What’s Up With GMOs – an update
Just as we start getting a handle on this GMO garbage, we get a new set of warnings from our friends at Consumer Watch and The Organic Food Producers. Here is the gist of the conversation.
Corn
The original GMO – brought to you by Monsanto. This includes corn oil, cornmeal, cornstarch, corn syrup, hominy, polenta, and other corn-based ingredients. It’s also important to note that some GMO crops such as corn can spread through wind drift and contaminate organic crops, and organic certification does not require testing for GMOs, So, for the most protection against GMOs, choose products with both the Non-GMO Project Verified label and the Organic label—or just avoid foods made with the 11 direct sources of GMOs.
Canola
This yellow plant is the source of canola oil. It was originally called rapeseed. The real problem with the name “rapeseed oil” is that the oil was so toxic that the FDA in the States banned it for human consumption in 1956. So when Canadian growers bred a new variety of rapeseed in the 1970s with a lower content of the toxic erucic acid, they decided they needed a new name for it.
The term canola was coined from “Canadian oil, low acid” to convince consumers that this oil was safe to eat. And while “canola” was originally a registered trademark, the term became so widely known that the trademark was eventually abandoned, and “canola” became the default term in many countries for any low-erucic rapeseed oil. In the mind of this writer, it still should be banned if it has ANY trace of erucic acid.
Canola oil is a very effective insecticide, and it is the primary ingredient in many “organic” (non-chemical) pesticide control products sprayed on vegetables to kill bugs. I believe that I will stay with peanut oil.
Cottonseed
Cottonseed is extracted from cotton plants and made into cottonseed oil. Cottonseed oil is exactly what it says it is; oil made from the cottonseed. However few in the public realize that until a serious toxin in the oil, gossypol is removed, that cottonseed oil is actually so toxic that it is often used as a pesticide. Further since cotton crops are under far less chemical regulation that other other crops used specifically for food, many pesticides or chemicals can be used on cotton crops that are illegal for use on food crops, yet the cottonseed can find it’s way into the food chain because of this major legal loophole in the regulation of food and chemicals by the regulatory bodies. Some serious pesticides or chemicals could resist processing and find their way into the food chain because of this.
Sugar Beets
A plant grown for it’s high sucrose concentration, it’s often used to sweeten other commercial products. Due to the genetic tampering with all things vegetable, this plant is now a GMO-altered organism. Most sugar produced in the USA is from sugar beets. Look for, and buy, pure cane sugar. In Canada, most sugar comes from the sugar cane plant.
Soybeans
Sorry soy lovers! This goes for soybean oil, soy protein, soy lecithin, soy milk, tofu, and other soy-based ingredients. It’s official! The mighty soybean is now a full-fledged GMO. It has been altered to increase hardiness, growth potential and harvest weights. Next to corn, it is the most genetically altered plant in existence.
Alfalfa
This one is particularly concerning as it’s not only sold for us to eat but is also fed to livestock. When was the last time you had alfalfa sprouts in an organic cafe sandwich? If you did, they were probably from a GMO source, and I’m quite sure that the cafe that sold you the sandwich didn’t even know that they were GMO.
Apples
Yep, GMO apples could be arriving in some stores in Canada as early as this fall. Check labels before you buy. Stick to the old tried and true fruits like MacIntosh, Gala, Granny Smith and Jonagold.
Papaya
Be particularly wary of fruits coming from Hawaii and China, including fruit juices and other processed foods. These fruits are often processed into juices to mix with our local fruits such as apples and pears.
Potatoes
GMO non-browning varieties, which were approved by Health Canada in March, could be in Canadian supermarkets by the fall. J.R. Simplot Co. based in Boise, Idaho, was notified by both Canadian Food agencies in letters dated March 18 that it could sell its potatoes — which purportedly are less likely to bruise or turn brown when cut — to consumers or for livestock consumption.
Simplot says the Innate potato has the same nutritional composition of regular potatoes plus reduced asparagine. This amino acid found in many starchy foods produces acrylamide, suspected to be a human carcinogen. Potatoes naturally produce the chemical when they’re cooked at high temperatures above 120 C (250 F). If possible, buy the Canadian potatoes in the plastic bags.
Yellow Squash and Zucchini
A small amount of imported varieties of these vegetables grown in the U.S. are GMO. Watch for the label, ‘Product of the USA’, on the packaging.
Atlantic Salmon
Earlier this year, health authorities in Canada approved the sale of genetically modified Atlantic salmon, making it the first genetically altered animal to be allowed for consumption in the country. The eggs of the salmon are produced at a facility in Prince Edward Island, and fish mature into adults at a farm in Panama. The salmon is scheduled to appear on Canadian supermarket shelves within 18 months, and like all GMO products in Canada, if it comes to market, it will not be labelled.