The Problem with GMO's...Part 1

If you are at all involved in a local food movement or love your local farmer or are one of the millions across the country who care about what’s in your food, it’s difficult to get away from all the talk about GMO’s (genetically modified organisms) these days and the evil Monsanto, or Monsatan as some like to say. This past Saturday, May 25, was the world-observed March Against Monstanto. Connecticut and Maine Legislatures are working to pass bills that would require GMO’s to be labeled. There is the infamous Monstanto Rider that was snuck into the most recent extension of the Farm Bill. Lots of people are up in arms about this company’s bully tactics.

But there still may be some folks who are wondering what the big deal is. Or maybe you don’t like not knowing what’s going on with your food but don’t really understand why GMO’s are so bad.

Here are some of the basics:

The most common genetically modified crops are corn and soy. At least 80% of all corn grown in the US is a GMO variety. About 90% of all soybeans grown are GMO. The vast majority of these crops go to feed livestock in factory farm settings or to be used in processes foods. Other crops that can be GMO varities are alfalfa, canola, sugar beets, zucchini and yellow squash, and papaya. The Non GMO Project has more info.

The first problem is that genetic modification is different than plant breeding. Plant breeding occurs naturally as a part of nature’s workings. Genetic modification of the kind being done to crops like corn, soybeans, squash, tomatoes, and others does not.

Plant breeding is similar to dog breeding – plants are selected for specific traits and bred to enhance those traits. It’s also not unlike cross-pollination that happens when you plant several varieties of hot peppers together. Each pepper has it’s own mystery level of heat!

Several years ago, I had a conversation with a sweet potato farmer who told me about a project he was involved with that was taking a variety of sweet potato and breeding it back with morning glory (the two are closely related in the plant world) to strengthen the sweet potato against a specific disease. Apparently the variety of sweet potato was having trouble with a particular disease, so researchers were taking undiseased or less diseased plants and breeding them to renew the strength of the variety. While this may sound a bit unnatural, the methods used to make this happen were all natural processes.

Photo from www.noble.org.

On the other hand, genetic modification involves inserting genes from other species or a specially designed gene that will produce certain traits. In 2000, the Consumers Union released an essay called Genetic Engineering Is Not An Extension Of Conventional Plant Breeding: How genetic engineering differs from conventional breeding, hybridization, wide crosses and horizontal gene transfer. This article does a good job of explaining the basic process of genetic modification. It points out that inserting genes onto a DNA strand does not happen in nature. To make the process happen, a gene "gun" or a bacterial "truck" is used. This is a bacteria that is mixed with the to-be-inserted gene. A chemical or electrical process is then used to make the receiving DNA strand susceptible to the new trait. A virus is also added to act as an “on switch” to make the gene trait active. Scientists can insert foreign genes into a DNA strand, but they can’t control where these new traits land on that strand. “[T]he lack of control over location is a significant cause of unexpected effects.”

Second, because of the proprietary nature of genetically modified crops, unbiased research on the possible “unexpected effects” or the long term effects of genetic modification on crops, crop production, soil health, environmental impact, or our bodies isn’t really possible. We just don’t know enough to know what the problems could be. Some believe that the increase in digestive issues and other illnesses are linked to genetic modification of crops. But we just don’t know for sure.

And consumers can’t know for sure whether they are consuming GMO foods unless they are growing all of their own food or buying from
local farms that do not grow GMO seeds or purchasing all certified organic products that are not allowed to contain GMO products.

Labeling would be a really great way to allow consumers to make their own decisions. But that has met with its own resistance from Big Ag and Big Food companies.

So, there is a start to some of the problems with GMO’s. Stay tuned for more about the use of fertilizer and herbicides and GMO’s, bully tactics employed by Monstanto, the consequences of cheap food, and more.... 

Warning! Potentially Persnickety Eater!

This seems a bit silly to be writing about now, as I look back on it…but this is what happened.

I was headed to eat with my parents after a friend’s daughter’s senior art exhibit – which was amazing, by the way! And the show evoked a bit of an emotional response that surprised me, a mix of pride and amazement at this 18 year-old’s talent.

We headed to a nearby shopping center with several restaurant choices. I suggested that we choose a well-known local icon cafeteria, thinking that would a great way to get some real food. Y’know, veggie, fruit, protein.

Once we walked in I began questioning my choice. There was something about the atmosphere that yelled stereotypical cafeteria. I guess I was expecting something different. But I decided I would power through. I eat at chain restaurants. I can do this, I thought. I began to think about what I might want to eat here.

We got closer to the line. A big medallion plate hung on the back wall announcing the Plate Special. The top half of the plate read “Entrée and roll”. My brain saw “huge portion of sauce-covered meat”. The lower left quarter read “one vegetable”. The lower right quarter read the same. After teaching a six-week class in nutrition and healthy cooking that includes a similar plate, only emphasizing fresh fruits and vegetables, lean proteins, and smart consumption of grains, I sensed a slight queasy feeling in my stomach.

As I walked to where the line started, I surveyed the food choices. Suddenly, I knew I couldn’t eat there. I was looking at food I wasn’t going to enjoy. Vegetables that were over-cooked and poorly seasoned, soaked in their juices. Macaroni and cheese made with Velveeta. And meats from who-knows-where. I told my parents that I couldn’t eat there. And we left.

This cafeteria was indicative of some of the many things that are wrong with our current food system and eating in this country. Yes, there were vegetables, but they weren’t prepared with care for methods that would keep the most nutrients in the food. If the spinach had been fresh when it arrived at the restaurant, it was indistinguishable from the canned kind once placed on the serving line. The meat choices were either heavily breaded with who knows what or covered in a sauce of unknown origin to keep it from drying out as it sat waiting to be selected by diners.

This wasn’t locally-produced, simply-prepared real food. It was a nod in the direction of real food and of good nutrition. But it was neither. And my sensibilities couldn’t handle it that day.

Ironically, my other suggestion was a locally owned Tex-Mex place across the parking lot. At least there, I knew exactly what I was going to be eating. And I was able to get fresh spinach in my enchiladas!

The straddle between a food system providing fresh, local, sustainably raised foods and the status quo, industrial food system evokes some interesting responses… And makes one a potentially very persnickety eater.