the form of cheese and yogurt. Per my insistence, a typical packed lunch consists of a slice or two of ham or pepperoni (both organic), cheese stick (rbST-free) and crackers (GMO/additive-free). If I have dip she'll eat a couple of carrots so I make an organic ranch dip. I also insist on a fruit and purchase fruit cups in natural juice with no color or sugar additives. Snack is usually pretzels or crackers, cereal or fruit bars (also all GMO/additive-free). One day a week, I'll heat up mac 'n cheese or toast some mini-pizzas to send in a thermos. I try to keep a lot of other options in the pantry and the fridge, but this is what she chooses day in and day out. If she could, she'd eat the cafeteria food every day. She's not worried about breast cancer, diabetes, heart disease and the like. That's my job. Educate her now, condition her to eating healthy now in hopes of it becoming an adult practice. And, that one day a week in the cafeteria? It's my attempt to loosen the reins a bit and not create resentment over the contents (or lack of) in our pantry.
For more reading on GMO foods, rbST and healthy eating, check out the links on either side of the blog posts. Here are links that I used to get my statistics on year 2000 usages of GMO foods and rbST.
Showing posts with label GM soybeans. Show all posts
Showing posts with label GM soybeans. Show all posts
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Genetically Modified Foods and the Link to Allergies - Part 2
I've struggled with writing this post. I'm not a scientist, doctor or other type of medical or allergy specialist. I'm just a mom that's spent the last 6 1/2 years trying to learn everything I can about my daughter's peanut allergy.
Information regarding the link between genetically modified foods and allergies is not only hard for me to fully comprehend, but it's even harder to put those thoughts together in a post without simply cutting and pasting from other resources. I'm going to try hard not to, but here's credit in advance to the articles I'm referring to to write this post. Here goes.
In it's simplest form, GM food is food that has had genes from other plants, bacteria and viruses inserted into it's genetic structure. This in turn creates a new protein that may/may not have been present before which may/may not trigger an allergic reaction.
It's considered inhumane to test these newly formed proteins in GM foods on humans prior to releasing it into our food supply. I find it ironic that it is considered okay to put it on our grocery store shelves in the form of a processed food ingredient and then wait to see what happens. Because it takes humans eating a food several times before the protein causes us to be allergic, there is really no good way to then go back and see if a particular engineered food is the culprit.
I'm going to use GM soybeans as an example of why there is a possible link between GM foods and allergies simply because that's the one used by the Organic Consumers Association (OCA) in their article, "Genetically Engineered Foods May Cause Rising Food Allergies". There are plenty of examples with other GM crops like corn, cottonseed, sugar beets, canola, Hawaiian papaya, some zucchini and crook neck squash.
The GM soybean was created in the U.S. in 1996 by using a bacteria that formed a new protein that's never before been consumed by a human. Scientist must run all newly formed proteins through an International database comparing it's amino sequence with amino sequences that have been known to trigger allergic reactions. If known allergens are found to be present, it is required that either additional testing be performed or that the GM crop not be released. In the case of the GM soybean, there were sections of a protein that are identical to known allergens, but the crop was released prior to the creation of the database.
For us dealing specifically with peanut allergies, there is at least one known protein in natural soybeans that has a cross-reactivity with peanut allergies. Whether genetically modified soybeans might increase that chance of cross-reactivity remains to be seen. It's certainly coincidence that the number of peanut allergies has doubled in the years following the introduction of GM soybeans.
According to the OCA, another study verified that GM soybeans contain a unique, unexpected protein, not found in non-GM soy controls. Scientist tested that protein and determined that it reacted with the IgE antibody which is responsible for allergic reactions. "The fact that the unique protein created by GM soy interacted with IgE suggests that it might also trigger allergies."
Using a question posed from the article "Ah-tchoo!: Do Genetically Modified Foods Cause Allergies" written on emagazine.com, if you are allergic to fish and you eat a tomato that has been genetically modified with genes from a fish, is it then possible that you would then react as if you'd eaten fish? According to that article by OCA, it is. The OCA article gives this example. In the mid 1990's, there was an attempt to produce healthier soybeans by using a gene from Brazil nuts. Blood tests from people with allergies to Brazil nuts showed an allergic reaction to this new soybean. This was one case where the product never went to market.
While there is really no concrete evidence here in the U.S. to prove a link between GM foods and allergies as well as other health dangers, there have been limited studies in other countries. Funny how those same countries both restrict the use of GM crops grown as well as require imported GM food from the U.S. to be labeled accordingly. By the way, why aren't GM foods tested in the U.S.? According to that article in emagazine.com, the FDA (Richard Herndon, an FDA spokesperson) says that it doesn't subject GM foods to the same testing as, for example, a new chemical additive, because new gene introductions do not "materially change the composition" of food. "FDA has no basis for concluding that bio-engineered foods differ from other foods in any meaningful or uniform way, or that, as a class, foods developed by the new techniques present any different or greater safety concern than foods developed by traditional plant breeding."
I hope all of this information has at least got you thinking about a possible link between food allergies and genetically modified foods. I urge you to continue to do your own research about all of the possible health risks with eating these types of foods as well as to follow the links in the posts and read the reference articles in their entirety. Also, here's a link to a past post I wrote about avoiding GM foods. There's more information in that post on health hazards as well as tips to avoid GM foods.
Author Note: I just found an Organic Soy Scorecard on The Cornucopia Institute's website. It rates companies on their organic soy production.
Information regarding the link between genetically modified foods and allergies is not only hard for me to fully comprehend, but it's even harder to put those thoughts together in a post without simply cutting and pasting from other resources. I'm going to try hard not to, but here's credit in advance to the articles I'm referring to to write this post. Here goes.
In it's simplest form, GM food is food that has had genes from other plants, bacteria and viruses inserted into it's genetic structure. This in turn creates a new protein that may/may not have been present before which may/may not trigger an allergic reaction.
It's considered inhumane to test these newly formed proteins in GM foods on humans prior to releasing it into our food supply. I find it ironic that it is considered okay to put it on our grocery store shelves in the form of a processed food ingredient and then wait to see what happens. Because it takes humans eating a food several times before the protein causes us to be allergic, there is really no good way to then go back and see if a particular engineered food is the culprit.
I'm going to use GM soybeans as an example of why there is a possible link between GM foods and allergies simply because that's the one used by the Organic Consumers Association (OCA) in their article, "Genetically Engineered Foods May Cause Rising Food Allergies". There are plenty of examples with other GM crops like corn, cottonseed, sugar beets, canola, Hawaiian papaya, some zucchini and crook neck squash.
The GM soybean was created in the U.S. in 1996 by using a bacteria that formed a new protein that's never before been consumed by a human. Scientist must run all newly formed proteins through an International database comparing it's amino sequence with amino sequences that have been known to trigger allergic reactions. If known allergens are found to be present, it is required that either additional testing be performed or that the GM crop not be released. In the case of the GM soybean, there were sections of a protein that are identical to known allergens, but the crop was released prior to the creation of the database.
For us dealing specifically with peanut allergies, there is at least one known protein in natural soybeans that has a cross-reactivity with peanut allergies. Whether genetically modified soybeans might increase that chance of cross-reactivity remains to be seen. It's certainly coincidence that the number of peanut allergies has doubled in the years following the introduction of GM soybeans.
According to the OCA, another study verified that GM soybeans contain a unique, unexpected protein, not found in non-GM soy controls. Scientist tested that protein and determined that it reacted with the IgE antibody which is responsible for allergic reactions. "The fact that the unique protein created by GM soy interacted with IgE suggests that it might also trigger allergies."
Using a question posed from the article "Ah-tchoo!: Do Genetically Modified Foods Cause Allergies" written on emagazine.com, if you are allergic to fish and you eat a tomato that has been genetically modified with genes from a fish, is it then possible that you would then react as if you'd eaten fish? According to that article by OCA, it is. The OCA article gives this example. In the mid 1990's, there was an attempt to produce healthier soybeans by using a gene from Brazil nuts. Blood tests from people with allergies to Brazil nuts showed an allergic reaction to this new soybean. This was one case where the product never went to market.
While there is really no concrete evidence here in the U.S. to prove a link between GM foods and allergies as well as other health dangers, there have been limited studies in other countries. Funny how those same countries both restrict the use of GM crops grown as well as require imported GM food from the U.S. to be labeled accordingly. By the way, why aren't GM foods tested in the U.S.? According to that article in emagazine.com, the FDA (Richard Herndon, an FDA spokesperson) says that it doesn't subject GM foods to the same testing as, for example, a new chemical additive, because new gene introductions do not "materially change the composition" of food. "FDA has no basis for concluding that bio-engineered foods differ from other foods in any meaningful or uniform way, or that, as a class, foods developed by the new techniques present any different or greater safety concern than foods developed by traditional plant breeding."
I hope all of this information has at least got you thinking about a possible link between food allergies and genetically modified foods. I urge you to continue to do your own research about all of the possible health risks with eating these types of foods as well as to follow the links in the posts and read the reference articles in their entirety. Also, here's a link to a past post I wrote about avoiding GM foods. There's more information in that post on health hazards as well as tips to avoid GM foods.
Author Note: I just found an Organic Soy Scorecard on The Cornucopia Institute's website. It rates companies on their organic soy production.
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