Hi there everyone

I just wanted to get a discussion on genetically modified (GM) foods going.

What is the general consensus about it from this forum? Is there a general consensus or does everyone have different opinions?

I know the medical world is divided about genetic modification of foods.

I personally, from every thing I have read, do have very anti-GM food sentiments. I dont think there have been many long-term studies done on the benefits and risks of using GM foods - but if there is, please point them out as I would be happy to read them....

What about people whose immune systems are compromised in some way... dont genetically modified foods affect their immune system / dna? I would think they would be adversely affected, but who knows, as I dont think that long-term studies have really be done in this area..... ??

Does anyone know of any studies (long-terms especially) that point out the benefits of using genetically modified foods??

The reason I am stressing the word "long-term", is that changes to dna or immune health do not happen instantaneously... they usually take a longer term to cause any effects and real medical studies need be able to validate or negate these claims about GM foods... I just dont think any research has validated the safety of eating genetically modified foods over long periods.

I avoid them at all costs (unless I dont know I am eating them obviously, but as I try to eat mostly organic and home prepared, I know I am avoiding most of it).

Just in case you want to read it, here is the FSANZ rules on GM foods - if you do read it, you'll notice that no long term studies have been done.... hmmmm

FSANZ FAQ on GM Foods

Please remember this is Australian and New Zealand foods standards...

The Dieticians Association in Australia advocate the labelling of foods that have genetically modified ingredients, but there are some exceptions to that rule.... the Dieticians Association isnt too happy about that.... but at least those foods that dont have the exception applied are labelled appropriately if they contain GM ingredients in Australia....

What about the rest of the world? Is your food labelled with GM ingedients if they are in the food??

Genetically modified foods have only been available in Australia for a short time, but in the USA, they have been eating foods with GM ingredients for a long time!

In any case, does anyone know what the rules are for USA / Canada / Europe?

What do others think?

VitalHealth

great topic! i read many scientific reports about GMO foods. i'm not too concerned whether they are safe or not; i'm more concerned that GMO products are not labeled. i think we as consumers should have the right to know and we choose accordingly. i probably end up still buying some GMO products because of cost, but at least i know what i'm getting into. don't u agree?

Hi Annie

Thats great to get your opinion on this....

Yes I agree foods should be all labelled if they have GM ingredients... so people can choose... but for some reasons in Australia there are exceptions to that rule... hopefully the Dieticians association and others can push the government to make them remove the exceptions...

Apparently in the USA they dont need to label any foods as having genetically modified ingredients.... that aint so good....

And in Oregon the FDA wants to stop the local government from enacting a law to make foods with GM ingredients be labelled... how bizarre is that??

Here is the article from USA Today

The article is from late 2002, so I dont know if the laws have changed since then, but I dont think so... as I cant find any info anywhere that they have....

Vitalhealth

i also think GMO or non-GMO products should be regulated and labeled. right now, the non-GMO products kinda randomly label themselves and there are no standards - very confusing for consumers. personally i think it should be labeled the same way as organic products. it's scary to flag a GMO product (it's equally scary to flag conventional produce with pesticide) - it's like " hey my products contain pesticides" or "hey my products are genetically modified". so it's better to reward those that do not contain GMO - just like organic products with a USDA organic label. yeah i agree - it's our right to know what we are buying - instead of standing in the grocery store wondering if the huge potato contains fish genes or not!!

good discussion!

Here is a link to the True Food Network - its an Aussie site, but its interesting, as its all about GM foods in our food system and shows which companies have GM ingredients in their foods (even if some may not list them)... and it shows which foods have GM ingredients due to the feed given to animals! This whole GM topic is more and more complex the more you look at it....

True Food Network on Genetically Modified Foods

There is a PDF with all the foods that have or dont have GM ingredients. The GM vs nonGM will be relevant to those in the USA and Canada too, as it lists fast food outlets and other stuff that we have here, which come directly from the good ole US of A

Just look around the site (if you want) and see if it interests you... there are articles relevant to everyone everwhere -- recently it was shown that food was kept on the shelves here in supermarkets for many months (up to a year!) and still sold as "fresh"... amazing...

The organisation behind this site is Greenpeace! They have their fingers in many pies...

You all know I prefer to eat non-GM foods, so this is a great site for me, but even if you dont really care either way, its a good information source

And yeah Gloria, you're right, the manufacturers are worried because it's just as bad to say "this food contains X, Y, Z pesticide" than it is to say, "this food has genetically modified ingredients".... but they do that (about the GM foods) in Australia and Europe and Japan, so as the USA is such a large consumer, they should know what their foods contain too... so people have the choice... and I guess that is what the large manufacturers are scared of - people no longer eating their foods as they have GM ingredients.

I am not against scientific research or genetic modification per se.... I think that if there is tampering with the genetic structure of foods, it should be vigorously tested, to determine if there are any detrimental impacts (either short term or longer term) to humans and the environment... if I can be given proof that the genetic modification is totally safe, I would be all for it... but no-one can give that reassurance and so it is a contentious issue...

Just wanted to add this excerpt from the True Foods site:

"In the USA and Canada, where GE crops have now been grown for 5 years, a coalition of 33 farm and agriculture groups recently issued a warning that ?Genetic engineering in agriculture has significantly increased the economic uncertainty of family farmers throughout the U.S. and the world.""

The article goes on to say that those companies that make GE seeds ask farmer to sign legal documents which specify how the farmers can farm these seeds. The farmers have to agree not to save the seeds! The farmers are also expected tp pay royalties!! These companies sue farmers if they dont follow their agreements to the letter...

GE crops can become weeds from neighbouring farms and as they have inbuilt resistance, they cant get rid of them... "The Royal Society of Canada has warned that most of the country's prarie land is now contaminated with herbicide-resistant canola weeds, the removal of which raises farm costs."

The full article can be found here: Are Genetically Engineered Foods Good for Farmers?

Gloria - thats your turf - Canada....

Again this is something I think we should all be aware of - whether we agree about the risks or health benefits.....

Vital Health

Great thread - I've posted before somewhere else in the forum on this. Agree with most of whats been said.

You may know there was an attempt to patent seed in India which would have resulted in some of the world's poorest subsistance farmers having to buy seed rather than saving thier own as is the custom.

Fortunately a combined comunity effort got them a legal victory which stopped it happening for now.
GM is a ultimately about fattening the corporate bottom line more than about improving the supply of food to feed the world as is usually advanced as the reason!!!

Pity it works that way as I'm sure a lot of benefit could also come out of it with the right attitudes.